YOUNG PEOPLE USED TO SURVIVE BAD JUDGEMENT

Re: "Hysteria and blame replaced mourning" (My View, May 17).

The "My View" of defense attorney Jeremy Cohen reeks of propaganda.
Defense attorneys generally oppose the position of the state. Is there
a better paying slot opening in the prosecuting attorney's office?
Would Mr. Cohen have advised Rachel Hoffman to do the deal? There was
no hysteria, there was outrage.

In my day, we survived our mistakes. In today's world, we cut vast
amounts of money from rehabilitation yet find money to build prisons.

Until we place more emphasis on behavioral rehabilitation and
counseling, and less on the vast amount of revenue generated by the
prison industrial complex, more lives will be wasted.

Until the gateway drug alcohol is prohibited, America's stance of zero
tolerance is nothing more than pick-and-choose.

Candace Swain