Guarino weighs in on issues surrounding the proposed Guilford County jail and wonders why the same skepticism doesn’t accompany new school construction:
….the entire concept of alternative sentencing– for mental health and substance abuse– is fraught with difficulty. Some of us believe that violators of the state criminal code should be punished. They should be required to repay their debt to society and make retribution. There are some serious gaps in logic in the case made for alternative sentencing, particularly at the local level. If you think certain offenses should not be part of the criminal code, and do not justify jail time, then work to revise the criminal code– and make your case in Raleigh. Do not perform artful dodges at the local level……
We see none of the coordinated focus, jubilation and immediate response we saw recently with respect to preventing jail construction applied to the task of minimizing out-of-control school construction costs. This latter, larger problem cries out for a solution. But Alston and Gibson thus far have been comparatively uninterested.
