Sentencing reforms more complicated than column described

I read Todd Welch’s Jan. 29 column. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, but what he wrote was a pretty much an uninformed political attack on Democrat.

He did note the state legislative bill numbers dealing with proposed changes in criminal sentencing and early release, and his view on how lenient Democrats are about prison sentences and crime. While his concerns are worthy of view, I was surprised he forgot to mention the recent pardons and commutations of the Jan. 6 Capitol cop-assaulting attackers.

My knowledge of our judicial system and sentencing structures are limited. I learned nothing about them from Todd’s article, other than Democrats are bad and prisons are good.

How much does it cost to house a prison inmate? How does sentencing vary, crime to crime? Where does inmate age fit in. How do current parole board hearings vary from the proposed legislative bills? What is the recidivism rate in our state and in others? Is it cheaper to keep a fatally ill older inmate in prison or out? What options are there? Is there a guards-to-inmates ratio?

How much do those newly proposed bills vary from our current legal system practices? What affect does a regular or proposed confinement and release bill have on overall incarceration costs? Is sentencing about punishment or correction? Why do we call them correction centers? Could I have learned something from the article, educating me beyond just knowing that he doesn’t like the bills, or Democrats?

Ron Larsen

Everett