“New York jails boss once served time in a cell block he now oversees” (Reading Eagle, April 26) was refreshing. A man offended, paid a price and now says he was redeemed and given a new perspective.
He shows that beyond custody there needs to be a focus on care. He wants programs that do better at preparing people who before long come out to again live among us. That’s common sense, though complex.
In 1981 U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger stated: “We must focus more attention on the conditions of incarcerated persons. To put people behind walls and bars and do little or nothing to change them is to win a battle but lose a war. It is wrong, It is expensive, It is stupid.”
I also appreciated “Meaningful steps” (April 14), in which Berks County Jail Warden Jeffrey Smith stated positive things about efforts “toward a more effective and humane system…the focus moving beyond custody to strengthening our commitment to rehabilitation and successful reentry.
I have been privileged to become acquainted with many men and women who harmed others but later made a midcourse correction, becoming more aligned with whom God created each of us to be, since we all were created in his image. Jesus Christ offers all of us the best option of turning around, being born anew by adopting his saving cross and Resurrection.
The Bible in Romans 13 describes a key role of government being to reward good and punish evil.
John L. Rush
Cumru Township