UNFAIR SENTENCING

Some while back, I read a letter in the Post commenting on why the North
Carolina Department of Corrections was the only state tax-supported agency
that had to advertise job openings. The letter indicated bad management.

I'm a prisoner of the war on drugs (non-violent), with a 65-year prison
sentence. I've come to the conclusion from past sentences I've read in your
paper that I could have murdered five people and possibly gotten less time
by pleading guilty to second-degree murder and receiving about 12 years per
count.

In any event, I'm confined along with about 30,000 others in this
tax-funded agency. Since most of us have -- along with our relatives and
friends -- paid taxes, which are appropriated by the General Assembly to
operate this department, how can they legally charge a $10 so-called
administrative fee for a rule-infraction conviction and a medical fee of $3
for being sick?

Since most prisoners are broke, without cash to pay, they place a lien on
our records. Some prisoners have been without funds for years, and if a
relative or friend sends $10 for a birthday present, the Department of
Corrections takes it.

Raymond C. Creason, Piedmont Correctional Center