HELP INMATES CALL HOME

To the Editor:

Re "New York State Earns Top Dollar From Collect Calls by Its Inmates"
(front page, Nov. 30): It should be no surprise that New York - or any
other state - is profiting at the expense of inmates. Many states now view
their poorest, least informed, most entrapped residents as a revenue source.

States, which have a duty to educate and inform people, instead encourage
them to waste their money on lotteries.

And the recent tobacco industry settlement includes a huge tax on
cigarettes, which only gives the states a stake in people smoking.

The states should be encouraging people to invest and to quit smoking. They
also should make it as easy as possible for inmates to maintain the
civilizing effect of talking with their families.

Stephen Hessler, Ridgewood, N.J., Dec. 1, 1999