SOME TIME FOR OLD CRIME

For more than a quarter-century, Stephen Calamia has led the life of a
good citizen -- raising a family, running a business, working with the
Boy Scouts, coaching Little League, donating to charity and following
the law.

All the behavior the judicial system hopes to see when it tries to
rehabilitate offenders, Calamia has been displaying for decades. Yet
Martin County authorities are right to seek some jail time for the 54-
year-old New Orleans man because of a long-forgotten criminal act. In
1977, the Coast Guard caught Calamia and another man, Michael
Chestnut, trying to smuggle 21 bales of marijuana ashore south of
Stuart. A jury convicted the men on felony drug smuggling charges
after a three-day trial, and a judge sentenced them to five years in
prison and 10 years' probation.

Calamia appealed the conviction and returned to New Orleans. He says
he never received notice that the appeal had been denied and that he
should turn himself in. Chestnut began serving his term in 1980 and
was released a little more than a year later when a parole commission
shortened the sentence. Calamia probably would have avoided detection
forever if not for a visit to the Orlando area in November. He was
doing interior design work for a hotel in Sanford and called police
about a disturbance. They took his ID, checked it and discovered the
ancient outstanding warrant.

Besides rehabilitating offenders, the system also has an obligation to
punish and deter. Even at this late date and under these unusual
circumstances, authorities must honor the jury's verdict. Calamia, a
Vietnam vet with a wife and four kids, has made a compelling case for
lenient treatment by living his life the right way. The system must
take note of that and require a short incarceration as just payment
for an old debt that can't be forgiven but should be mitigated.