ASSET FORFEITURE

Thank you for an excellent June 23 editorial on asset forfeiture. When we
grant extraordinary power to the government to punish the bad guys, in the
end the abuse of that power will do more to punish the innocent.

One aspect not mentioned was the inherently corrupting award of forfeited
funds to the arresting agency. How would a citizen feel if the police who
testified that the driver was speeding got to keep that person's car? Or if
they could lose their money because they "looked suspicious" and had to
prove they were not guilty of something? Astoundingly, the equivalent of
such things are now the law.

Any forfeited property should go to a general fund and not to law
enforcement. Rep. Henry Hyde's amendment, HR 1658, will be an important step
if it succeeds, but much more will remain to be done to correct the
deterioration of constitutional protections that so commonly accompany the
war on drugs.

Jerry Epstein, president, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Houston