Prison Overcrowding

Re “Crowding at Prisons Has State in a Jam,” March 13: There appears to be no easy solution to the crowding of prisons as long as the district attorneys and judges want to sentence people to as long a term as is legal. In addition, parole boards have not gotten more reasonable with overcrowding.

One idea that might work would be to have parole bonds -- similar to bail bonds -- that would encourage the release of marginal cases and provide incentive for the released prisoners not to violate their paroles.

W. Earl Haberlin

La Canada Flintridge