Martha Stewart reforming

As detailed in this cnn-money story, Martha Stewart, halfway through her five-month prison sentence, was able to deliver a holiday greeting today from her minimum-security camp in West Virginia through a note to fans posted on her personal Web site.  That note, which you can access here, suggests that Martha might add sentencing reform advocacy to her busy agenda after her release.

Stewart starts her greeting by noting that so many of the 1,200 other female inmates “here in Alderson will never have the joy and wellbeing that you and I experience.”  She then implores:

I beseech you all to think about these women — to encourage the American people to ask for reforms, both in sentencing guidelines, in length of incarceration for nonviolent first-time offenders, and for those involved in drug-taking.  They would be much better served in a true rehabilitation center than in prison where there is no real help, no real programs to rehabilitate, no programs to educate, no way to be prepared for life “out there” where each person will ultimately find herself, many with no skills and no preparation for living.

Especially since, as CNN reports, Martha’s “net worth has been bulking up thanks to a surging stock price at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia,” Stewart will have the resources and platform to be a potent advocate for sentencing reform upon her release from prison.  I will be interested to see if her future actions follow-up on her powerful words.