DRUG OFFENDERS DON'T MAKE UP BULK OF INMATES

There is much sad truth in Mike Coleman's recent column on the deplorable
conditions in America's prisons. Unfortunately, Coleman begins his piece
with the inaccurate claim that our prisons are full of nonviolent victims of
the so-called "War on Drugs."

According to the latest statistics, more than half of state prisoners are
doing time for homicide, rape or other violent crimes. Another 40 percent
are recidivist career criminals who may have gotten probation on their
previous offenses but ended up back behind bars.

About 11 percent of state prisoners are drug traffickers and less than 9
percent are behind bars for drug possession. Violent criminals accounted for
51 percent of the growth in state prisoners in the 1990s, while drug
offenders made up a fifth of population growth.

Our prisons are full of drug-related inmates in the sense that many crimes
are committed by drug-intoxicated or drug-addicted people. A survey of drug
and alcohol use among state prison inmates found 69.6 percent had been
regular drug users at some time in their lives and 56.5 percent had used
drugs in the month before their arrest.

While the situation of these inmates may be unfortunate, they are not
prisoners of the "War on Drugs."

Ray Gagner, Kailua