THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409150002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
People of our great nation are looking for an answer to the high crime rate as well as the high tax rates.
The answer is simple. It may seem a bit cold.
Yes ``three strikes and you're out'' is about as fair as it gets. Fair to the criminal who has had two chances to reform and unfair to the public that is the criminal's victim in the first place and that support's him in a prison through paying taxes. If on the third strike a convicted person is sent to jail, justice might be well served by terminating the criminal. Termination for less violent crimes could be by lethal injection; for more violent crimes, starvation.
The taxpayer would be better off paying the price of an execution instead of supporting a prisoner.
This may sound uncivilized but crime is an uncivilized business.
This would also seem to be a deterrent to people embarking on a life of crime.
It would also be nice to limit ones stay on ``death row'' to three months after all appeals have been exhausted. Why should the law abiding majority continue to be victim by paying for the crimnals maintenance?
BRENDA BARTON
Virginia Beach, Sept. 12, 1994 by CNB