Truth in sentencing

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel kicked off a four-part series Sunday with the article, "Tougher sentencing law carries hefty price," by Mary Zahn and Gina Barton. All signs point to a thorough treatment of the topic:

To assess the impact of truth in sentencing, the Journal Sentinel interviewed more than 100 people over six months, including judges, victims, parole agents, offenders, politicians, defense attorneys, prosecutors, community advocates and corrections officials.
In addition, the newspaper reviewed hundreds of court records and analyzed a database of 123,087 inmate records kept by the state Department of Corrections. That database was used in creating a mathematical model to analyze trends and estimate the added cost of more prison and extended supervision over time.

This first installment gives some background of the truth-in-sentencing laws, the increased costs faced by the state, a brief mention of alternative programs, and some stories of the lives of people in the jail/prison/parole system.