Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Letter: Playing politics with prisoners

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Staff

One of the largest departments in state government is the Department of Correction (which is a sad statement about our society). The name was chosen to reflect the goal of returning people convicted of crimes to society as responsible citizens by the use of appropriate programs. The philosophy was that if inmates behaved while in prison and tried to better themselves by getting an education, enrolling in ethics and character building, drug and alcohol treatment and behavioral-management programs to become accountable for their actions, they would be rewarded with time off their sentences. It was also an effective way to control inmates who can be a dangerous mix in large numbers by giving them a credit for every day they behaved. Later legislatures decided on other public policies and programs with different approaches, but always with the goal of changing anti-social behavior and returning people to society capable of living a law-abiding, productive life in the community.

A review of the records of these inmates would show that they have put in countless hours and even years in prison rehabilitative programs, educational courses, community building and faith-based relationships through local churches’ prison ministries. Many of these inmates cleaned our highways, worked to restore communities after hurricanes, painted schools, built playground equipment and made many other contributions to our communities. Many have been on work-release and working alongside us.

The courts have rightly interpreted the statutes existing at the time that those inmates who fulfilled the requirements should be released.

The irony of the present situation is that many of those inmates would have received shorter sentences for the same crimes under later statutes and would have been out long ago. Finally, these inmates are mostly old men and women, who statistically are not a high crime demographic.

The disposition of these inmates is a matter for the courts to decide and should not be used as a political football.

Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird
District 23

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme