Georgia.gov

Governor Nathan Deal
Office of the Governor

Governor Nathan Deal - Georgia’s 82nd Governor (2011-2019)

The content on this website is archived historic material and should be used for research purposes only. This website is no longer updated, and some links may not work. For inquiries please contact Governor Kemp’s office.

Home » Press Releases » In case you missed it: Deal ‘fighting crime in ways that work’

In case you missed it: Deal ‘fighting crime in ways that work’

February 27, 2017

The Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform last week delivered its 2017 report to Gov. Nathan Deal. The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer highlighted the progress of reform initiatives based on this report. 

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: "A centerpiece achievement of Nathan Deal’s two terms as Georgia governor has been his focus on reforming the state’s criminal justice sentencing, probation and rehabilitation systems. Most significant changes proposed by political officials are called ‘reforms’; by all accounts, this really is one.

“One of the burdens Deal inherited as governor was a dangerously crowded, prohibitively expensive corrections system, packed to bursting by years of get-tough non-discretionary sentencing laws enacted by legislators who too often were oblivious to (or just ignored) inevitable consequences for immediate political gain.

“By the time Deal took office, the bill had long since come due. The governor assembled a panel officially dubbed the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform to examine the state’s justice and corrections systems, and the results have been laws and policy changes that have already paid both economic and human dividends. 

“That’s what has already happened. On Tuesday, the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform issued its 2017 report, which include such recommendations as reducing probation times as incentives for good behavior, and giving probation to more first-time nonviolent offenders to reduce recidivism.”

The article cited “impressive progress” in the following areas: 

  • “From 2009 to 2015, prison commitments fell to the lowest level since 2002, a drop of more than 16 percent overall, and more than 25 percent among African American males.” 
  • “At the start of that same period, somewhat more than half (58 percent) of Georgia’s prison population consisted of the most serious offenders; now it is more than two-thirds — meaning alternative sentences for lesser offenses have freed prison space for the worst of the worst.”
  • “Maybe most promising is that Department of Juvenile Justice commitments have fallen by almost half (43 percent). The best time to prevent a life of crime is before it really gets started."

Read the rest of the story by Dusty Nix here.