Judgments on Sara Jane Olson

Re “A Life on Hold in Prison,” Column One, Aug. 14

Thank you for the article about Sara Jane Olson’s experience in prison. Such personal stories inform the public debate about reform of our state prison system in a way that is invaluable. Today we learn that prisoners are denied permission to plant a vegetable garden because the warden fears that the harvest will be used to brew alcoholic beverages. Is the prison staff powerless to prevent the operation of breweries within the prison walls? Something here is very mixed up.

KELLY KAY

Piedmont, Calif.

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I have no sympathy for Olson and the isolation that she feels in prison. The writer could have used her writing skills with a little more time on the family of slain victim Myrna Opsahl. I am sure the Opsahl family spent their lives in isolation, knowing their mother’s killer was free. The writer could have written how the Opsahl children were without a mother, grandmother and wife all those years.

STEVE NORKUS

Glendale