LEGALIZE MORE THINGS

Editor: Build it, and they will come. That might not be true for industrial
parks, but it surely is for jails. Just ask our county commissioners.
Now consultant Steve Allan wants the commissioners to envision a future
facility that will house a thousand inmates.

Sheriff (David) Grice said that felons make up a majority of the
current jail population, but that some of the inmates who cause him
the most "grief" are misdemeanants.

Even the most milquetoast among us can become a savage creature when
deprived of his freedom. And savagery is contagious. A thousand human
beings caged are more dangerous than a thousand hungry lions running
loose. Your Nov. 12 editorial agonized over why the number of inmates
increased by 54 percent over a period of six years. Let me make it
simple for you: There are too many things that are illegal.

If people could grow marijuana in their front yards the way they now
grow tomatoes, Sheriff Grice would find himself commiserating with the
Maytag repairman.

Barney W. Hill

Thomasville