Governor’s Legacy
In my view, your article “A Split Decision on Deukmejian’s Legacy” (front page, Dec. 30) gives former Gov. George Deukmejian far more credit than he deserves. His only significant accomplishment was spending billions of dollars on prisons.
By placing his spending priorities there rather than on education and vital human services, Deukmejian helped create more desperate lives leading to more crime. Violent crime increased dramatically during the Deukmejian years. The number of imprisoned felons soared from 35,000 to 97,000, and cells are more overcrowded than when he took office. We created more lodging for criminals, while at the same time creating more criminals.
I would find it hard to be proud of such a legacy.
PAUL KORETZ, Councilman, West Hollywood
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