PRISON ABUSE IN U.S.

In response to your thoughtful May 23 editorial "America's Prisons: You
don't have to look to Abu Ghraib to see a system prone to inhumane
practices": I'd like to add that the United States is now the most
incarcerated nation on the planet and in history. Even though we have fewer
than 5 percent of the world's population, we have more than 25 percent of
the world's prisoners. This deserves our shame and outrage. The prisoner
abuse in Iraq is unique because it was photographed. To think the same
thing or worse doesn't happen here is naive.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.