Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 Source: Tennessean, The (TN) Copyright: 2003 The Tennessean Contact: http://www.tennessean.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447 Author: Richard Romfh RESERVE PRISON CELLS FOR VIOLENT OFFENDERS To the Editor: A judge recently sentenced Sam Waksal, CEO of ImClone, to 87 months in prison and ordered him to pay $3 million in fines for insider trading. The fines, I agree with: The prison sentence, I don't. Prisons should be used to isolate violent criminals from the rest of society. Yet some violent criminals are sentenced to less hard time than Sam Waksal. Also, our prisons hold too many nonviolent offenders, including recreational drug users and white-collar criminals. We would be better off sentencing nonviolent criminals to community service. Sam Waksal, an astute businessman, could be sentenced to 87 months helping and teaching proprietors of struggling businesses, perhaps in our minority communities, to improve sales, services, and efficiency. Fewer inmates means relief for our overburdened prison systems at a savings of taxpayer dollars. Those who break parole could find themselves back in prison with even longer sentences. With today's technology, nonviolent criminals could live at home and pay their own upkeep. The savings could be used to fund more parole officers to monitor those sentenced to community service. This arrangement would benefit the entire community: the prison system, taxpayers, nonviolent criminals, and struggling businesses and their customers. Richard Romfh Nashville - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom