To the editor:

On Feb. 10, this newspaper’s Opinion page contained an interesting “Your Turn” article by Benet Magnuson, executive director of Kansas Appleseed, a local nonprofit organization. Mr. Magnuson presented not his opinion, but actual facts and figures that conclusively demonstrate that it would be a great waste of money for Douglas County to build an expensive jail expansion costing the taxpayers $30 million, money that could be better spent for projects that could really help Douglas County residents live happier, more fulfilling lives.

I urge every citizen to read or reread this “Your Turn” article for a complete summary of the number and nature of the criminal cases recently filed in Douglas County. One particularly noteworthy fact is that the number of cases filed has dropped by an astounding 42 percent, including large decreases in the number of violent crimes.

One can easily find this article by writing “Magnuson,” “Lawrence Journal-World” and “Feb. 10, 2016” in your Google search engine. It will come right up.

It would be great if the general public could be informed that there is no need for this smoke-and-mirrors jail expansion project. With the crime rate steeply falling, there isn’t even any smoke here!