Prisoners Cost Less in Michigan than in Pennsylvania

Last week, Gov. Tom Corbett announced that more than 2,000 inmates previously housed in Michigan and Virginia are returning to Pennsylvania prisons. The problem is that it’s cheaper to outsource prisoners—it will cost taxpayers an additional $5,043,738 to lock them away in the Keystone State.

It’s time for state lawmakers to take a serious look at reforming our criminal justice system. Pennsylvania taxpayers spending for corrections continues to grow, to support a system that is ineffective—almost 45 percent of the inmates released from our prisons later return.

The state should implement evidence-based reforms that reduce recidivism rates and costs, as many other states have done.