I had toured many jails before I visited the jail in my own county, which is very conservative and quite wealthy. My county prides itself in using "more stick than carrot" in dealing with criminals, Most California counties can't afford to put people in jail for misdemeanors at $136 a day, but my county does. So, anyhow, my impression of the jail was that it was very safe and clean - but very sterile. Inmates had only television to keep them occupied, and many had to stand up to watch TV. Now we're opening a new, $100 million jail. It's state-of-the-art as correctional facilities go, but all that money was spent on security, not anything to improve the life of prisoners.

If inmates have nothing constructive to do, they just feed their anger and animosity, and become better criminals. We need to re-think our criminal justice practices. Correctional programs need to be constructive, not just kennels for criminals.

Yes, Ake, many criminals reoffend soon after their release from incarceration. Recidivism is a fact of life. We need tough correctional programs that push inmates into making something better of their lives. Perhaps nobody would advocate cruelty to prisoners, but people scream about "luxury" in correctional institutions that give the minimum of food, shelter, and medical treatment.

The fact of the matter is that the only luxury most jail inmates receive is television, which is a cheap way of keeping things peaceful. In our county jail, prisoners have a hard time obtaining books - all they get is TV.

-Joe-