Prison Guards Union
* Re “When He Speaks, They Listen,” Aug. 21: It’s ridiculous that we’ve let prison guards become one of the most feared forces in California politics, as described in your article on Don Novey, the president of the guards union. I’ve always been a Republican but my hat goes off to state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) and any other politician who will stand up to Novey’s strong-arm tactics.
The way to reduce crime is through jobs, education and a reasonable legal system, not the mindless three-strikes law and the endless building of prisons. If Novey got his way, there would only be two kinds of people left in California: the scumbags inside the prison cells and his union boys who make a comfy career out of watching them.
JIM McNAMARA
Sherman Oaks
*
The strong attachment between Gov. Gray Davis and Novey is frightening. Their determination to build and fill prison cells is turning California into a police state. Thanks to their dedication to the three-strikes law, soon taxpaying outsiders will be struggling to support more non-taxpaying insiders, most of whom are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.
DOROTHY CHAPMAN
San Clemente
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