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No new jail

I have the greatest respect for our Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich because of his loyalty to the community programs that are striving to end family violence. He and Jeff Holy and Mary Kuney are among the handful of Republicans I have voted for.

But this tent jail idea? What a ludicrous proposal compared to the research-based solutions to reduce jail populations. Analyze the jail population, figure out what they really need first, a roof and food, maybe treatment and education and job-training. There are reams of literature on evidence-based approaches and their cost-effectiveness and Maggie Yates is an expert on what they are.

Even more fundamental is the fact that treating all people with respect and compassion does not cost money. It does require leadership. My observation is that setting a different standard for how we treat each other is the single most important criminal justice reform we could undertake

Mary Ann Murphy

Spokane

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