INCARCERATION HAS ITS ADVANTAGES

I am currently residing in the annex of the Bexar County Jail, where
I have been since Aug. 26. I am writing this letter on paper provided
by Social Services and with a pen from the same place. I will mail
this in an envelope provided by the county.

With all the negative press about the situation at the jail, I felt
obligated to add this little report from "ground zero."

I came in without a dime to my name and a bad attitude. That's "bad"
as in whiney, not tough.

What I found was a temporary lodging that provided me a place to
sleep, three meals a day, clothes to wear and soap and shower. There
are books and magazines to read, a law library, art class, indoor and
outdoor recreation, religious services of various denominations and
complete and very competent medical and dental services.

They provide clean clothes twice a week =E2=80=94 three of everything should
you be obsessive-compulsive and need to change everyday =E2=80=94 and a
change of linens once a week. TV and movies are usually available from
8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and, of course, male bonding in the sense of card
playing and dominoes.

In my opinion, it's a pretty good deal overall, although I would be
wary of a time-share real-estate deal with a 200 N. Comal St. address.

The overcrowding in the county jail is not the fault of Sheriff Ralph
Lopez; it is due to computer-enhanced law-enforcement and vigorous
prosecution. Texans like their crimes solved.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bed-and-breakfast in the Hill
Country. But it also is a far cry from "Shawshank Redemption."

Michael Ready

Michael Ready is an inmate at the Bexar County Jail.