Prison system underfunded

Even with low funding, South Carolina's prison system is well maintained.

A recent audit of the state prison system might not vindicate the Department of Corrections entirely, as its director Jon Ozmint claims. But it once again indicates that the prison system is doing a good job under difficult circumstances.

State lawmakers asked the Legislative Audit Commission last year to review the operation of the prison system after a number of accusations about mismanagement had surfaced. The report, issued earlier this month, was mostly positive for the Corrections Department, finding no serious problems regarding most of the accusations.

Criticism had included charges of favoritism in hiring, poor handling of escapes and a 2006 hostage situation in which a prison employee was raped, and gripes about the free home given Ozmint, a perk few other states provide. While auditors noted that Ozmint's home should be sold, they said that won't be done because the house is on prison property and near nine prisons. Selling it, said the report, would be difficult even in good economic times.

In all, the audit offered 19 recommendations. Ozmint said in an official statement that his department already is in compliance with nine of them and hopes to comply with six more in the near future.

The audit found that the ratio of inmates to guards appears to be 6-to-1 instead of 9-to-1 as often claimed. But even the lower level is higher than the average among Southern states.

That figure might be a better indicator of problems with the state's prison system than accusations about perks or patronage. In addition to having one of the highest inmate-to-guard ratios in the region, the state also has the lowest-cost prison system in the nation.

With the recent imposition of a 7 percent across-the-board budget cuts for state agencies, the prison system is operating with a $36 million deficit. Prison facilities are in desperate need of maintenance, prison pay is low, and inmates work on prison farms to raise crops and livestock used to help reduce the cost of their meals.

The audit might have discovered some ways in which to improve or streamline the agency's operation. Considering the lack of essential funding, however, perhaps residents should be thankful the prison system operates as well as it does.