FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: August 6, 2007
CONTACT: Bob Walsh (702) 486-2436

Prison Management Questioned in Secretary of State's Letter to Governor

Secretary Miller Cites Board of Prisons' Failure to Meet; Says Overcrowding Requires Consideration of Alternatives, Including "Tent City" Facilities

Carson City, NV – Prison overcrowding, early releases of felons to relieve overcrowding, and a physical infrastructure crumbling under the weight of overcrowded facilities are all issues that are overdue to be addressed by Nevada's Board of State Prison Commissioners according to Secretary of State Ross Miller. Miller, a member of the board along with Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Governor Jim Gibbons, today sent a letter to Governor Gibbons calling for a long overdue meeting of that body. Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 209.101 (2) states that the head of the Department is the Board of State Prison Commissioners.

The Board of State Prison Commissioners last met in July 2006, nearly six months before Governor Gibbons took office. As governor, Gibbons is the president of the three-person board which, according to NRS 209.111, "has, among other responsibilities, full control of all grounds, buildings, labor, and property of the Department." Since 2004, the Board has held only 3 meetings.

"The statutory authority granted to the Board to address the management of the system can be met only through regular discussion and consideration of policy and ongoing oversight," said Miller in the letter. "I support setting a regular schedule for future meetings just as is done for the Board of Examiners, the Board of Transportation, and other statutory boards."

As a former prosecutor, Secretary Miller recognizes the importance of strict enforcement of sentences, but also recognizes the need to bring some ideas to the board that would facilitate the reduction of the prison population. "It is the Board's duty to provide direction and to consider incarceration alternatives such as a tent city or other options that ensure sentences are fully served," said Miller.