State Rep. Ron Forster has a sterling idea to alleviate overcrowding in Georgia prisons. Best known for proposing the impeachment of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the Ringgold Republican has now floated a bill to lease inmates to private companies to go work in Iraq.
Now, before all you bleeding hearts out there get your panties in a wad, let us point out that the honorable Mr. Forster isn’t suggesting inmates be forced against their will to go load trucks in a war zone. The program would be strictly voluntary, in exchange for early parole amounting to a sentence reduction of 2-9 years. Now, aren’t you reassured already?
It should be noted that when Forster pitched his idea Wednesday to the House Committee on State Institutions & Property, he didn’t actually mention Iraq, Afghanistan or Halliburton by name. The way he put it was that inmates could “volunteer to go overseas to work in rebuilding other countries.” The convict would get to keep 60 percent of his salary, he explained, while the other 40 percent would go into state coffers.
Originally, he said, he also wanted to give inmates the option of paying the balance of their debt to society by joining the military. But then he found out the Army doesn’t taken convicted felons. Bummer.
Anyway, not everyone was so keen on Forster’s idea. Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, asked the obligatory let-me-get-this-straight question.
“Are you saying you want to outsource prison labor to private companies?” he asked.
Well, yes, Forster said.
“That idea scares me to death,” Williams replied. “There’s a lot that could go wrong.”
With all due respect, Mr. Williams: Baghdad, Blackwater, Kabul, KBR and Georgia prison inmates – what could possibly go wrong?
