The RALEIGH, N.C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER U, 1990 VOL 40. NO. 92 S o & . o e» & 'IzT'l' O DEDICATED TO TH6^ o-.o, \**v •£> ,S1Z was set Sept. a. Thai’s the first time the prison population has ever been above 18,888. The average daily prioan population In the state’s 88 prisons during September was 18,788, a new Ms. t-nyut* u«k tufctaat Vies PrasMaat rownve venmrvu^^ / Citizens.onder Amphitheater Location From wuwmwmw own Tentative plans are underway to construct an amphitheater in Southeast Raleigh that have citizens pnn citing Crabtree Valley Mall emerging as “the latest metaphor for racism in Raleigh” (see page 4). The NAACP statement read: “During the Crabtree Valley mall controversy, it was stated that some of the present City Council members do not believe that there is a problem of racism in the City of Raleigh. II there were not racism in Raleigh, the Crabtree Valley Mall controversy would not have developed. If there were not racism in Raleigh, Afro Americans would be better represented in the administrative positions for the City of Raleigh. “By removing the chairman, it seems as if some of the City Council members have hid their heads in the sand and sincerely believe that the citizens of Raleigh will permit them to keep the Crabtree Valley Mall issue alive. This is mentioned because Dr. Cooper, as head of the commission, had just appointed a steering committee of the commis sion to tackle the charges of racism surrounding Crabtree Valley Mall. “A mistake in judgment was made (See NAACP, P. 2) iiimiiirai 1111%, CkmiiiniiiHiiflhiifai Next week, the Martin Luther King Memorial will be transformed into an oasis of more than 5,000 trees, shrubbery and flowering plants. The botanical gardens project reportedly grew out of a desire of the local King holiday planning committee to construct a permanent memorial to the civil rights movement in the community. Committee member and Raleigh Mayor Pro-Tern Ralph Camp bell, Jr. stated, “Each year, as we celebrated the life and work of Dr. King, it became very apparent that we needed to do more; Hie King Gardens, now a reality, is a daily reminder for thousands of people to how much the movement has impacted our society." x Thursday. Oct. 18, at l a.m„ the committee will host its Tree and Flower Planting Ceremony. James F. Goodmon, president of Capitol Broadcasting Co., local clergy, city and county officials and civic leaders will showcase the installation of the garden’s plants. Com munity residents are invited to attend the ceremony. j Bruce Ughtner, chairman of the King Committee, stated. “We’ve worked hard during the past two years to get to this point. By the end of next week everyone will bear witness to the most beautifuU public park of its kind anywhere In the world. Jim Goodmon and the people at Capitol Broadcasting, by donating the needed trees and plants, is truly an example of being excellent corporate citixens to the com munity.” Also participating in the ceremony will be a class from Poe Elementary School to present and plant 1M tulip bulbs which will • (See KING MEMORIAL, P. 2) More Prisons Planned Johnson Urges Vote On Bonds BY AARON J. JOHNSON Secretary, N.C. Department of Correction An Analysis When North Carolinians got together and discuss the $200 million prison construction bond referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot, the question is often asked, “Can we afford to spend $200 million to build new prisons? 1 believe this is the wrong question to be asked. What we should really be asking ourselves is can we afford t o not build new prisons? The events of the past few years suggest that we can’t. The people of North Carolina have already paid a high price because >f past leaders' failure to maintain a North Carolina’s prison system has been tragically reduc ed to a revolving door where an inmate must be released for each new admission into prison. Prisoners are now serving just a fraction of their sentences. correctional system that is legally defensible. I am not just referring (o the money we have already speni on construction, approximately $200 million for 5,500 prison beds in the past five years. I am referring to the hidden costs of neglect. The lack of adequate prison capaci ty has meant shorter prison terms for criminals. Nor*h Carolina’s prison system has been tragically reduced to a revolving door where an inmate must be released for each new admis sion into prison. Criminals are now serving just a fraction of their original sentence, only 29 percent for felons and 14 percent for misde meanants. This translates to jus< is months for the average felon and 40 days for the average misdemeanant Knowing that prison overcrowding pressures are likely to push them out of prison, criminals are manipulai mg the criminal justice system. They arc (See PRISONS, P. 2)