THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510270028
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
As chairperson for the Richmond chapter of Virginia C.U.R.E. (Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants) and co-founder of Heart-Links to Inmates, I was outraged to read ``A plus for prisons'' (editorial, Sept. 6) regarding prison inmate co-pays for medical care.
Your commentary discredited the ACLU's concerns that ``inmates will be hesitant to report genuine illness,'' and cited specific reasons in support. You stated that ``The co-pay is waived for indigent inmates.'' Although medical care cannot be refused for indigent inmates, their prison accounts are still charged. If the inmate has no money, the account goes into a negative balance. Later, when the inmate receives money from a taxpaying friend or relative, the Department of Corrections takes its share first. So the taxpayer - not the inmate - co-pays for prison medical care.
You reported that ``Paying jobs within prisons are available to inmates willing to work.'' Not only are there not enough jobs, but those that are available range in pay from 23 cents to 45 cents an hour. Ask Secretary of Public Safety Jerry Kilgore how this compares to ``what's going on in the real world.''
Finally, you indicated that ``Guards are trained to detect . . . virulent and/or contagious disease.'' Wrong again. Guards are trained in security and the use of weapons. Oftentimes, even the medical personnel have difficulty in detecting these diseases.
I concede that prisoners can be very clever, but where the inmate co-pays are concerned, Governor Allen and Ron Angelone are the real con artists.
BARBREE E. HOFFMAN
Richmond, Oct. 11, 1995 by CNB