LET'S BE TOUGHER ON INMATES

In typical fashion, the Journal Sentinel disappoints with a Feb. 22
editorial about prison spending. Editors always seek the easy answer.

It's simply wrong to say that lawmakers lack the courage to stop
making the criminal code harsher. What we lack is the courage to truly
punish lawbreakers. Instead, we provide a comfortable environment for
inmates, including cable television, fitness equipment and other
creature comforts that many law-abiding citizens don't have.

We hope to "correct" their character flaws by treating them as poor
victims of societal shortcomings.

Several years ago, I heard a compelling dinner speaker explain what's
wrong with our justice system. This man had passed forged financial
instruments all over the world, was eventually caught and spent three
years in a French prison. That experience was so terrible that upon
release he vowed never to engage in behavior that might result in his
return. He cited French recidivism rates that are a small fraction of
ours.

We'll stop building prisons when we have the courage to make a
Wisconsin prison stay an experience that released inmates vow never to
repeat.

Only bad people do bad things, and imposing real punishment will deter
them and ultimately reduce our tax burden.

James J. Foster