System needs better judges

This is referencing the column by Howard Bess, “Setting Prisoners Free,” in the March 7 Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

Bess thinks mandatory sentencing is a bad idea. That comes about because the people are fed up with pansy judges and the revolving door judicial system. In the event mandatory sentencing seems overly harsh in a particular case, a jury can impose jury nullification.

As for three-strikes-and-you’re-out, it works a lot better than our current probation/ suspended sentence joke. But again, if it appears, in a specific case, that would be a gross miscarriage of justice, the jury can simply acquit the person. If we had real judges we wouldn’t need such measures.

I don’t see Bess offering alternative solutions. He doesn’t seem to understand that in any society, there will always be a percentage of people who refuse to follow the rules of that society. And when these people cause harm to others, corrective/preventative action has to be taken.

If Bess thinks our prisons are cruel, I suggest he visit some in Mexico, South America or the Middle East.

Prisons overcrowded? Housing prisoners in Arizona? You can lay that directly on Bess and people like him, along with every legislator and every governor over the last 20 years (that’s why we pour $16 million a year into the economy of Arizona).

As to crowded prisons, go look at berthing conditions on an aircraft carrier, submarine, destroyer or tank, and those men and women are not criminals. As for Com. Schmidt, he is busy … building country clubs.

R.K. Butts

Wasilla