ROLE OF FED PRISONS

In reply to Jannie Smith's letter I would like to set the record
straight. The federal laws and the bureaucracy which Smith alludes to are
only changed and enacted by Congress, which in turn has members and
representatives elected by the citizens every two years. That is where she
needs to look first if she does not like the current sentencing guidelines
and the prison bureaucracy she obviously loathes. Every man and woman in
this country has a right to vote.

In addition, state sentencing guidelines, drug courts and other measures
are not the gauge by which the federal government enforces laws. Would
anyone like to give a crack cocaine dealer an alternative measure of home
confinement so he can continue to sell crack to our youth?

He would not have to leave home. All he needs is a telephone, a delivery
system and runners. He would be considered a non-violent prisoner.

The federal Bureau of Prisons is not an industry; correctional institutions
are built to avoid overcrowding and inhumane treatment or conditions. Many
of the institutions built have been in the planning for as long as 10
years; it is not a spur-of-the-moment matter, but part of a careful and
meticulous process in which environmental impact studies and meetings with
community members are common. A close look shows that state correctional
systems do have overcrowding and other maladies that come with the lack of
vision or strategic planning. And they turn to guidance from the federal
government. The mission of the Bureau of Prisons is the care, custody and
confinement of felons and convicted offenders in a humane setting.

It is not designed to increase the pay of its employees.

That pay is set by Congress -- the same as other federal employees. In
addition, inmates are required to work, educate themselves, pay their
court-imposed restitution or fines and pay a cost-of-incarceration
fee. Furthermore, they are allowed visits from relatives; it is not isolation.

Although it is not a free ride, humane aspects are kept so every person
retains his or her dignity.

Perhaps Smith would benefit from a guided tour of any local Bureau of
Prisons facility in Louisiana. She would then meet those whose

selfless devotion and impeccable integrity set them apart from others in
the field of corrections.

The public's safety is paramount in the field of corrections, and many men
and women risk their lives daily so citizens are safe at home and able to
write diatribes against them. Some have paid with the ultimate
sacrifice. It is called duty, honor and service to one's country.

Carlos V. Rivera
Alexandria