ANOTHER SOLUTION TO THE CROWDED JAIL PROBLEM

Editor:

After a dispiriting day yesterday, planning for more of the past, at
a higher cost, a ray of hope appears. I think our county jails
committee should take the Justice Center project seriously, and
factor it into our projections of how many jail cells and courtrooms
Gila County really needs.

As I see it, a minority of Puritans, of many conflicting flavors,
have taken over our criminal justice system, under an umbrella banner
of "It's the law."

Whatever the law of the moment is, it should be enforced like the
Spanish Inquisition. Put them in jail and throw the keys away.

Finally someone, at the national level, has noted that the approach
has resulted in the U.S. having one of the highest per capita
imprisonment ratios in history, with a minimal effect on crime
reports. Plus, it is getting expensive, and we really need the money
for our next social experiment, whatever that may be.

Anyhow, the fact that someone is trying to find the most
cost-effective way to deter crime is encouraging. Also, I predict it
will be more successful than trying to control crime on the basis of
the morals of whoever happens to be in charge.

I would guess that treating drug addiction as a disease rather than a
crime would reduce our jail population more than any one change we
can make. Note that I said drug addiction, not drug dealing.

Also it appears to me that the system is not differentiating in
sentencing, but particularly in prison arrangements, between
dangerous criminals, and, shall we say, casual criminals.

As public money gets in short supply and the taxpayer becomes more
vocal about the lesser amount of his or her earnings available to
spend, there is probably a change coming.

Even with immigrants, legal or illegal, we obviously do not have
enough working people in the U.S. at the same time, we have millions
in jail who aren't really dangerous to other people, who could be
working, supplying us with goods and paying taxes, instead of being
in jail at a cost per year equal to sending them to Harvard.

We will eventually come to our senses, and we won't have so many
people in jail, and we somehow should factor this into our capital plans.

We don't want to compound our past errors by putting the citizens of
Gila County in hock for new buildings that we won't need under a new
enlightened justice system.

Dan Adams

Payson