It’s a terrible thing that some people need to be in prison. But for the safety of law-abiding people and for punishment of law violators, prisons are necessary.
It is surprising that recent reports say the number of people in state prisons has declined — for the first time since 1972.
We hope the reason is that fewer people are committing crimes — and not that there are more criminals who deserve to be in prison, but just haven’t been caught and convicted.