Neal St. Anthony wrote the moving story "Near death to new life for manager" (June 28), telling us how one impressive and brave man changed his circumstances from addiction to celebrated success as a hotel manager. But let's think about the story behind the story: Why was this man sentenced to hard labor as a young man for selling marijuana, a drug now legalized in many states and making many people significant money? And the hero of our story was sent back to prison for "hanging with former convicts and testing positive for alcohol and marijuana." But what are the chances, given the significant incarceration of Black men, that a Black man in poverty is going to have friends, acquaintances and neighbors who have also been sentenced to time in prison? And drinking alcohol is not a crime that otherwise lands someone in prison. Incarceration has also proved itself ineffective at helping people overcome addiction.

We have built a system that punishes poverty and addiction. How many men did not survive such misguided public policies to be able to emerge from this system against the odds, and what does that mean for the talents and skills we as a community have lost?

Deborah Schlick, St. Paul

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In a perceptive June 29 letter ("Punishment only," Readers Write), the writer accepts that life in prison will probably be "sheer torture" for Derek Chauvin — and a fully justified punishment for murdering George Floyd. But she also harbors "a vision, perhaps even a fantasy" of "a repentant Chauvin and a forgiving judicial system" that would result in a transformed Chauvin working in the Black community and speaking out against racism.

This "fantasy" is, in fact, encoded in the name "penitentiary." As envisioned by reformers such as Jeremy Bentham, who designed the model for modern prisons called the "panopticon," and championed by Quakers, imprisonment was a relatively humane alternative to corporal and capital punishment. In this view, prisoners living like monks and nuns in monastery "cells" would meditate on their crimes and seek redemption. The common nickname "the pen" sums up the whole sad history of this reform movement. Rather than treating convicted criminals more humanely, we pen them up like animals and forget about them — until they emerge, in many cases, worse for the experience.

This isn't inevitable. One of the many reasons for pride in my alma mater, Iowa's Grinnell College, is their almost two decades of working with the nearby Newton Correctional Facility in a program they call "Liberal Arts in Prison." I've listened to testimony about the success of this program, which offers a year of undiluted college-level courses to inmates. You can't miss the almost magical impact not only on the graduates of the program but on the faculty and students who provide the courses. During the pandemic, the program continued remotely, offering anthropology and other classes. In a recent Zoom panel, I heard a veteran of 18 years in prison say his first nine years were a dark and hopeless time—until he discovered the Grinnell program that transformed the remainder of his time.

Most of us live in denial that "but for the grace of god" we could have been the person under Derek Chauvin's knee. Even more of us deny to ourselves that we could have been in Derek Chauvin's shoes but for grace or, if you prefer, circumstance. At the heart of the idea of a "penitentiary" is the idea that while no human being is perfect, no human being is irredeemable.

Nothing we do to Chauvin will restore George Floyd, like Lazarus, to life. Nothing will assuage the grief of his friends and family. But as the letter writer concludes, "Leaving Chauvin in prison to rot for many years serves as punishment with no rehabilitation, and that's too bad."

We can do better. Grinnell and the Newton prison do.

David Miller, Minneapolis

ABORTION AND CATHOLICISM

Biden can't reject the church's stance and call himself devout

I must challenge a writer's interpretation of faith, morals and religious freedom through a new form of relativism that allows one to ignore tradition and freely practice a personal-conscience faith agenda or nothing at all ("Catholics can support a faithful president," Opinion Exchange, June 28). Just tailor faith and morals to what works for you and adjust it to suit your day-to-day living. We are free to chose a religion or believe in no religion, but we are not free to unilaterally decide that any precept of that religion doesn't apply to us while proclaiming our devoutness to that religion; we are merely free to change religions and then practice accordingly.

The writer charges the legality of abortion (nationally, only for the past 48 years) and states that some consider life to begin at first breath, but modern science suggests that life begins at conception and quickly gains definition through nine months of development. As traditional Catholics, we accept the miracle of Jesus' conception when God became incarnate in the Virgin Mary; Mary accepted the challenge of carrying the living God in her womb. We can no longer say that a fetus is not a life and kill that life through abortion. Killing a pregnant woman may be judged a double homicide. We are commanded by many faiths not to kill our fellow human beings, and abortion denies a child the right to life.

Finally, as to politics, we are one nation under God, and our Constitution guarantees our freedom of religion and legal protections. Unfortunately, secular forces have allowed legal abortion (and some government funding of Planned Parenthood), which puts President Joe Biden in a tough spotlight of defending that law. He can, however, leave it to legislatures and courts to support or rein in specific abortion practices, and then privately practice his Catholic faith in good conscience.

Michael Tillemans, Minneapolis

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A big fat thumbs up for the U.S. Catholic bishops drafting a document elucidating the requirements for reception of the holy eucharist by pro-choice politicians. As a practicing Catholic, I'm bewildered by these people crying foul over something they don't believe in. Want to kill babies and take communion? Then join the many other bodies of fellowship that support abortion. Better yet, start your own church where you call the shots.

Liz Gunderson, Marshall, Minn.

COMMUNIST PARTY

China's grim centennial

July 1, 2021, is the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party's inception. From my perspective, as a woman from China who is now in her 70s, there is nothing to celebrate. July 1 marks a century of CCP maliciousness.

After the CCP took power, there was a systematic effort to destroy thousands of years of culture and tradition. A reverence for heaven and earth were replaced with a desire to fight heaven, earth and human nature. While the CCP's rhetoric has changed, their nature has not.

I have a memory that still makes me shiver. As a student during the Cultural Revolution, I committed the offense of (unintentionally) sitting on top of Chairman Mao's little red book. Fortunately, my instructor covered up the situation, but it was made very clear to me that my "crime" could have cost me my life.

The crazy days of the cultural revolution are behind us but the threat of violence is not; the CCP remains the same. They continue to treat Chinese people as their enemies. This was evident in the Tiananmen Square massacre, the inhumane persecutions of House Christians, Falun Gong and Tibetans, and most recently, the mass incarceration of Muslims in Xinjiang Province.

I hope everyone will become clear-minded and understand that CCP never cherishes lives and is a source of disaster. The CCP is not China nor do they represent the Chinese people.

I look forward to the day when the Chinese Communist Party ends and Chinese people can think and live freely.

Anna Li, Woodbury

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