Chain Gangs Idea Simply Out-Of-Date

Phil Harris is nothing if not a shrewd politician.

Pressing all the right buttons, the Spokane County commissioner suggested last week asking voters whether they think putting shackled prisoners to work on roadsides is a good idea.

By the way, he also wants to know if voters would approve a ballot measure increasing the sales tax to pay for new jails and juvenile detention centers.

Any guesses what the response to those proposals would be this fall? Here’s a safe guess: Forget new taxes; get those dirt bags to work!

Harris is capitalizing on a growing - but mostly groundless - sentiment that prisoners are living the good life in jail. He thinks the humiliation and dehumanization of chain gangs are just what inmates need.

Spurred and sickened by the higher profile of violent crime, voters are primed for Harris’ rhetoric. No punishment is too harsh; no discipline is too shameful.

Trouble is, Harris is wrong. Chain gangs just won’t work in Spokane, and here’s why.

First and foremost, it is unconstitutional to put inmates to work before their trials. Usually, half the prisoners in the county jail are awaiting trial; the other half either already are at work or are about to be moved to a state prison to serve a long-term sentence. If they’re dangerous enough to be shackled, they probably aren’t in Spokane County’s jail. And they probably shouldn’t be out in public either.

But, hey, just saying “chain gang” is enough to make Harris sound as if he’s tough on crime and doing something about the problem.

But instead of flinging around incendiary ideas that have no basis in reality, Harris should find constructive, productive ways to put Spokane inmates to work.

Sheriff John Goldman already has done exactly that. He’s on a state committee looking for ways in which inmates can labor, with the money earned going to pay for court costs, incarceration and restitution of victims.

Spokane inmates not only operate the jail laundry and kitchen and sort trash at the incinerator, but some also are working in the county garage. They have restored a fleet of vehicles, learning how to do bodywork while earning community college credits.

These are guys who will leave jail with some knowledge, maybe even a little bit of hope for a better life. On the other hand, chaingang workers will leave prison with a bad attitude and, maybe, a score to settle.

Chain gangs are an idea best left in the past; society has grown up since they were common. Phil Harris could stand to do the same.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Anne Windishar/For the editorial board