By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-890630.mp3
LANSING, MI – The state Senate corrections budget subcommittee is scheduled to meet this week at the state Capitol. The budget for the Department of Corrections is expected to be one of the most hotly debated budgets this year.
Senate Republicans have positioned themselves for a stand-off with Governor Granholm over funding for the Department of Corrections. They say misplaced efforts to save money are jeopardizing public safety.
GOP Senator Alan Cropsey oversees the Senate corrections budget. He says 12,000 rape kits that have been neglected in Detroit since the mid-1990s will continue to collect dust under the governor's budget.
"Justice delayed is justice denied. Unfortunately with this governor's budget, she's asking that there be further delays," Cropsey says.
Cropsey says a proposal to reduce funding for crime-lab overtime pay is a key problem with Granholm's budget plan. Cropsey also doesn't like the governor's proposal to release thousands of prisoners early for good behavior. He says prisoners should have to serve at least the minimum number of years they were sentenced.