STEWART COULD BE USEFUL ON PENAL REFORM

The Oklahoman Editorial Few folks in public life are more open to ridicule
these days -- and particularly, this holiday season -- than Martha Stewart.
The doyenne of domesticity is doing time at a federal prison in West
Virginia for lying about a stock sale. Stewart spends her days with 1,200
newfound female friends, apparently doing the kind of mundane chores that
won't lend themselves to TV shows, magazine covers or paid appearances.
Still, her time in prison could be useful upon release, if what she writes
on her Web site is any indication.

"I beseech all of you to think about these women -- to encourage the
American people to ask for reforms, both in sentencing guidelines, in
length of incarceration for nonviolent first-time offenders, and for those
involved in drug-taking," Stewart writes on www.marthatalks.com.

Most of these women, she says, would be "much better served in a true
rehabilitation center," where they would have education programs and ways
to prepare for life "out there" when released.

Stewart writes of crimes that fall under federal laws, but just as easily
could be referencing laws in many states, including Oklahoma, where
incarceration rates for women are among the highest in the country.

One doesn't have to agree with Stewart's views on crime and punishment to
acknowledge that alternatives to traditional incarceration are worth
exploring in certain cases. We'll see if Stewart keeps up this fight when
she returns home early next year.