TRY TREATMENT, NOT JUST INCARCERATION

I would like to applaud Judge Gail D. Ohanesian's decision to stop the
transfer of up to 5,000 prisoners into facilities outside California
(Page 1A, Feb. 21). As a caseworker at Julian Street Inn shelter, I
work with recently released prisoners who have spent most of their
adult lives incarcerated for the crime of addiction. I have seen the
damage our punitive system has caused. In many cases, they are
released not just with an addiction but also with diagnosed mental
health and physical issues for which the taxpayers of California are
now responsible. Perhaps for the percentage of the prison population
incarcerated for substance-abuse issues, the focus should be on
treatment, rather than emphasizing the value of extreme punishment.

Marian V. Brown,

Campbell