TOO MANY SENT TO PRISON HERE

Our country is in the midst of an orgasmic celebration of violent power
turned on the criminal. In 1970 the United States had fewer than 200,000
inmates. There are now about 1.8 million.

This is the highest rate in the Western world and is some six times greater
than that of most industrialized nations. The state of Alabama alone holds
more inmates, whether incarcerated or on work release, parole, or
probation, than Great Britain, Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands combined.

What accounts for our massive and anomalous drive to incarcerate our
citizens? It's not simply a response to rising crime. Statistics inform us
that the crime rate has declined for six straight years. Still our prison
population increases.

It's hard not to see racial dimension. Fully, one-third of black men
between 20 and 29 are caught up in the criminal justice system. If you're
black in the United States you're eight times more likely to end up in
prison than if white. Or to put the figures in perspective, our country
jails its blacks at a rate four-fold greater than South Africa under apartheid.

Alabama spends more than $280 million a year on housing and feeding
inmates. What if you took the $10,000 or more it takes to incarcerate one
person and used that instead for education, drug treatment, family
counseling and job training? Instead, Gov. Riley wants to raise our taxes.

G. Bradley Appeldorn

Harvest