DRUG WAR A WASTE

It's hard to pay taxes when you know the money is wasted.

Some 55 percent of federal prisoners serve mandatory minimum drug sentences,
which are determined solely by the weight and type of drug or the presence
of a firearm during a felony offense. Nearly 88 percent are non-violent
offenders, and a majority are drug abusers. Yet five-, 10- and 20-year
sentences are commonplace.

Taxpayers pay dearly: $22,000 a year to incarcerate a prisoner. But there
are better and less expensive ways to deal with the drug problem. Sentencing
guidelines, which already exist, prevent wildly disparate sentences for
similar crimes and permit sentence adjustments based on the culpability of
the offender.

In addition, there's drug treatment. A 2003 study shows that drug-addicted,
non-violent felony offenders with five prior drug arrests and an average of
four years behind bars achieved significantly lower recidivism rates and
higher employment rates through a drug treatment program than comparable
offenders who were sent to prison. The cost? Half that of sending an
offender to prison.

We need to change our laws so that the punishment fits the crime, address
drug abuse and spend our tax money more cost-effectively.

Mary Leah R. Atkinson,

Lexington