Parole should be an option for inmates

Regarding your May 12 article titled “Mass incarceration: U.S. No. 1.”

Today, merely 211,000 people are “endlessly” languishing in federal prisons. The average age is 38. Many are serving long sentences for non-violent crimes mostly due to drug addiction. Most are first-time offenders. There is no form of parole.

In a prison system, parole exists as an incentive to change. To better one's self and to prepare to re-enter society, not as a burden but as a contributing member. Now, take away that incentive and you take away the desire to change. It is not difficult to imagine the negative effects this can have on an individual.

He knows that no matter how he applies himself he will still serve the full 85 percent of his federal sentence. Just the same as the man who tried to rehabilitate himself during his time of incarceration.

As taxpayers, everyone should know that more than $60 billion is spent annually just to house, cloth and feed the inmate population. There is a solution that will provide relief of some of these figures. It is headed up by federal CURE Incorporated and is called “The Sentencing Reform Act of 2011” and “The Barber Amendment.” These bills, to be introduced by Congress, establish a hybrid form of parole and amend the percentage of time a federal inmate has to serve to 65 percent. To qualify for this, inmates cannot have any violence in their history and must complete all assigned classes and treatment to be granted parole. Releasing merely 10 percent of the non-violent offenders would save taxpayers $1.2 billion annually. There are numbers that cannot be ignored.

Visit www.fedCURE.org. You can sign a petition and contact your congressman, urging them to support the Barber Amendment.

Ryan Vick

Dubuque