Indiana governor backs prisoner plan

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has endorsed the findings of a sweeping review of the state's criminal code and sentencing guidelines, saying its recommendations if enacted would hold down the growth of the state's prison population and save taxpayers money.

Daniels joined lawmakers and a researcher from the Pew Center on the States at his Statehouse office Wednesday as he gave the report his "strongest endorsement" in passing its suggested changes onto the General Assembly.

Pew Center researcher Richard Jerome said Indiana's prison population soared about 40 percent in the past decade to the current 29,000 inmates — a rate more than three times faster than adjacent states. He said future growth would be lower if Indiana revises drug and theft sentencing laws to reserve prison space for its worst offenders.