BARRIERS TO EX-CONVICTS

It's encouraging that correctional facilities in Illinois are
providing prisoners with skills they'll need to reintegrate into
society after they serve their sentences [''State's 'drug prison'
steering ex-inmates from life of crime,'' metro story, Jan. 3]. But
there are still many legal obstacles that make it hard for offenders
to improve their lives once they've been released from prison.

Current laws prevent former drug offenders from accessing public
housing and food stamps, exercising their right to vote, and obtaining
financial aid to go to college. These policies create a revolving door
of recidivism and failure that make it near impossible for many
inmates to get their lives back on track.

If the criminal justice system is to be truly concerned with
rehabilitation, these barriers to self improvement must be torn down.

Tom Angell

Communications director, Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.