TOUGH DRUG SENTENCE 'A BLESSING IN DISGUISE'

To the Editor of THE EAGLE:- I am a parent who has followed and actually
lived through the experience of the youth and their parents in Great
Barrington.

It would be a mockery of justice not to impose the mandatory two-year jail
sentence upon those 17-year-old youngsters. As a parent of a once
17-year-old who was one of the first youngsters in Pittsfield to serve that
sentence, I remember it like it was yesterday.

Social class has nothing to do with the crime. I am a working middle-class
parent who brought up all my children with a strong moral and ethical code.
My son had never been in trouble; this was his first offense. He made a
poor choice and had to pay the consequences for his actions. A law is a
law; it has to be and should be enforced; it has been enforced and should
continue to be enforced regardless of who commits the crime.

I recall a certain police officer who said to me, "This is a blessing in
disguise." Those words became a reality. My son, along with the rest of the
family, suffered through this painful, but valuable, lesson. He served his
sentence and is now living a very productive and meaningful life in the
community. It's important for us, as parents, to teach our children how to
function appropriately in society. On the matter of "tough love," it was
well worth it!

JOANNE LAROCHELLE

Pittsfield