Undeserved Luxury

* In reading your recent article, “Families Pay the Price for Phone Calls from Jail” (April 30), one question crossed my mind: Why are we even talking about this? Are we forgetting that the people complaining about these so-called exorbitant phone bills are in jail (as in, punishment for crimes committed)? Hello? Once they enter a penal institution, such as the Ventura County Jail, they automatically forfeit the conveniences of life on the outside as part of this punishment. And yes, this includes the freedom to call whomever and whenever they want on the telephone at the same rates they would pay if they had their freedom. Are we forgetting this is not supposed to be a country club or summer camp where we can call mommy when we’re feeling lonely? Besides, it sounds like the money the county gets from these fees goes toward many programs that could actually help some of these guys.

One suggestion I would have for those who claim to be taken advantage of by the higher rates they pay in the gray bar hotel: maybe cut down on your phone calls and wait to converse with family and loved ones during regular visiting hours, which I believe there is still no charge for. The inconvenience this will cause for some is simply part of the package for those that choose not to abide by the same laws that the rest of us have to follow.

Another even more logical way to avoid paying, or having their family pay for, these phone bills would be, of course, to stay out of jail in the first place. Once you break the law and find yourself in a position where some of the niceties of life have been taken away, you shouldn’t be looking for sympathy from those of us who are often your victims.

As a wise man once said, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”

MICHAEL J. GIBSON

Port Hueneme