| The number of people in jail or prison last year in West Virginia continued to rise as the USA has had its first decline in prison population numbers in nearly four decades.
The Pew Center on the States found the Mountain State experienced the highest growth rate among its prison population in 2009 at 5.1 percent.
The US has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world.
The prison population, although shrinking for the first time since 1972, has had a decline of only 0.4 percent.
Prison overpopulation problems and the associated costs is plaguing most states.
Politicians are fearful that voters will call them soft on crime.
Prisons are filling up faster than taxpayers are willing to pay to build them.
West Virginia's corrections system could face a shortage of 3,500 beds within two years.
A second state prison is estimated to cost from $100 to $200 million, but that doesn't include millions needed to operate it each year.
A recommendation for a less costly solution is to take a second look at the penalties handed out for nonviolent offenses, either reduce the penalties or set up a process where those inmates can get paroled earlier for good behavior.
Community day programs, more home confinement and work release programs could also be part of a solution.
West Virginia is now reevaluating its sentencing guidelines for nonviolent offenders. That strategy was one of the recommendations made in a report issued last year by a commission appointed by Gov. Joe Manchin.
A pool of 900 to 1,000 inmates will be eligible for accelerated parole under a new program, said Jim Rubenstein, director of the West Virginia Division of Corrections.
It costs West Virginia $26,500 a year to incarcerate the average male inmate, but medical costs sometimes significantly add to the bill.
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