Thomsen letter: Dept. of Corrections

It has been on my mind these past seven years that the Department of Corrections has a huge failure rate. What I mean by failure is the programs they are forcing upon inmates that have repetitively completed them. Yet they give extensive long sentences for some absurd reasons. I am a former inmate and have seen the programs and done them way more than once. But you know they don’t help in a prison environment. When will Idaho figure out more time is too much time? When will they figure out that their programs are a failure along with probation and parole? I’ve served seven years with three more to go. I have never had anything proactive come from this state that is so set upon reform. Do they need an inmate’s help to see how wrong they are?

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Thomsen letter: Dept. of Corrections."