RETURN OF CHAIN GANGS

What most people know about chain gangs they learned from old movies, which used to exploit the theme and the inevitable escape from the ruthless guard or unsavory sheriff.

There aren't any modern chain-gang movies. That is probably because there aren't any chain gangs any more. At least not until Alabama resurrected the concept last week and began using prison inmates shackled together with leg chains to cut weeds and pick up trash along the Peach State's highways.

Advocates of chain gangs point to the beneficial work they can do. Considering the amount of trash alongside the nation's highways, deposited by a society with a throwaway mentality, it seems like a fairly good use of an untapped resource. Opponents of chain gangs say it is a return to slavery and, at the least, cruel and unusual punishment.

Missouri's prisons, like those of most other states, are bursting at the seams. Hundreds of millions of dollars are earmarked for new and expanded prisons as more and more criminals are sentenced, thanks to stiffer penalties and mandatory terms demanded by a public weary of the crime around them.

The prison overcrowding might be eased somewhat if would-be criminals knew they wouldn't be spending their prison terms watching television and doing crafts. A dose of public service under the watchful eye of a gun-toting guard might be a real deterrent.

Cape Girardeau County uses trusties to do maintenance work such as mowing the county's parks and maintaining the grounds around the historic Common Pleas Courthouse in downtown Cape Girardeau. This successful program could be considered a model for using prisoners to give back something productive to taxpayers who pay for their upkeep.