Letter to the editor: Sending an addict to prison is not the answer

By KATHY O’GARA | Wilton

When I saw that $20,000 worth of jewelry had been stolen in the township of Glendale, my interest was heightened as to who in Glendale would have that much pricey jewelry. Well, Huron Avenue isn’t in Glendale; it’s in the township of Oakdale and is a dead-end road. That’s a pretty good place to plan to burglarize.

I don’t believe in sending non-violent drug addicts to prison. It would be far cheaper and better for society as a whole to send them to extended drug rehab, ankle bracelet monitoring, weekly drug testing, job training programs or school, restitution, and extended probation. If he wasn’t addicted to meth, he probably wouldn’t be out committing burglaries. Addiction is a medical condition and needs to be treated as such. Most of the crimes in Monroe County are related to drug addiction. Instead of more prisons, we need more secure detention drug-treatment facilities. Sending an addict to prison where they can probably still get drug s is not the answer.

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