The state's overcrowded prisons are a driving force behind the report, which is the result of more than a year of study by the S.C. Sentencing Reform Commission.

"I wouldn't say it's the number one reason, but it's an issue," said Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, the commission chairman. "In order to continue on the path we're headed, we're going to have to build more prisons, and we don't have the funds to do that."

The commission hopes its recommendations ensure public safety by sending high-risk, violent offenders to jail for longer terms, Malloy said. At the same time, the state will need to lessen the prison time for other crimes.

The commission also will recommend that the state beef up its Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services to better supervise criminals once they are released from prison.

The commission will present draft legislation based on the report, Malloy said. And, he is determined to get those bills passed this session.

"No one thought we would get to this point," Malloy said. "People had a pessimistic view of what our success could be. It will have great success in the Legislature if we approach it with the goal of solving a problem."

The challenge will be finding money in a strapped state budget to implement some of the recommendations, especially those centering on alternative sentences and better parole supervision.

"There's no doubt they're trying to save money by saying, 'Let's lock up the people who need to be locked up and let others out,'" said Laura Hudson, executive director of the S.C. Crime Victims Council. "The only problem is alternative sentencing actually costs money."

Hudson said some of the suggestions might relieve overcrowded prisons. But she doubts the committee's efforts will prevent the state from having to build a new prison in the near future.

"The real answer to this is to build a new prison," Hudson said.

Jon Ozmint, director of the S.C. Department of Corrections, said the commission does not want to let more people out of prison for the sole reason of saving money.

"This is an attempt to allow South Carolina to be smarter at sentencing," he said.

The sentencing committee evolved from a 2007 legislative task force that reviewed the state's entire criminal justice system. That group wanted to reform sentencing laws but realized the huge undertaking needed its own commission.

OVERCROWDING

Ozmint and others said overcrowded prisons were not the driving reason behind the newest commission's work. But, multiple documents generated by the commission cite an increasing prison population as a problem.

In December, 24,154 people were incarcerated in state prisons. That's more than triple the number of people who were in prison 30 years ago.

The corrections department's overall inmate population is over capacity at maximum and medium security prisons.

And, South Carolina uses prison instead of probation as a punishment more than most states. In South Carolina, 46 percent of offenders are in jail, while 54 percent are on probation or parole. Nationally, states average 30 percent in prison and 70 percent on some type of supervised release, according to commission research.

The incarceration rate has come at a cost. In 2009, the state spent $14,545 to house each inmate. That's a 19 percent increase per inmate since 1988, according to the corrections department.

Prison populations are increasing because more people are sentenced for drug possession, Malloy said. Research shows that in 1980, there were 473 inmates in South Carolina prisons because of drug charges. Last year, there were 4,682 - a fifth of the entire prison population.

There are other contributing factors, including longer sentences for people who commit crimes with firearms and a law that requires more violent offenders to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.

No one is arguing that violent offenders should be given more leniency, Malloy said. But there are some people going to prison who could be punished in more effective ways, he said.

TOP CRIMES

The list of top 10 crimes that send people to the state's prisons includes driving with a suspended license, shoplifting and forgery, Malloy said.

"Those are the things that are filling our prisons," he said.

For now, the commission has a list of recommendations that were developed by three work groups. The longest list of suggested changes came from the group looking at sentencing laws.

Among those changes are re-classifying 24 crimes as violent. Many of those crimes involve sex offenses, such as promoting prostitution of a minor.

The proposals also would strike some antiquated laws, such as "killing by poison" from the books.

"What does that really mean? Murder," Malloy said. "Killing by duel? What is that? The same thing."

The sentencing reform commission began meeting last February. Those involved have said it is one of the hardest-working commissions they have ever seen at the State House.

As importantly, the commission got something every commission would certainly love to have: a Pew Center on the States grant, which gave them access to experts who can crunch numbers.

Those experts gathered data from the state agencies, including Probation, Parole and Pardon. They created a database and computer models that could help predict the outcome of any changes to the sentencing laws, said Katherine Wells, a Senate staff attorney who worked with the commission.

When commission members wanted to know if a simple word change would add to the prison population, Pew analysts entered numbers into a computer model and within minutes determined that would not increase inmate population, Wells said.

The commission also hopes its suggestions for alternative sentencing will reduce the number of people who end up back in prison, Ozmint said.

Violent criminals who spend years behind bars do better upon release when they are processed through work-release programs, Ozmint said. A man who goes through those programs can leave prison with job experience and money.

"The evidence shows the recidivism rate is reduced if you put him through a step-down program," Ozmint said. "It's intuitive, but our policies don't reflect that."

Malloy is intent on his commission's producing results. Stakeholders ranging from victims' advocates, prosecutors, defense attorneys and police all have provided input. And the commission is bipartisan, with members from the House and Senate.

Ozmint, who has led corrections for seven years, said the commission is a first for his career.

"It's the first time I've seen anything like that in South Carolina," he said. "It's the first time I've seen a sentencing commission that was interested in facts and being smarter and not just anecdotes."