THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 8, 1996 TAG: 9601060009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Two articles in your Dec. 31 paper were depressing and full of gobbledy-gook and conjecture.
One concerned the number of arrests and convictions of juveniles in Hampton Roads with a strong implication that there must be something wrong with the justice system.
Since one of the most prominent aspects of the recent federal crime bill was the addition of police on the streets to combat crime, why are you not congratulating the justice system?
There was a picture of Mark Graham, apparently in a jail cell, making the statement: ``All I've known since I was 12 was being locked up'' and adding that the justice system had taught him only how to be a better criminal.
Does it not occur to Mr. Graham and to the writers of the article that all he would have to do is modify his behavior and he wouldn't be locked up at all?
The other item was titled ``When the police and press run scared'' by book editor Ann Sjoerdsma. She complained that the police and press beat around the bush when it came to identifying the parties by race in an incident which occurred in Edgewood, Md.
Ms. Sjoersdma says that the boys involved could have been white and the victim could have been black, but then goes on to suggest that the perpetrators were black and the victim white; but nowhere could I find where she makes a definite statement as to the races of the individuals involved. Ms. Sjoerdsma not only beat around the bush but she hid behind it.
I hope that in 1996 The Virginian-Pilot brings us news accounts with more facts and fewer suppositions.
VIRGINIA MORRISON
Virginia Beach, Jan. 2, 1996 by CNB