ASHCROFT IS A BULLY

In response to The Sun's Sept. 27 editorial titled "Maximum John":
Your editorial was right on target. Note that John Ashcroft's latest
bullying of judges was spurred in part by the recent one-day sentence
handed down for California medical marijuana supplier Ed Rosenthal,
when a possible life sentence was a viable option for Judge Charles
Breyer.

Since drug-related convictions are the largest source of federal
prison inmates, such discretion by federal judges threatens the steady
flow of non-violent offenders to the federal prison system.

It's clear Ashcroft is a key player in the current agenda of the
Brothers Bush to further America's role as the world's leading jailer.
As governor of Texas from 1992-2000, George W. built the Texas prison
system into the largest in the free world for per capita
incarceration. As governor of Florida (and potential presidential
candidate in 2008), Jeb Bush currently oversees record numbers of
inmates, with this past June being the highest influx of new prisoners
ever. News from this past summer shows that drug offenders are what is
fueling the massive increase here in Florida.

Judges who legally disagree with the Bush strategy do not deserve the
arm twisting from Ashcroft and should be left alone to do their jobs
without his bullying.

STEPHEN HEATH

Public relations director

Drug Policy Forum of Florida, Clearwater