Pubdate: Tue, 18 Jan 2005
Source: Kansas City Star (MO)
Copyright: 2005 The Kansas City Star
Contact:  http://www.kcstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221
Author: Rev. Harold Johnson

MISSOURI PRISONS

I want to thank The Star and reporter Greg Reeves for "More serving time as 
taxpayers foot the bill" (1/9, A-1). It was both informative and timely, as 
we have a new governor and his new Department of Corrections director, 
Larry Crawford, a former state representative.

I'm confident many Missourians would challenge them to work with the new 
Republican legislature to design a plan of alternative sentencing for the 
over half of the prison population who are nonviolent offenders -- people 
who need to be out working, earning and paying their back child support. 
How senseless to lock them up.

Surely, with all of the creative sentencing we have witnessed in recent 
years nationally and the many new technological methods of monitoring 
offenders, there must be alternative methods of sentencing that benefit the 
offender, the family and society. Certainly, this could be true of the many 
drug-related offenders.

Let's save money but also lives. I would urge The Star to do a follow-up 
story on the Missouri release process, which I understand is an innovative 
pilot project to transition offenders back into the community, as most all 
will be re-entering our communities.

Rev. Harold Johnson

Raytown 
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MAP posted-by: Beth