OUR prisons are bulging at the seams. Yet people still keep talking about "soft judges" in letters columns and on phone-ins.

I have been in many courts, over the years, and have yet to see a soft judge.

As for prisons as "holiday camps", that is so wide of the mark, it is hardly worth talking about. Television creates a false impression about prisons. They are only allowed to show what the authorities allow them to show. Consequently, a rosy picture can be painted of life inside.

Max Nottingham,

St Faith's Street,

Lincoln.

Updated: 10:24 Thursday, April 20, 2006