INNOCENT IN JAIL

Re the Feb. 15 letter, "Kosher inmates": Implied in the letter writer's
assertion that criminals deserve no special treatment is the assumption
that if you are in jail, you must be guilty. Unfortunately our criminal
justice system is far too corrupt for that assumption to be valid.

At least 20 percent of inmates are jailed for actions that would never be
considered crimes in a rational system, crimes with no victims. An unknown
number of others are railroaded into pleading guilty to things they did not
do to avoid unconstitutionally applied alternate penalties, such as having
their children taken from them or devastating property forfeitures.

Michael Kerner, Lenexa, Kansas