Could we have a little common sense instead of “political correctness” regarding the percentages of minorities in Minnesota prisons quoted by Andy Mannix in his April 14 article printed in the Herald?

You commit a crime, you do the time… unless the judge gives you probation or you have a lawyer who gets you off even though you’re guilty or maybe you didn’t get caught this time. Racial inequity (lack of justice, unfairness) has little to do with the ratio of different races in MN’s prison population. If the blacks in MN (6% in 2014) committed enough crimes to cause the prison population to be 37% black, there was a reason– the committed the crimes, were found guilty and are reaping the consequences of their actions. The same goes for Whites, Native Americans, Hispanics, etc.

If you do not want disproportionate imprisonment rates for your particular race, there’s a solution… Stop committing crimes! If a race, be it Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, etc., will stop committing crimes, they will see a drastic drop in their being sent to prison, thereby decreasing the percentage of that race in the prison population. We need to quit blaming others and start taking personal responsibility. Our actions have consequences.

Sound sensible? You commit a crime, you do the time. You have a choice.

Chichi Mosher,

Austin