Josh Marquis Op-Ed From The Oregonian: Debunking Myths About Measure 11

I n 1994 Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed Measure 11. An effort to repeal the law in 2000 was rejected by a resounding 75 percent of voters. You'd think the message would be clear: Oregonians want there to be truth in sentencing. Still, opponents of the law want to take another swipe.
Oregonians are again facing an onslaught of propaganda that seeks to persuade us to believe several myths, frightful urban legends that have been pressed in many a newspaper editorial, including in The Oregonian.
First myth: Measure 11 squanders our children's future by turning Oregon into a penal colony. We spend more money locking up people than educating them. One recent study by the Pew Center found that Oregon spends more money on prisons than higher ed -- more than any other state.
The truth: About 58 cents of every state tax dollar funds education (K through higher education), and about 9 cents funds our corrections departments and facilities. Barely 2 of those 9 cents are spent on Measure 11 offenders. The Pew Center study included the nearly quarter-billion dollars the state of Oregon spends to fund local probation -- a cost that's picked up by municipalities and counties in most other states -- and it didn't include the state's support of Oregon Health & Science University or its many community colleges.....For Complete Article Click On Title Above.