Reader warns ‘beware of biased political rants’
Posted: Wednesday, Feb 29th, 2012
Dear Editor: [Silver Belt, Globe, Arizona newspaper]
http://www.silverbelt.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=79&story_id=3449
I have been reluctant to respond to the recent letters of Mr. Stephen LaFleur about private prisons because this matter was so thoroughly debated in our community during the past 18 months. However, since we are in the homestretch of an important municipal election, I must set the record straight. First, readers of your newspaper deserve to know a couple of things about Mr. LaFleur. He is not a resident of Globe, but rather a newcomer to Wheatfields. He is a former consultant/contractor to the private prison industry. Of course, he is entitled to his opinion about private prisons. He is not entitled to his own set of facts.
To illustrate how uninformed Mr. LaFleur is about private prisons in Arizona, he stated in a letter last week that the AZDOC is currently sending inmates to out-of-state prisons due to a shortage of in-state prison beds. False. Virtually all of Arizona’s prison inmates returned ‘home’ many, many months ago. Our State’s prison population has actually declined by several hundred inmates over the past two years, which is one reason the DOC canceled its request for 5,000 new prison beds.
Mr. LaFleur seems to be oblivious to the series of in-depth reports published by the Arizona Republic during this past year that has validated every argument I publicly put forth during our local private prison debate. A significant recent finding by the Auditor General of AZ suggests that private prisons actually cost taxpayers more than state-run prisons. I have asserted repeatedly that building more prisons at this time is pure fiscal insanity. Arizona currently spends $1 billion per year on Corrections. Representative Cecil Ashe of Mesa is absolutely right when he argues that Arizona desperately needs Sentencing Reform legislation. There is a responsible way to reduce our incarceration rate without a risk to public safety. A substantial percentage of Arizona’s prison population is serving time for a non-violent offense. We can save taxpayers millions of dollars, and most importantly, we can reform a criminal justice system so that it offers non-violent offenders a better chance for a productive life.
Mr. LaFleur’s uninformed comments defending local elected officials who arrogantly dismissed the people’s voice on this issue, should be regarded for what it is - a biased political rant. Again, I want to thank the one local elected official who went the second and third mile for Globe citizens on this issue. It was Councilman Terry Wheeler who fought to protect our town’s resources, and represented the interests of our community to stop a private prison.
Jim Moss,
Posted: Wednesday, Feb 29th, 2012
Dear Editor: [Silver Belt, Globe, Arizona newspaper]
http://www.silverbelt.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=79&story_id=3449
I have been reluctant to respond to the recent letters of Mr. Stephen LaFleur about private prisons because this matter was so thoroughly debated in our community during the past 18 months. However, since we are in the homestretch of an important municipal election, I must set the record straight. First, readers of your newspaper deserve to know a couple of things about Mr. LaFleur. He is not a resident of Globe, but rather a newcomer to Wheatfields. He is a former consultant/contractor to the private prison industry. Of course, he is entitled to his opinion about private prisons. He is not entitled to his own set of facts.
To illustrate how uninformed Mr. LaFleur is about private prisons in Arizona, he stated in a letter last week that the AZDOC is currently sending inmates to out-of-state prisons due to a shortage of in-state prison beds. False. Virtually all of Arizona’s prison inmates returned ‘home’ many, many months ago. Our State’s prison population has actually declined by several hundred inmates over the past two years, which is one reason the DOC canceled its request for 5,000 new prison beds.
Mr. LaFleur seems to be oblivious to the series of in-depth reports published by the Arizona Republic during this past year that has validated every argument I publicly put forth during our local private prison debate. A significant recent finding by the Auditor General of AZ suggests that private prisons actually cost taxpayers more than state-run prisons. I have asserted repeatedly that building more prisons at this time is pure fiscal insanity. Arizona currently spends $1 billion per year on Corrections. Representative Cecil Ashe of Mesa is absolutely right when he argues that Arizona desperately needs Sentencing Reform legislation. There is a responsible way to reduce our incarceration rate without a risk to public safety. A substantial percentage of Arizona’s prison population is serving time for a non-violent offense. We can save taxpayers millions of dollars, and most importantly, we can reform a criminal justice system so that it offers non-violent offenders a better chance for a productive life.
Mr. LaFleur’s uninformed comments defending local elected officials who arrogantly dismissed the people’s voice on this issue, should be regarded for what it is - a biased political rant. Again, I want to thank the one local elected official who went the second and third mile for Globe citizens on this issue. It was Councilman Terry Wheeler who fought to protect our town’s resources, and represented the interests of our community to stop a private prison.
Jim Moss,
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