INMATE: WE SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR ACTIONS

To the Editor:

In reference to the article about lesser drug sentences for possession
charges, I ask myself the question: Where has individual integrity
disappeared to? I currently sit in the Lea County jail on a one-year
sentence. When I am released in 2-1/2 months, I again become
accountable for my actions against society. Accountability, trust,
integrity and honesty are all core values lost on today's society.
Before each of us decides on a particular course of action for
anything, we first analyze the potential outcome. We, as individuals,
know the consequences of our actions before we act. Why then do we ask
for a reprieve when those actions come to the light of our fellow citizens?

We live in a society of victims. Everyone claims a disorder or
disability in order to minimize their accountability factor. It is
time we all re-evaluate our lives to become victors instead of victims.

Murderers, rapists, thieves and others know that they can be caught
for their wrongdoings. Why should drug offenders be treated as a
different class of animal? Parents, teachers and clergy need to stress
the basic values of humanity in order to change this victim syndrome.

No one but myself put me in jail. I was held accountable, as were
thousands of others for their wrongdoings. Begin to once again make
people pay the consequences for their actions. Perhaps we should not
get more lenient with drug offenders, but rather get more strict with
anyone involved in criminal activity. Being called on the carpet for
my actions and held accountable for the consequences of these actions
is the best thing that could have happened to this 21-year-old individual.

Let's make being men and women of integrity the cool thing. Only then
will we see a turn around in the actions of society.

Greg Nidy, inmate Lea County Detention Facility Lovington