The recent rape and murders of several children has made me feel that I must speak out against this evil. I feel that the law does not protect us as citizens when it frees convicted rapists only to have them commit the same crime over again, perhaps several times.
There is a tendency to blame the judge and say, "Justice has failed again" when the judge is only able to give a limited sentence. It is not the judge, but our laws that are to blame. Couldn't we as citizens make it known to our ruling representatives that we think the laws should be changed?When I lived in Calgary, Alberta, in the 1980s, some people had a sticker placed in their windows that told children that it was a shelter from molesters. Because I had a name that was hard for children to say, I was referred to by them as "The Good Grandmother On The Corner."
Several times I heard my door bell ring and found a frightened child who needed sheltering from a would-be molester. I would phone the parents or police and the child would be returned home safely.
I feel it is time for our representative in Congress, Karen Shepherd, to know of our concern in this matter.
I feel that a person convicted of rape and murder should be executed - or, to be a bit more lenient - that they should receive a life sentence that means life, not parole in three years. I am sure that I am not the only one who feels this way. I know that we cannot stop the first offense, but surely there should be no second.
Florence Austin
Salt Lake City