Letter Of The Day

I am writing with a question concerning the Cerro Gordo County Jail.



I recently called the jail and inquired about donating some books for inmates and was told that the jail is not currently accepting books. When I pushed the subject, I was told that they have enough books for now.



My question is this: Exactly what constitutes enough books?



The main purpose of the Cerro Gordo County Jail, as I understand it, is to house pre-trial detainees and those who have been sentenced for misdemeanor acts. This means that most of the people within the jail will soon be released back into the community.



While I understand that their time in jail is a punishment, I personally would like to know that these people, who will soon be living among us, have the opportunity to rehabilitate and educate themselves while serving out their time.



Since the 1970s, there has been a strong shift from a focus on rehabilitation towards a more conservative focus on punishment within the criminal justice system. I am not arguing with this stance, but does an emphasis on punishment require a complete abandonment of any rehabilitative efforts on behalf of the correctional system?



If an inmate chooses to better his/her reading comprehension in hopes of someday succeeding within society or broaden his/her intellectual realm, what purpose are we serving by keeping them from that goal?



For those inmates who want to better themselves, I see no sense in denying them access to quality, educational reading materials. If citizens are willing to buy and donate more books, what can it possibly hurt for the jail to accept them.



For now, however, I simply ask this: Can there ever be too many books?

--KRISANN BERGO, Lawrence, Kan

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