Re: “Letter to the editor: Collins urged to back bill to ease plight of some convicts” (April 18):
This is a conversation that needs to continue. For the incarcerated nonviolent offenders who are marked/painted with the “felon” tag, why must they stay tagged for the remainder of their lives?
Once they have successfully completed their time and their probation requirements and have no further infractions, is there any reason they cannot get that good job and have access to many other benefits?
These individuals are not violent. They served their time and did what was expected of them to become a contributing member of the community – don’t let that “felon” tag hold them back from making that contribution.
Yes, it does cost too much to incarcerate an individual (estimates being at $30,000 to nearly $40,000 annually). Currently after serving a sentence, an individual would be given a $50 bus ticket, without any life tools, to transition back into the community. This needs to change.
For example, an individual is sentenced for seven years for a nonviolent crime to support their addiction. Why not reduce their sentence by two years? Take the money that would be spent for those two years and use it on the individual’s rehabilitation, recovery and education while they’re incarcerated during those five years.
This would be a win-win solution (at least an attempt) in a state that is closing down the services that are needed to address our never-ending substance use disorder issues.
Maybe with this thinking, we can eliminate the proverbial revolving door that our communities are currently facing.
Charlotte Coggins
New Gloucester
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