LOCK 'EM UP FOR GOOD

I read with great interest the article "Freakonomics author: No boom
in murder by black teens" [Wednesday]. Seeing how James Alan Fox
blames gangs, lax gun laws and a lack of funding by the federal
government as some of the reasons for the supposed rise, I think the
government is finally wising up to the real cause of the problems and
reducing the funding. As a country, we have waged wars in our
neighborhoods against drugs, gangs, guns etc. As many wars as we have
waged, not a single war has been won, not one. And why?

Mainly because the solution is not to continuously throw money at
something to make it go away. If we want serious reductions in crimes
such as murder, drugs and gang activity, then we need serious
truth-in-sentencing laws that put offenders behind bars
permanently.

Murders, crimes committed with guns or weapons should all be mandatory
life sentences with no chance for parole. Any nonviolent drug or gang
offenses should have a 50-year sentence attached, at a minimum, and no
time off for good behavior.

Jeff Pabst

Hanover Park