HAVE MERCY

I have been following the story involving the Lake Highlands High
School staff and the marijuana-laced muffins.

As a mother, I empathize immensely with the families of these
students. From what I have gathered, these young men come from very
involved, respectable, even admirable families.

There is no doubt that Ian Walker and Joseph Tellini made a terrible
choice and didn't consider the potential consequences of their
actions. What they did was thoughtless, careless, irresponsible and,
yes, illegal. But it was not done maliciously or with evil intent.

These young men should be punished, but the punishment should fit the
crime. They should not be classified with criminals who are guilty of
armed assault. That is ludicrous.

They have cooperated fully with the authorities and taken
responsibility for their actions, and Ian Walker has even pleaded
that other young people learn from his mistakes.

We should not be so self-righteous and sanctimonious that we forget
to be compassionate.

I think most, if not all of us have done things that we are not proud
of and that, in retrospect, had the potential of turning into
something very, very dreadful. We were fortunate enough to avoid the
pitfalls or someone had mercy on us.

I keep remembering the words of Jesus: "Let he who is without sin
cast the first stone."

Janet Coyle, Garland