Pubdate: Tue, 09 Jun 1998
Source: Wisconsin State Journal
Contact:    http://www.madison.com/index.html

TRUTH IN SENTENCING GIVES INMATES NO HOPE

I am confined at the Oakhill Correctional Institutiuon, and I'm writing in
response to all those who are under the impression that truth in sentencing
is a grand idea.

Being incarcerated, I witness the anger and frustration and feel the
tension among the inmates here, even though the bill does not affect them.

With truth in sentencing, inmates will have nothing to lose, therefore,
complying with policies and orders will not readily happen. Assaults will
rise against inmates as well as staff.

The prison system is crowded and frustrations are at an all-time high.
Truth in sentencing will inevitably increase those frustrations.

This is a $300-million bill that you, the public, are not acknowledging in
your zeal to rid the world of the criminal elements that are so prevalent.
Try as you may, Wisconsin cannot incarcerate the world, yet the public does
not question the expenditures by the state in the building of prisons and
not schools, the overzealousness to incarerate instead of educate.

Dave Harris, Oregon

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