No inmate wants to stay
In a recent letter from Mark Say, “Prison has become an entitlement program,” Say stated that a reason taxpayer costs continue to rise is that inmates “actually do not want to leave prison.”
As a former public defender of 12 years, and having represented thousands of criminal defendants, I can assure you that is just plain wrong. I can recall exactly two people over the years who wanted to go to jail, both of whom were old and homeless. All others wanted out each and every day.
The country is at a critical juncture with the criminal justice conversation, and constructive dialogue must occur about many of its issues, including how and why unprecedented incarceration has failed to curb recidivism. However, faulty assumptions rooted in social and political leanings are counterproductive.
Brian Gorman
Washington
Gorman is the executive director of Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.