Pubdate: Tue, 04 Mar 2008
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2008 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/info/letters/index.html
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Grace Ivey

JAIL IS NOT THE ANSWER

I thought it ironic that on the day the House of Commons sent the 
crime bill for royal assent, NBC news reported that the United States 
jailed the highest number of prisoners per capita in the world. One 
in every 100 United States adults is incarcerated. This comes at a 
time when we have decided to follow the U.S. example, which means 
building more jails rather than spending on prevention. Mandatory 
sentencing is part of the problem. It ties the judges' hands when 
they are not allowed to take into consideration all the facts of a 
case before deciding the sentence.

I believe we have just taken a huge step backwards in passing the 
crime bill. The war on crime should be changed to the war on poverty. 
That would do more to lower the crime rate than building prisons.

GRACE IVEY

Winnipeg
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