Sir, - Your edition of September 9th carries an interesting judicial decision: a man who pleaded guilty to brothel-keeping was allowed pay £5,000 into the court "poor box" as a direct alternative to a period of imprisonment. The growing use of such disposals is a cause of concern as they clearly favour the rich.
In a large-scale survey of sentencing practice in the Dublin District Court, a team of Trinity College academics showed that defendants from more deprived areas of the capital were more likely to be sent to prison (and less likely to be fined) than their counterparts from less deprived districts.
This is not to argue that wealthy offenders should be incarcerated in greater numbers. Indeed, we already use prison too much. However, such contrasts highlight the interplay between socio-economic conditions and levels of punishment.
At present prosperity is growing and crime is falling. These favourable circumstances provide an ideal opportunity to consider how best to develop a penal policy which is transparent, humane and just. It is time to bury the politics of zero tolerance. - Yours, etc., Dr Ian O'Donnell,
Director, Irish Penal Reform Trust, Lower Dominick Street, Dublin 1.