A pair of key Texas lawmakers have issued a call for increased investment in drug treatment and rehabilitation rather than building new prisons, a potentially major shift in approach in a state known for its "lock-em-up" mentality, the Houston Chronicle reported Nov. 27.

State Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) and Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Plano), leaders of the legislature's criminal-justice committees, said that the answer to Texas' prison overcrowding is not to build more prisons. "Prison should not be the first option for nonviolent offenders," said Whitmore. Added Madden: "We have to be smart on crime. I think a lot of members agree with that, both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals."

The Texas prison population in October topped 154,000, above capacity despite a 20-year prison-building binge by the state. Unabated, the state could add another 11,000 prisoners to its rolls in the next five years, experts said.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice wants to spend $440 million to build three new prisons, including one that would be privately run, and lay out another $72 million annually to operate the facilities. Instead, Whitmire and Madden want to offer parole to more nonviolent offenders and spend more money on addiction treatment to prevent recidivism; 59 percent of state prisoners are chemically dependent, studies show, but only 5 percent get treatment. "We have largely eliminated alcohol and drug treatment from prison systems," Whitmire said.

Repeat DWI offenders are one group that would be better to treat than lock up with violent criminals, Whitmire said, adding that boosting the number of treatment beds would allow prisons to release offenders who have been ordered to attend addiction programs but can't get admitted to programs because of long waiting lists.

Texas victims-rights advocates worried that the proposals could lead to a revolving door for prisoners, but Marc Levin, director of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for Effective Justice, cited an "alliance on both the right and the left" that "we need to do something besides build more prisons."