REVIEW SENTENCING LAWS

With one in every 100 American adults incarcerated, is it any wonder
that our schools and other social services are in need of funds?
Nationwide, there are budget deficits existing everywhere.

Our "tough on crime" policies for the past 20 years have boomeranged,
and instead we have "dumb on crime" policies. We are no safer than
ever before but we are a lot poorer.

It is time for our legislators to scrutinize some of our mandatory
sentencing laws as well as our programs that are supposed to
rehabilitate those who have been under the austere custody of the
corrections department once, twice and, yes, three times and still
returned to prison. It seems that instead of educating, treating or
training them in marketable job skills, they have been simply
warehoused and set up to fail.

Jody Weller,

Portland