TIME FOR ALL OF US TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST HABITUAL DRUG DEALERS

In response to the article "Meth lab operator gets 19-23 months" in
the Aug. 26 edition of the Cherokee Scout. This should have been
titled, "Our judicial system, who does it represent?"

I wish to express my deepest sympathy for all the law enforcement
agencies involved with the investigation of this meth lab - the
Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, State Bureau of Investigation, and
other agents of the multiple agency narcotics unit. After all the
investigation work to put together enough evidence in order to
prosecute the people arrested in this "clandestine meth lab," the
best our judicial system can come up with is 19-24 months. Maybe with
good behavior the guilty will serve 6-8 months.

It hardly seems worth the work involved to prosecute.

In case you haven't figured it out, I am a retired law enforcement
officer who is angry with our judicial system. All the work involved
in this and other investigations - the hours, days, maybe weeks,
paperwork, documenting the defendant's actions, gathering
intelligence, logging in the evidence procured, then putting it all
together to present to the prosecutor praying for arrest warrants to
be drawn up, then serving these warrants on the defendants - is a
futile process.

And this is only part of the picture. I haven't even mentioned
drawing up and serving subpoenas and court time. The list goes on and on.

Then, finally, the icing on the cake is three defendants released so
they can relocate their business elsewhere, probably still in
Cherokee County. Why not? They know the court system won't punish them anyway.

People, take a stand. Do whatever it takes to change this process.
Get active in the community for changes. Join whatever group you want
so your voice will be heard.

We need political changes.

G.F. Oldziej

Murphy