To the Editor:
Kudos to Nicholas D. Kristof for shining the light on torture and abuse of people behind bars right here in the United States. Many Americans were appropriately outraged by torture at Guantánamo Bay and the infamous Abu Ghraib abuse, but where is the anger and compassion for the prisoners here in the United States who are also victims of violence and sexual abuse?
The one point missing from Mr. Kristof’s insightful column was the reason why so many people are behind bars in the United States: America’s drug war. The United States makes up about 5 percent of the world’s population, but has almost 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, and the driving force is the war on drugs.
In addition to dealing with violence and torture behind bars, we need to admit that locking up someone who has a substance abuse problem in a cage is torture in and of itself.
Tony Newman
Director, Media Relations
Drug Policy Alliance
New York, Jan. 28, 2010
Note from KBJ: The word "torture" is in the process of being inflated, like "liar," "racist," and "fascist."
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 