PRISON GROWTH SHAMEFUL

I take issue with the July 23 Herald-Leader's front-page article that
gleefully stated two new prisons will ``invigorate'' Kentucky's
economy. The human encagement industry is big business in the land of
the free. This country is the world's largest per-capita imprisoner
of its own people, and although the United States represents a
fraction of the world's population, we house one-fourth of the
world's prisoners.

More than 60 percent of federal prisoners are non-violent drug
offenders, and most have black or brown skin. The article quoted a
judge as saying, ``The community doesn't have to put anything in, but
we're getting all this benefit.'' He seems to overlook the obvious
fact that his community will be putting in the prisoners. For every
new job that someone in the community gets, there will be two from
the community housed as inmates.

The expense for the prison was listed as $32 million to house a
measly 1,000 prisoners, most of whom will be in for petty drug
offenses.

It is truly sickening to see human enslavement become part of the
Fortune 500. Private prison firms are selling prison labor to
organizations for profit, while paying the prisoner a token fee for
``voluntary'' work.

Freedom from imprisonment should not be taken lightly. As these new
prison labor camps open for business, they will have to round up
customers. When you build a prison, you have to drag someone from
their home and shackle them to get their business.

Bill Harper

Lexington