Open letter to Saline County Commissioners:
On behalf of the Saline County Citizens for Jail Reform group we would like to express gratitude for the time, effort, and thought that has gone into preparation for a public vote on a proposed new jail and/or addition to the present jail. We appreciate your openness to larger goals of remediation and treatment for inmates who may be incarcerated due in part to poverty, drug abuse, or mental illness. We are grateful for your concern to provide all inmates communication with family and/or loved ones, as well as options for second chances within the jail system. We know great attention has been paid to overall costs for facilities and for ongoing services and personnel.
Thank you for these efforts!
That said, given the dire nature of present economic circumstances and the need for long-term financial recovery once Covid-19 is no longer a threat, we call on you to postpone a public vote on this issue beyond November.
We continue to support, and urge expansion of, significant efforts toward reducing incarceration rates and improving the amount and quality of rehabilitation and treatment programming to help assure inmates’ return to full and meaningful lives in our communities. Such efforts should continue and be strengthened, whether or not a new jail is an immediate possibility.
We recognize that all this will be difficult in more difficult economic times. But such efforts are even more essential because of greater economic and other pressures on everyday citizens.
We know that sacrifices (monetary costs included) will be necessary, in any event. We ask the public, as well as commissioners, to think through, and commit to, longer-term solutions that will enhance, not diminish, human dignity for all citizens, in jail or out.
LaNay Meier
Gerald Gillespie
David Norlin