PRISON GOOD SPOT TO PUT CRIMINALS

Louisiana's criminal justice system came under fire this week at an
international gathering of human rights activists in New Orleans. Speakers
at the 54th annual conference of the International Association of Official
Human Rights Agencies used Louisiana's per capita incarceration rate -- the
highest in the nation for both adults and juveniles -- as a springboard for
decrying inequities in criminal justice systems everywhere.

Prison conditions were among many issues discussed during the conference.
Others included racial and ethnic profiling, environmental racism, fair
housing and fair lending practices, and balancing homeland security with
human rights protections.

The nonprofit, based in Washington, D.C., operates as a clearinghouse for
human rights agencies around the world and helps develop programs for
eliminating illegal discrimination in employment, housing, education,
public accommodations, public services and commercial transactions.

Human rights abuses are not to be tolerated, either within the United
States or abroad, and basic human rights apply to convicted thugs and
law-abiding citizens alike. That said, we take exception with what we
perceive as one of the undercurrents of the recent IAOHRA gathering: that
prisons are inherently bad.

"We as a society believe we can lock away our undesirables and solve all
our problems. I'm of the opinion you can't," said Vincent Wilkins Jr.,
former acting director of the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender's
Office, at the conference. Wilkins now serves as a staff attorney for the
public defender's office in the District of Columbia.

The fact that a serial killer has been brutally murdering innocent women
throws some cold, hard reality in our collective faces. There are evil
people in the world who deserve to be locked away. Prisons are a good place
for them.

Louisiana lawmakers moved to reduce the state's high incarceration rate in
2001 when they passed SB239 by Charles Jones, D-Monroe.

Signed by Gov. Mike Foster, the bill lets judges use probation and
suspended sentences to punish nonviolent criminals convicted of theft,
simple possession of small amounts of drugs, bribery and prostitution
charges. The new law also shortens mandatory jail time for some drug
convictions.

In moving to reduce the per capita incarceration rate, lawmakers hoped to
cut prison costs by up to $60 million a year. Spending taxes efficiently is
important; so is protecting society from aggressive, violent wrongdoers.