Congratulations on your June 1 article concerning America's skyrocketing prison population and the high price we are now paying for it ("As prisons fill to record levels, questions arise"). In addition to the information contained in your article, I would also like to point out a few additional facts that I believe are important for your readers (and our political leaders) to be aware of: The Department of Justice estimates that about 75 percent of those in prison today were involved with drugs or alcohol prior to their arrest, many for simply having drugs in their possession. [continues 171 words]
As a professional in the treatment of drug addicts, I couldn't agree more with Neal Peirce's Jan. 6 column, "How many (ex-)prisoners is a recession worth?" on the fallacy of incarcerating people for minor drug law violations instead of providing them with the treatment they need to break free of their addictions and become useful members of society. Not only can we no longer afford the cost of keeping 2 million people in prison, but history has proved time and time again that simply putting people in prison seldom works. [continues 149 words]
