WRONG PEOPLE ARE FILLING U.S. PRISONS

I shake my head so often at the American justice system that I could
provide wind-powered energy for a small island. One issues that has
me befuddled now is capital punishment. Is it barbaric? Perhaps we
need to focus on the victims, and ask them. Oh, that's right, they
were killed, barbarically. Their voices are no longer heard. Is it a
deterrent for crime? For that individual it certainly is. Besides, I
never thought of it as a deterrent so much as a means to make bad people dead.

I recently inquired about the local chapter for Amnesty
International, wanting to put my photojournalism skills to use in
Darfur. I was surprised to discover that one of its projects was to
send Christmas cards to death row inmates. Perhaps I'll send mine to
victims' families instead. Call me crazy, but my sympathy lies elsewhere.

Take the people imprisoned for marijuana out of harsh prisons, and
focus on violent offenders. If you ask me, I'd rather face a pot
smoker in a dark alley than a homicidal maniac. At the very worst,
I'd be attacked by a Dorito-eating "Monty Python" addict. What does
it take for bureaucrats to actually use common sense?

There are people who belong in prison, and those who don't. And, if
you need to spend money on studies to know the difference, you need
to find another job. To know the difference, look at a man or woman
behind bars for smoking marijuana and compare that to an image of
Michael Vick torturing an animal.

Mark Dickey

Northampton