• A sad statement about the value of human life

I have been corresponding with a friend of mine who is currently in jail. I can’t use his name or say what he is in jail for, except that it is a non-violent crime and he suffers from a condition that requires medication. I have learned a lot about the jail in Valdosta. For instance, I found out that 1) Prisoners are not allowed to have any more than three books to read. Once the limit is reached no books can be exchanged or replaced. 2) There is no jail library. 3) There is no education program at the jail. 4) Prisoners are not allowed to read anything, even in letters that come from newspapers or the Internet. 5) Prisoners cannot even receive photos. 6) There is no air-conditioning in the jail. The daytime temperatures inside are over 100 degrees in the summer. Passing out from dehydration is a common occurrence. 7) Cell dorms are supposed to have a limit of 44 prisoners. My friend’s cell has 64. 8) There is a jail store where prisoners can purchase sundry items. When my friend had indigestion, he was able to buy a roll of Tums. The price? $6. It sure sounds like someone’s getting a kickback. Is this not the year 2009, not 1940?

When I have broached this subject with locals, I get responses like, “This is jail. They’re suppose to be punished.” I supposed that’s true for convicted prisoners in prison, but many of these prisoners in our jail have not yet been to trial (my friend hasn’t and it’s been eight months). Isn’t our legal system based on the premise that one is innocent until proven guilty?

If we were to treat animals in a public kennel the way prisoners are treated in our jail, the kennel would be closed and its operators arrested. What a sad statement about the value of human life in this “Bible Belt” town. But if we really want to focus on punishing people, especially people who have not even been convicted of a crime, I guess this is the way to go. And we will reap the reward of prisoners coming out angrier, stupider and more aggressive than ever. I used to be astounded at the horror stories I heard about the La Mesa prison in Tijuana, Mexico, but now, I think I’d feel safer if I was thrown in jail there. At least you can see your family and bribes are cheaper to pay than the price of basic provisions at Valdosta’s jail.

Robert Kumpel

Valdosta

• Don’t let the Fourth of July blow up in your face

This July 4th weekend Georgians will leave home behind and pack the kids in the family car headed for their favorite summer vacation destination. It’s time for sun-soaked holiday reunions where friends gather with barbecue, boating, beaches, and cold beer on their minds. But it’s also time for the Hahira Police Department to remind all motorists to plan ahead wherever they plan to party this summer. And that means planning for a designated driver is priority one.

Every motorist should be aware that one-out-of-five traffic fatalities in Georgia are now alcohol-related. Statistics show drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher are 11 times more likely to die in a crash than if involved in that same crash with no alcohol in their system at all.

There’s nothing wrong with adults socializing with adult beverages, but add car keys to the mix and drinking and driving makes a deadly cocktail.

And that’s why highway safety advocates across the country call the July 4th travel period one of this nation’s most dangerous times on our roadways due to DUIs. The history of this all-American travel holiday tells the tale. About a third of all fatal crashes on our nation’s roads during the July 4th weekend involve at least one driver with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. In Georgia, nearly half the state’s 14 July 4th traffic deaths involved at least one drunk driver in 2007.