LIVES LINKED TO DRUGS OFTEN LEAD TO TRAGEDY

While it may be humorous to your reporter, to the Fulton County District
Attorney's office, drugs --- and the lives they destroy --- are no laughing
matter ("A really cold case: Fulton tries to prosecute dead man," Page One,
June 7). That is why the Atlanta mayor, chief of police, the U.S. attorney,
the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, I
and others convened a summit recently to launch a major, coordinated
assault on illegal drugs in our community.

The tragic story of 21-year-old Jason Warner is one of many linked to
drugs. He died while out of jail on bond on a charge of possession of
marijuana with intent to distribute. A year after his arrest, he was shot
and killed as he and a friend were breaking into a home. The toxicology
report shows he was high on cocaine. We received his case more than a year
after it happened, ran the usual system checks and found no indication that
this defendant was dead.

Obviously, we would never intentionally prosecute a deceased defendant.
However, I'm so frustrated by illegal drugs, I would prosecute an alien if
I thought it would solve the problem. Absent extraterrestrial help, though,
we'll continue our fight, even in the face of one unavoidable mistake every
17,000 cases.

PAUL L. HOWARD JR. Howard is Fulton County district attorney.