From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Will broken state budgets mean prison reform?

Hello again, I'm Aronaldi, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

The daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

The U.S.

has more people in prison than any place in the world. China's a distant second, but the crackdowns

costing more than states can afford. Collective debt is at $100 billion. Even hardcore

conservative support reforms in sentencing, parole, and probation. After 20 years of tough-on-crime

legislation, recent evidence shows less

expensive alternatives work. But it's also true that imprisonment keeps criminals off the street.

Will the financial crisis produce real reform or temporary savings that risk public safety?

On reporter's notebook, the remains of an American combat casualty have been identified 18 years later.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine

T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to the idea

that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. Information at

Gates Foundation.org. Hello again, Warren. I'll be back with To the Point. Forget about being

labeled as soft-on crime. States all over the country are cutting back on prisons. A 20-year crackdown has contributed to a $100 billion financial shortfall. Are there cheaper alternatives that still protect public safety? Will the crisis lead to real reform? On reporter's notebook, the remains of an American casualty of Operation Desert Storm have been identified after 18 years, but questions remain. How did he die? Why has it taken so long to find him? First, this news update. Iran's supreme leader has formally approved a second presidential term for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but important officials boycotted the ceremony and was broadcast only on state-run TV.

Borghude Araaghi is reporting from Beirut-Lebanon for the Los Angeles Times.

Always good, Borghue, to have you on our program.

It's my pleasure.

...