The one benefit of having Republican governors is that, somewhat paradoxically, they are occasionally "soft on crime." By soft I mean that they can sometimes have more reasonable approaches to sentencing, incarceration, and rehabilitation which Democrats just can't get away with. As we all know [coulter]Democrats want to let murderers out of jail so they can continue their slaughter of innocents[/coulter]. So, any soft on crime intiative with tragic consequences - say, a pardon or early release program which results in the murder of child - will be the end of any Democrats' political career.
Piggybacking this on top of the state budget crises, and one can have some small hopes for some longer term prison and sentencing reform. Those life sentences aren't cheap, and the liberal in me has to believe that recidivism rates are much higher for prisoners who have few education options in prison, though I don't remember reading any recent studies about such things....
