The Geneva Convention forbids isolation, considering it torture. Yet, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert and Detectives Randy Mullinax and Tom Jensen seem to advocate its use [“Secrecy Surrounds Transfer of Green River killer,” Opinion, Sept. 18]. I find that appalling.
Prisons should be used to house those who have committed a criminal act and determined unsafe to be in open society. Imprisonment itself should be the punishment. The job of the prison system should be to feed, care for and house those individuals as safely and humanely as possible. It should not be used to inflict further punishment, be it isolation, water boarding or any other form of torture, even if government representatives, police or victims find those individuals particularly heinous and advocate for it.
Jerry Esterly, Seattle