In Bill Elfo's recent editorial, he points out the need for a new Whatcom jail as well as the benefits of an expanded "horizontal" jail with extra capacity. Elfo's logic and rhetoric are correct and prudent, but one could argue that it is the unsaid truths behind his words which are more important: our concrete bunker downtown is full of non-violent folks with mental illness, the poor, those who use cannabis and the victims of a gender-positive "domestic violence" war. So while it may be true that the current jail is a death-trap full of MRSA bacteria and criminalized homeless men, I believe it is even more true that the act of building a better jail is not the solution we need. If Sheriff Elfo really cares about community problem-solving our jail overcrowding, he will come out in support of decriminalizing marijuana, amnesty for immigrant workers and a re-working of what I believe to be the brutal legalistic domestic violence retaliation schema. Only after addressing what I believe to be the unrealistic and heavy-handed tactics of the county prosecutor can we honestly start to address jail logistics.

Evan Knappenberger

Bellingham