Segregation in Jails
* I am appalled by the notion that black and Hispanic prisoners should be segregated in Los Angeles County jails, notwithstanding the fact that the American Civil Liberties Union thinks it’s OK (“ACLU Weighs Segregation of Pitchess Inmates,” Jan. 14).
Desegregation was a hard-fought battle and segregation is against the fundamental public policy of this country.
If we start segregating black and Hispanic prisoners because they have been fighting, instead of disciplining the wrongdoers and addressing the source of the problem, then what is next? Next, we will be segregating students in schools, public housing and transportation for the same reasons.
This proposed solution is no answer and is an extremely unimaginative and objectionable solution. There will never be, in my judgment, any circumstance where government segregation of races, for any reason, can be legitimized or acceptable.
MELANIE E. LOMAX
Los Angeles
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
