PUNISHMENT MUST FIT CRIME

FOR the third time in as many weeks, concern has been raised over the
disparity of sentencing within the judicial system.

Garda frustration and disappointment, as an English drug dealer received
only six years in jail for attempting to set up a heroin network in Dublin,
is perfectly understandable.

The leniency of this sentence contrasts sharply with the nine-year term
handed down recently to a female drug addict who stole a handbag, unaware
it contained #10,000 in cash and jewellery.

There is something wrong with a system which can impose a far harsher
prison term on an habitual thief than on a dealer who had #50,000 worth of
heroin in his possession.

That a person preying on unfortunate addicts in society, peddling in a
death-dealing drug, should get off so lightly, in view of the Government's
mandatory proposal for a minimum 10-year jail sentence for possession of
#10,000 worth of drugs, is a cause for considerable public concern.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski