Easy to say ‘Throw away the key,’ but at what expense and to what end?

By David Lubofsky

Election season must be upon us with blanket legislation made to look as though our elected leaders are actually doing something for the people of Guam. Bill 239-37 is a prime shiny and appealing example of that, which is all about throwing the key away on those convicted of dealing in or caught with significant quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Gee, sounds rather good on the surface; let’s vote for them! Ahh, but is it really more about getting votes than dealing with the island’s drug epidemic? Do you have an additional cool million plus in tax money to throw away per prisoner beyond what we spend now incarcerating these people with absolutely no expected changes in Guam’s drug crisis?

Just to be clear, drug traffickers belong in jail and those whose drugs result in deaths or injuries of others should be kept in jail as long as possible without a doubt. In the bigger picture though, in fact, there is absolutely no collaborating research at the state or federal level to support that the proposed Bill 239’s longer jail terms and harsher rules of confinement will deter or impact drug use or community safety on Guam. Actually, even capital punishment around the world for traffickers had little impact on the sales of drugs. Looking at research from the feds and on a state level, Bill 239 falls short of its intended goal, unless again, that goal is to get votes. For places with autocratic governments, this law would fit in quite nicely, such as China.

The current drug trafficker sentence on Guam is around six to ten years, depending on the circumstances, with the courts having discretion over the sentencing. Bill 239 removes the court discretion. It sets up mandatory sentencing terms, based on the quantities of meth or fentanyl that you are caught with of 20 to 30 years or life in prison for repeat offenders. There is no chance of parole, doubling or quintupling the current sentences. The courts will not be able to take exceptional circumstances into consideration. Where the heck are we and what is the goal of this bill based on research of incarnation versus rehabilitation? I want to repeat, to be clear, drug traffickers, dealers, do belong in jail and I am not advocating letting these people off, but this bill is not the way to go.

National research overall indicates that such laws with harsh prison terms rarely get at the so-called kingpins and those who are mostly disadvantaged are minorities who get caught up in these mandatory sentencing nets. Bill 239 will incentivize the use of minors and others who are financially desperate to do the dirty work to protect the connected dealers with absolutely no impact on the drug trade. Remove one lower-level person, or even a kingpin, another steps in. Longer jail terms, as noted, do not deter drug sales or use. It never has and it never will. Internationally it is noted that not even capital punishment deters drug trafficking, according to the International Review of Penal Law. This proposed vote-getting legislation does not deal with the significant issues of drug abuse mitigation in Guam. Instead it will significantly increase your tax obligations while keeping the island in the continued cloud of drug abuse and related violence.

Where are the drug rehabilitation programs? Where are the alternative sentencing programs? Where is the alternative-living residential programs? They are very limited. Eyes open, all of which are proven successful to deal with the real issues of drug abuse, as compared to prolonged jail time with no research-proven benefits and added huge costs to the taxpayers, not to mention the already crowded DOC. The alternatives to longer jail terms as mentioned are only a fraction of the costs of incarceration and are successful in dealing with the drug epidemic versus incarceration. Let us not forget, according to the American Psychological Association, 87.5 percent of people selling drugs are also users with 43 percent meeting the criteria for a substance abuse disorder.

These people need treatment.

The current costs officially to house each prisoner at DOC has not been updated in more than eleven years on Guam, but using cost of living inflation progressions, it’s estimated that it currently costs approximately $47,647.00 conservatively per year, per prisoner taking into consideration that 11 years ago the cost was officially pegged at $97.71 daily. The feds in 2022 estimated their per prisoner costs were about $42,672. With costs of living differences, Guam was in line with the feds. Also, in 2021, it was estimated by DOC’s Lt. Antone Aguon that per prisoner cost per day was $115 or almost $42,000 per year, nearly the same as the feds then, but again with inflation that would be approximately $49,464.00 today.

In any case, my point is that with Bill 239, which once again is not validated with any research to achieve its intended purpose beyond autocratic punishment, we will be adding incredibly up to 24 years to current sentencing, not to mention the life sentences the bill outlines. So, if we use 24 years as an added sentence, per Bill 239, as an example, based on my per year, per prisoner cost of $47,647, the cash strapped Guam taxpayer will be dishing out $1,143,528 per inmate. This is over one million dollars per prisoner due to Bill 239, which again will NOT decrease drug usage or sales on Guam. We are talking big bucks with no drug mitigation return. I am not even discussing the Bill 239 life in prison scenario. You can play with the numbers or challenge them as you see fit, but the taxpayers do not need this burden, especially with our current economic challenges. They need a proven successful plan for drug abuse mitigation on Guam which Bill 239 does not provide.

In contrast to this, at a fraction of the costs are proven effective treatment programs. Per the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nationally, it is stated if 10 to 15 percent of those convicted of drug charges were sent to treatment programs it would save society $48 billion per year. According to the Council of State Governments Justice Center, research consistently shows that community-based treatment can reduce drug use. Using Kansas as an example, they stated a prison sentence in 2019 cost $26,188 but an existing treatment program costs $3,143, a fraction of the cost.

Using these specific Kansas figures, treatment, which has a proven history of success, costs only about 12 percent of what prison would cost. These figures are pretty constant when comparing other studies and locations, treatment versus incarceration, with cost ratios sometimes in some places rising to 25 percent of prison costs, still a huge savings.

Extrapolating the Kansas figures for Guam, estimated costs under Bill 239 if adding 24 years to a prisoner term would be $1,143,528 total each prisoner. But if using an alternative established treatment program with proven success the cost as a rough estimate would be $137,223, a considerable savings. The yearly DOC estimated per prisoner cost of $47,647.00 would be roughly estimated to be $5,718 per year if eligible prisoners were instead put into treatment programs saving taxpayers much with a higher success rate than the proposed Bill 239 prison terms.

I am mindful that this approach of treatment versus prison will not apply to all prisoners, nor will it be successful with all, but with Bill 239 there are no alternatives in place for these prisoners except long prison terms, many of whom are disadvantaged and have families at home. Again, I am not suggesting letting them off, I am suggesting applying practical alternatives to incarceration rather than life behind bars.

This discussion does not even take into consideration the gross present crowding at DOC and the costs to build a new prison which will be exacerbated by Bill 239. It does not make sense to initiate such expensive legislation without fully justifying how it will succeed or be paid.

Bill 239 ignores the successes of alternative incarceration programs at the financial hardship and safety of the Guam taxpayers who are already suffering, while not mitigating drug abuse on island. Actually, Bill 239 does not even allow for prisoners to have work release for a decade or so, just the opposite of what the feds and research states are important as one part of rehabilitation. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has stated that well designed and implemented prison addiction and rehabilitation programs have had excellent results in reducing criminal behavior, reducing recidivism, improving employment opportunities etc. Bill 239 negates all this research. Bill 239 does not allow for redemption while in jail as we have seen often by prisoners. It is virtually a life sentence for many based on their age. No matter how much one turns their life around while in jail… sorry, you are not leaving.

Why hasn’t the legislature sponsored legislation that will put child molesters or rapist or even murderers in jail this long? Something is very wrong with a system that puts drug dealers in jail longer than those frequently meted out to armed robbers, rapist, child molesters and even some murderers. Our AG, Doug Moylan, has even asked to raise sentences for sex offenders, rightfully so, but here we are.

Bill 239 does not consider the impact of extended incarceration on children and the family. Reintegration of nonviolent prisoners through rehabilitation back to their families and into the community should be the priority. Granted, this may not apply to all who are busted for the trafficking of meth, but with Bill 239 there is absolutely no discretion to make such decisions while the taxpayer’s foot the huge bill.

In summary, I agree that drug dealers should be in jail, but Bill 239 will not impact the drug problem on Guam. It will be an enormous financial burden on the government and taxpayers while the current prison cannot manage its present population or increases in inmates. The bill does not have grounding in research at any level for success. Use the extra estimated million per prisoner that Bill 239 will cost to create community alternative sentencing and treatment programs instead of prolonged incarceration. These programs are well documented at impacting drug abuse at a fraction of the cost without autocratic mandatory mandates. Stop throwing taxpayers’ money into the wind hoping for reelection, but not dealing with the drug crises in Guam.

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David Lubofsky, Ed.D. is a resident of Tamuning.