Reform the Whole System.

• Position: LETTERS - Letter to the editor

Dean Strang hit the nail on the head as far as what needs to be done to successfully transform the criminal justice system ("It's Not Just the Cops," August/September issue). As a federal prisoner who has found himself in the revolving door that is recidivism, I've been looking at the criminal justice system's back end, on and off, for almost twelve years.

I was released from a maximum security prison in March 2019 with eighty bucks, right back to the kind of desperate situation that landed me behind bars in the first place. I take responsibility for my poor choices and bad decisions, but I also feel that the very people who told me I couldn't swim threw me in the deep end of the pool without a life jacket. And my story is far from unique.

So, yes, the front end (policing) needs fixing, badly. But, while we've got the whole...