MAIL BAG LETTERS FROM READERS

Pennsylvania has millions of dollars coming in from casino revenue, money that wasn’t coming in four to five years ago. So why is Gov. Ed Rendell always raising our taxes? Can it be foolish spending?

The lawmakers in Harrisburg should get to work by finding work for the people. Then maybe we can pay our taxes. Sitting home all summer and getting paid for it won’t get the people jobs!

Parents, not taxpayers, should pay for BMX park

If these parents are serious about a BMX park for their kids, I would advise them to chip in or have a fundraiser, buy land, get affordable insurance and build it themselves.

I don’t feel that taxpayers should have to foot the bill to keep their kids off the streets. Of all Luzerne County, a park would be easily accessible only to a small number of kids.

When my kids were small we built a track for them on which to ride their go-carts. Parents, if you’re serious about your kids, you can do it.

10th District has no room for Marino’s politics

Recent actions of congressional candidate Tom Marino against Congressman Chris Carney were not only dirty politics, but also reprehensible.

Mr. Marino was very critical of Congressman Carney for not attending a certain meeting, ignoring the fact he had a representative present.

The reason for Congressman Carney’s absence was because, like any concerned and decent husband, he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his wife while she waited for breast cancer surgery. So much for Mr. Marino’s constant claims he intends to be fully informed about as much as possible. This certainly is not the first inane comment Mr. Marino has made.

Mr. Marino was a prosecuting attorney for the federal government; he decided to quit this job to become an almost full-time lawyer for Mr. Louis DeNaples. It would be “good government” for Mr. Marino to tell us his salary with the government compared to what he made as Mr. DeNaples’ personal mouthpiece.

We’ve seen the harm Mr. Marino’s type of politics has done to other areas; we don’t need them here in the 10th District.

I am a strongly conservative Republican, but there are some Democrats for whom I’ll be voting in November.

Mr. Marino will not be one of the Republicans I support. His type of politics is what helped get us into the mess we are in now. Let’s hope this election people vote on the real issues, not because of television sound bites.

Prison reform needed to reduce overcrowding

Pennsylvania’s prisons are overcrowded with inmates who should not be there! Where should they be? In our backyards.

Twenty-seven states have decreased their prison populations. In contrast, Pennsylvania has sent 2,000 inmates to other state prisons (1,000 to Virginia and 1,000 to Michigan). Michigan has closed eight prisons and has 3,260 fewer inmates than three years ago.

In 1996, Virginia began diverting low-risk offenders from prison to community sanctions. Now only 20 percent of Virginia’s inmates are in prison for non-violent offenses. Michigan has adopted similar reforms.

Pennsylvania is building four new prisons, at an estimated cost of more than three-quarters of a billion dollars. It costs an average of $35,000 to incarcerate one individual for one year versus a few thousand dollars for a non-prison program. Last year, Pennsylvania spent about $1.75 billion operating 27 state prisons. This does not include spending for almost 60 county prisons.

Pennsylvania has the second longest sentences for non-violent crimes. These mandatory minimum sentences have stripped discretion from judges, the majority of whom have argued they are not an effective deterrent. A three-year study by district attorneys, legislators and judges uncovered a number of unintended consequences of mandatory minimum sentences.

The National Drug Court Institute found that non-incarceration programs for non-violent drug offenders – consisting of treatment, education, rigorous supervision and accountability – resulted in almost a fourfold greater success rate over imprisonment alone.

Years ago, most mental health hospitals were closed. Today, a seriously mentally ill person is three times more likely to be incarcerated than hospitalized in the United States. All they have to do is step over the line, such as commit public urination, to land in jail. Low-cost treatment centers in Pennsylvania could monitor schizophrenic, bipolar and other mental patients and help to make sure they take their medications.

The chairman of the Pennsylvania Judiciary Committee has emphasized the overcrowding due to technical parole violations, overly long sentences for non-violent crimes, etc. He has seven bills pending to correct the unintended consequences of the tough-on-crime legislation of the 1980s and ’90s. Many corrective measures have bipartisan support.

If your legislator seems reluctant to endorse reforms, ask him or her to travel to Michigan or New York where such reforms are in place at no adverse impact on public safety.