Too much punishment

This letter is in response to the editorial board’s endorsement of Jenny Graham for a second term (“Re-elect the incumbents in the 6th Legislative District,” Oct. 20).

In your endorsement, you state “At a time when Puget Sound lawmakers seem intent on rolling back punishments” for criminal offenses, Graham supports a valuable counterpoint. Apparently, your board is unaware of what we have learned as a society with our decades-long experiment with mass incarceration.

I have been observing the meetings of the Washington State Criminal Sentencing Legislative Task Force. The members of this group represent diverse interests including prosecuting attorneys, family members of the incarcerated, law enforcement officers, defense attorneys, state legislators, people who were formerly incarcerated and judges. This group has been tasked with using evidence and data to improve public safety.

During the last few decades, it has been learned our current level of punishment is actually making our communities less healthy and less safe. We’re wasting taxpayers’ money, harming families, and underutilizing our workforce. I encourage you to look at the task force’s website and when given a chance, support the new bills that will be introduced to change our laws from being unnecessarily punitive to laws based on best practices.

Joanne Smieja, Spokane

(Editor’s note: The Spokesman-Review does not have an editorial board. All endorsements are made by the publisher.)