SAD CRIMINAL WHO NEEDS HELP, NOT HARSH SENTENCE

As a former New York City prosecutor who was part of both the federal and
state war on drugs during the golden age of crack cocaine in the late 1980s
and early 1990s, I write to protest the federalization of common crimes and
the inevitable resulting injustices ("Sentencing Shift: In Criminal Trials,
Venue Is Crucial but Often Arbitrary," Dec. 30).

The case of the "bullet in the box" is simply bullying by a politically
minded U.S. attorney with time on his hands. The poor victim, Dane A.
Yirkovsky, meets no one's definition of a career criminal, but instead is a
mope, a drug user or addict who did stupid things, apparently all
nonviolent, while down on his luck. I'm not sympathetic to criminals, but
my experience has shown me that the war on drugs is a war on ourselves, and
Mr. Yirkovsky is Exhibit A.

What is really happening here is the targeting of "undesirables," by
federalizing circumstances that will put them away for decades. This is
simply unjust. When I was a prosecutor, we were continually reminded that
we didn't work for any individual crime victim, but represented truth,
justice and the American way. Our job was to do justice, not to extract
retribution. Mr. Yirkovsky, who seemed to be getting his life together in
small steps, should have been targeted -- for assistance with his addiction
and problems that flowed directly from drug use, including his pathetic crimes.

Michael G. Brautigam

Cincinnati