PRISON NUMBERS ARE ASTONISHING IN THE U.S.

I'm writing about Connie Kraft's outstanding letter: "Priorities for
sentencing guidelines out of line" (June 29).

I'd like to add that it seems crazy and insane that someone who kills
a child gets less time in prison than someone who is caught owning or
selling to another adult citizen the wrong (politically selected)
recreational drugs. (Note that Viagra is legal, but marijuana is not).

Note that tobacco, which kills more than 400,000 Americans each year
is legal, but marijuana is not. We have people who are serving life in
prison without the possibility of parole for growing or selling
marijuana. Marijuana is a natural herb that has never been documented
to kill a single person in the 5,000- year history of its use.

Life in prison is the same sentence that Terry Nichols received for
killing 168 people in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Thanks primarily to our counterproductive war on drugs, the United
States is the most incarcerated nation on the planet and in history.
Even though we have fewer than 5 percent of the world's population, we
now have more than 25 percent of the world's prisoners.

In other words, one out of every four prisoners in the world is locked
in an American jail or prison. This deserves our shame and outrage -
certainly not our pride.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.