'FREE AT LAST' BUT A PRISONER OF THE PAST

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Jamie C. Ruff should have his hands slapped with a ruler for writing such a
slanted and delusional story on the audacious criminal conduct of Alfred O.
Martin, III ["He's Free at Last, and Happy," February 28].

When Martin made the choice to buy two bags of marijuana, he became a drug
dealer engaging in criminal activity. Whether he thought it was fair or not,
when he walked off the prison work detail, he became an escaped convict on
the run. He became a thief when he fled with the furniture he had yet to pay
for.

The real victims here are the City of Martinsville that had another drug
dealer to contend with in 1972, the furniture dealer who suffered the loss
when Martin fled with the unpaid goods, and the taxpayers who bore the
expense of the investigation, prosecution, incarceration, and manhunt for
Martin.

What bothers me about an article such as Ruff's is that it supports a
general belief among many African-Americans that Martin qualifies as a
victim because he is black. African-Americans need to send a strong
message of intolerance to individuals like Martin and more so to public
officials that criminal behavior is not acceptable nor supported. Crime is
crime, and when one willingly decides to break the law, color should become
a moot issue.

Edward Crew
Ruther Glen