Pubdate: Sun, 04 Apr 1999
Date: 04/04/1999
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Author: G. Fred Logan

Years before I read the editorial,"Talking a hard look at state's
jammed jails"[Opinion,Mar. 29],I had the gut feeling that all of
society pays a price for unjustly denying a fellow his right to live
freely because he committed a non-violent or victimless crime.

We do not have the right to separate people from their loved ones
because of excessively stringent laws that arguably, in many cases,
will be tossed out as unconstitutional.

Also, there is no way to calculate what percentage of our average,
God-fearing citizens who face the inhumane, demeaning and sanity
threatening process of being incarcerated in one of these hell holes
comes out the other end a hardened and vengeful person.

G. Fred Logan
Carrillo Ranch