THIS IS PUNISHMENT?

The April 26 article about the medical facilities within the prison system
was good reading until near the end, when they talked about a program to
teach inmates how to bleach needles used for injecting illegal drugs into
their system. As for the inmates who are addicted to opiates and heroin,
they are offered methadone treatment so they can legally continue using drugs.

What do we have prisons for? I thought it was for punishment, but
undoubtedly I am mistaken.

If a person is sentenced to a federal penitentiary (one has to be sentenced
to a two-year term for this privilege) and enters the system all cranked up
on drugs, then it would seem appropriate to put him or her through a rigid
withdrawal program. It would be very unpleasant for the individual, but a
worthy effort. To be sent to prison for a felony conviction and then
offered free drugs through an existing drug program is futile, and
definitely not conducive to any form of rehabilitation.

Methadone clinics in federal penitentiaries should be disallowed and no
matter what security level these institutions are classified as, there will
always be a steady supply of drugs available.

In some cases, when the streets are dry of drugs, drugs are sent out of
prison to the street. That may be hard to accept, but it happens and as
long as there is a market inside for illicit drugs, there will be
individuals ready to finance that need.

Eddie Greenfield, Dartmouth