U.S. IS LOST

Thanks for publishing Grace Ivey's thoughtful letter:
Jail is not the answer (March 4). I'd like to add that if tough on
crime and tough on drugs policies worked, the idealistic goal of a
crime free and drug free America would have been reached a long time
ago. It has not.

Instead of providing health care for its citizens, the United States
is the most incarcerated nation in the history of human civilization.
About one out of every four prisoners in the world is locked in an
American jail or prison, even though we have fewer than five per cent
of the world's population. My advice to Canada and the rest of the
world is to carefully observe U.S. drug and crime policies, then do
the opposite. Don't follow us -- we're lost.

Kirk Muse,

Mesa, Ariz.