Criminal justice reform legislation — House Bill 585 — passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor this year will save the state a lot of money previously spent on incarcerating prisoners, according to the local district attorney.
But it probably will result in some “cost shifting” to municipal and county officials as well as to merchants and their customers, he said.
Dewitt “Dee” Bates, district attorney for the 14th Judicial District, spoke to the McComb Rotary Club on Wednesday and outlined provisions of the law, most of which took effect in July.
Among other things, the new rules raise the threshold for felony theft from $500 to $1,000. Other provisions of the law call for less prison time for non-violent offenders.
Mississippi had the second-highest per capita incarceration rate in the nation, Bates said, and “it was a growing expense that had to be addressed.”
However, he predicted that some crimes, such as shoplifting and stealing items valued under $1,000, may increase.
This will be an expense to merchants who ultimately will have to pass it on to honest customers, he said.
Also, municipal and justice courts are going to handle more cases that once were felonies.
That probably will result in more sentences to local jails of prisoners who previously were state inmates, Bates said.
Bates’ district covers Lincoln, Pike and Walthall counties.
He’s in his third term as DA.
