In the Readers' Forum on May 29, Marie Gun-derson attacked Ross Anderson for advocating the elimination of minimum mandatory sentences for child sex abusers. She and other taxpayers, as well as victims and their families, should be grateful to Anderson for his selfless advocacy on behalf of reform in our sentencing policies.
Contrary to the implication in Gunderson's letter, Anderson is anything but soft on crime. As a former warden and director of programs at the Utah State Prison, I served on a subcommittee of the Restorative Justice Committee (formed by the Sentencing Commission), along with Anderson and several legislators, judges, corrections officials and the chair of the Board of Pardons. That subcommittee (Republicans and Democrats alike) unanimously recommended the repeal of minimum mandatory sentences, victim restitution, treatment for all sex offenders, and follow-up for the remainder of offenders' lives, on terms set by the Board of Pardons. It was Anderson who insisted on recommending lifetime supervision of sex offenders.Anderson never condoned the tactics used by Sen. President Lane Beattie in pushing through the bill to eliminate minimum mandatory sentences. However, the goal of that bill - the repeal of minimum mandatory sentences - has been widely supported by members of all political parties. (In fact, the ultimate repeal of minimum mandatory sentences passed the Utah House of Representatives by a unanimous vote - including that of Kelly Atkinson.)
Jeffrey R. Galli
Sandy