Sheriff’s Sentence
Ironic, isn’t it? A law-abiding sheriff sentenced to a county jail cell for 30 days all because the jail was already overcrowded (“Sheriff Gates Faces Jail Over Early Releases,” Part A, Aug. 3). One sheriff in the slammer for 30 days for the crime of releasing 850 prisoners every month.
It seems that Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates was stuck between a rock and hard time; he was ordered by one court to reduce prison overcrowding, but prevented by another court from cutting prison sentences. Some choice.
There are creative--and just--solutions for prison overcrowding. But those solutions lie primarily in the hands of the sentencing judges, not sheriffs. Alternatives to incarceration in California include electronic monitoring for parole violators, house arrest and intensive supervision programs. We need prisons for dangerous offenders, but nearly half of the people who are in prison today are there for nonviolent offenses.
There’s no need to throw a sheriff in jail for trying to comply with conflicting laws. Change the laws, and how the sheriff serves his time will never be an issue.
CHARLES COLSON
Founder, Prison Fellowship
Washington, D.C.
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