COUNTY JUSTICE SYSTEM HAS GONE MAD ON DRUGS

Is the justice system in this county gone mad? On the one hand, we have a
district attorney who favors condemning a young person to a lifetime of
minimum-wage work and probably crime by convicting him of a felony for
possessing one-half ounce of marijuana. This could result in a three-year
term in prison. On the other hand, we have a judge who frees a dealer caught
with 18 pounds of methamphetamine, one of the most destructive drugs known.

About a year ago some enlightened jurists in this state gave me a ray of
hope for the system. They recommended drug rehabilitation instead of prison
for those caught with small amounts of drugs if there was no other crime
involved. These people obviously need professional help with their addiction
and not incarceration with hard-core criminals at great public expense. Drug
dealers, especially those in possession of large quantities, should be shown
no mercy. Here we have a poor excuse for a judge giving one dealer a year in
prison and placing the other on probation. Does anyone else see the
inconsistency here? I hope he is an elected official because I will
certainly remember him when he is up for election.

- -Jim Nugent, Reno (via e-mail)