REFORM, NOT JAIL TIME, IS THE ANSWER

Regarding your Aug. 12 editorial "End of the prison boom": It is unclear
how an increase in prisoners - even if it is a mere 1 percent - indicates
an end to the prison boom. But that point aside, your article fails to
tackle the main problem Americans face with the prison population today.

Regardless of the number of citizens we are finding reasons to imprison, we
have yet to deal with the number already there who will, over the next 20
years, be released. American prisons release 1,600 men and women every
single day. The majority of these freed inmates went in as drug dealers -
or even just possessors - and are coming out as violent criminals.

We can argue about how it is their fault for getting into trouble. Or we
can boast about how we're only increasing our prison population by
miniscule percentage points in recent years. But is that going to keep our
streets safe? We need to stop pumping money into more prisons to
accommodate nonviolent drug users, and start using it to refuel
rehabilitation programs and postrelease support networks so that this
significant segment of our population can finally begin contributing to
society in a positive way.

Elizabeth Armstrong - San Francisco