HARSH JUSTICE PUTS LIVES IN THE BALANCE (2 of 3)

To the Editor:

Re your Aug. 12 editorial about mandatory minimums: My family is a victim
of the war on drugs. My husband was a first-time offender convicted only on
the word of someone looking to shorten his own sentence. The harsh
mandatory minimum guidelines imposed a sentence of 78 months, one that the
judge himself agreed was cruel and unnecessary.

DINA ASEBEDO
San Antonio,
Aug. 13, 2003