Letter: Equal in the eyes of the law

ONCE AGAIN I react with dismay to the robotic nit-picking with which you greet any and every progressive action by the present government.

I refer to your condemnation of the imprisonment of those who do not pay for their television viewing. It is well-known that prisons are occupied by the rougher and less desirable elements of society. Surely the first task in the reform of our prisons must be to improve their ambience - diluting this element if possible with people of a more gentle disposition. What could be more likely to achieve this than locking up unmarried mothers, the absent-minded and the merely poor?

It is to be hoped that your comments will not discourage these efforts at prison reform. A more liberal view on your part could lead to co-operation with the Goverment on the introduction of measures to facilitate the imprisonment of those who allow their dogs to relieve themselves in public places.

We could then all hope for an even speedier reform of our prisons, in a cleaner and better world.

Dr Peter Thompson

Craven Arms, Shrops