JAIL FOR LAWBREAKERS

The editorial writer follows The News-Journal's long-standing tradition of
talking down to its readers, thus ignoring their preferences and common
sense. Why not present some facts, rather than the capricious pontification
that "mandatory sentencing laws that strip discretion from judges are a
dismal failure, sending people to prison for relatively minor crimes at
massive public expense"?

Surely readers remember that mandatory sentencing laws were passed because
liberal activist judges were sending massive quantities of these "minor
criminals" back onto the street to steal my possessions (or perhaps even
the editorial writer's) to support their "minor" drug habit.

These low-income criminals are the ones who are most likely to car-jack my
wife or home invade my mother so they can finance their "inexpensive" drug
habit.

I don't recall any petition drives asking that fewer prisons be built or
fewer "minor" criminals be incarcerated. To the contrary, I believe the
majority of taxpayers would volunteer for tax increases to build more
prisons. Furthermore, if The News-Journal were to publish accurate,
unbiased data revealing the percentage of drug rehab clients who remain
clean for 10 years, I believe there might arise a hue and cry to institute
mandatory death sentences for repeat drug users who are nothing more than
expensive parasites on society.

"Lock 'em up"? You bet! Then at least the rest of us can live in peace and
safety.

Jerry Guthrie

Ormond Beach