As a fiscal conservative, doesn't it bother you that the huge expense of longer prison sentences doesn't correlate to increased public safety?  As a human, doesn't it bother you that when charged with the same offense, non-whites are far more likely to be incarcerated than whites, and they serve longer sentences?

Accountable government should work in this way:
1. The legislature should craft statutes that clearly define mission, scope, and core services
2. The responsible agency should execute the mission and deliver the core services efficiently
3. The legislature should ensure sufficient funds are allocated for #2.  If funding is being decreased (our current reality), the legislature should modify the statutes to decrease the scope of the mission in a manner that still allows the agency accomplish #2.

I applaud Coghill and Josephson their efforts. There are pilot programs around the country; we should steal concepts from those with proven results.