STICK TO THE LAW

To the Editor of THE EAGLE:- I am serving a mandatory two-year sentence for
a school-zone, drug-selling violation. The law on mandatory sentencing is
strictand somewhat unfair, but it is the law. Just because the teens in
Great Barrington facing mandatory sentencing "come from good families" and
"have a future ahead of them" should mean nothing. I come from a great
Pittsfield family and I could have had a great future, too. There was no
uproar when a young mother (I was 23) was given this sentence. Judge
Barbalunga said, "It's a sad case but she's in business for one reason or
another." (Eagle, Sept. 3, 2003).

I hope David Capeless sticks to the two-year sentence to send a message
that no matter who you are or how much money you have the law applies to
everyone.

BRANDY GUINEN, Pittsfield