MISSOURI PRISONS

I want to thank The Star and reporter Greg Reeves for "More serving time as
taxpayers foot the bill" (1/9, A-1). It was both informative and timely, as
we have a new governor and his new Department of Corrections director,
Larry Crawford, a former state representative.

I'm confident many Missourians would challenge them to work with the new
Republican legislature to design a plan of alternative sentencing for the
over half of the prison population who are nonviolent offenders -- people
who need to be out working, earning and paying their back child support.
How senseless to lock them up.

Surely, with all of the creative sentencing we have witnessed in recent
years nationally and the many new technological methods of monitoring
offenders, there must be alternative methods of sentencing that benefit the
offender, the family and society. Certainly, this could be true of the many
drug-related offenders.

Let's save money but also lives. I would urge The Star to do a follow-up
story on the Missouri release process, which I understand is an innovative
pilot project to transition offenders back into the community, as most all
will be re-entering our communities.

Rev. Harold Johnson

Raytown