NEWS

October 13, 2007
System must recognize that prisoners change

Federal sentencing guidelines are just that - guidelines - but are too complex to understand.

I have a son who became addicted to drugs and is now in federal prison. It is true that prison may have saved his life in that it stopped the train he was riding and allowed him the chance to change.

He has now received his two-year degree from the University of Wisconsin and is working on his four-year degree, which is at my expense - not the taxpayers. He has shown that he is willing to change his life. Having a parole system that takes another look at an inmate is needed.

We are a country that gives second chances. If we keep people in prison too long, they will have a hard time adjusting to the outside. There is no rehabilitation in prison; it is all up to the inmate.

Someone on parole can be monitored. Look at a person once he has served a third or half of his sentence. If he is making the changes needed, release him on parole after 10 years of a 20-year sentence.

Throwing away the key has never worked. My son has been in prison since 1998 and will be released in 2017 under current laws. Take another look at inmates who deserve it.

Daniel Ehler
Holstein, Iowa

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