FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — As lawmakers look at a massive new public safety bill, critics are asking them to reconsider and take a different approach.
As House Bill 5, known as the Safer Kentucky Act, makes its way through Frankfort, John Bowman is apprehensive.
"If we want to make Kentucky safer, we have to focus on the people, and we have to treat people as people," said Bowman.
He says he was addicted to drugs for 24 years and has been in recovery for six. He now works for Dream.org, hoping to help influence drug and criminal justice legislation.
"Instead of helping just one or two people, it gets to help hundreds to thousands of people at a time, so it's very rewarding, and I love it," he says.
The bill would elevate several crimes and increase the sentences for them, among many other elements. Bowman believes that would not deter people.
"Everyone deserves safer communities in the state of Kentucky, but longer sentences is not a way to make Kentucky safer," said Bowman. "We have to find the root cause of the problems there."
Instead of longer sentences, he says he'd like to see programs that help people avoid falling back into old habits after they leave prison.
"97% of people that are incarcerated are coming home. We need to invest in re-entry to keep recidivism down, to keep people from re-offending and going back. We need real programs to help people when they come out," he said.
He also said he wants to see more access to rehabilitation services for prisoners. The bill has already passed the House and entered the Senate. Bowman hopes those senators hear his perspective.
"Mass incarceration is not the answer to these issues and it's something that we have to turn away from. We have to invest in our communities. We have to invest in our people. We have to lead with love, compassion, and empathy if we really want to turn the tide in this."
