KEY DIFFERENCE

"Report advocates use of drug courts:" (news story, Dec. 30) mistakenly
paraphrases the final report of the Task Force on Incarceration of Women.
The story said, "Some women don't need to be in prison, according to the
report." That's wrong.

The report says, "There is wide disparity among criminal justice experts as
to the percentage of women offenders that need to be in prison to protect
the public safety." The key difference is that protection of the public is
only one reason people go to prison; the other reasons are for punishment
and retribution, and those are valid reasons that prosecutors insist that
convicts go to prison.

K.C. MOON

Oklahoma City

Moon is director of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center.