Wyoming ACLU Report: Reforms Could Cut Prison Population By Half

A new report  from the ACLU of Wyoming claims the state could cut its prison population by 50 percent by 2025 with a series of what the ACLU calls ''sensible reforms."

The report says the changes would save Wyoming taxpayers $166 million. You can read the full report here.

The reforms proposed in the report include expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment in the Cowboy State. The report recommends expanding Medicaid in order to improve access to mental health and addiction treatment.

Medicaid expansion has been a hot-button issue for years in the Wyoming Legislature, which has so far rejected several proposals to achieve that goal.

Other reforms in the ACLU’s report include:

• Advocating for a restorative justice model for the wider criminal justice system
• Expanding probation as the presumptive punishment for certain crimes
• Prohibiting incarceration in cases of technical violations of parole and probation
• Reducing reliance on cash bail and creating a fairer, smarter pretrial system