CRIME DEMANDS PUNISHMENT

I grew up in a central Oklahoma town of about 16,000 people. During the late
'40s and early '50s there were two people reputed to be "dope heads." Dope
heads didn't "do drugs," they took "dope." They were considered neither
blameless nor "guilty of a minor offense"; rather, they were guilty of
breaking the law. Society considered everyone to be responsible for their
own actions. Lawbreakers were expected to pay the price.

Our nation has lost the ability to say "it was wrong" or "I am guilty."
Instead we look for excuses. For example: "One's private life has no bearing
on one's public life"; or "it's a victimless crime"; or perhaps one's
actions are a result of a "disadvantaged life" so he is not really at fault.
Justice must be tempered with mercy. However, without punishment, there is
no justice for either the lawbreaker or society.

The last 80-plus years of rehabilitation-reform-rationalizing have seen
crime rates spiral. In the last decade, we have built more prisons and given
longer sentences and the crime rate has fallen. Could there possibly be a
connection?

J.C. Leonard, Tulsa