Reform needed on life without parole

Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 14, 2006

Washington’s rate of prison growth for non-violent people has increased 400 percent in the past two decades. This shameful fact is a blatant reflection of the dumb on crime mentality that has taken precedent over logic and reality.

Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have filled our prisons faster than we are able to build them. Many non-violent people are locked up for their entire lives without the possibility of parole. A life sentence without parole is forever. It is, for all intents and purposes, a death sentence. It should be meant for those who commit truly heinous crimes. Besides our three-strikes law, the only other crime in Washington that carries a life without parole sentence is aggravated murder.

It is illogical to spend so many tax dollars on long imprisonment when other means have proven to be far more effective. We need criminal justice reform. We can build a safer society by promoting rehabilitation, shorter incarceration time for those deserving, and more appropriate use of public funds to strengthen effective social programs.

LOWANA KREWSON

Stanwood