In world of ‘wasted energy,’ going to keep on praying
I am a Christian by my Lutheran faith. I was a victim of childhood sexual, physical and mental abuse. I was born female and am now a woman in my 60s.
I always knew in my heart I would never have an abortion because a baby is a human being at conception. It would be murder. It feels pain. It is never the baby’s fault. There are always good people out there who are wanting to find a baby to adopt and love.
So much energy is wasted on hate, racism, fighting and judging. No one is perfect. No one. We all make mistakes, everyone.
The celebrities who are boycotting states that are against murdering babies, well, I never will go see their entertainment in any form anymore. I used to enjoy them greatly. No more.
I respect our country, our president, our flag and all those who have risked their lives and are risking their lives to protect our country, our cities, our lands, and are keeping us safe and free.
All I know is that I’m going to keep on praying.
SUZANNE NOSS THOMASON
Mount Judea
Adult courts should copy
approaches for juveniles
I recently sat in a meeting of the full Washington County Quorum Court and listened to Judge Stacey Zimmerman report on the state of the Washington/Madison County juvenile court. When Judge Zimmerman finished her presentation, the room burst into wild applause.
Why?
The judge had filled us in on the facts about a court system (hers/ours) that is functioning very well. Unusual, huh? Judge Z told us her court focuses on incarcerating only those who really needed to be locked up. (One intake officer reportedly helped keep 1,300 juveniles out of detention over a two-year period.) Washington County has one of the lowest juvenile recidivism rates in the state.
Why perform a $100,000 study, or wrench $38 million from the pockets of the taxpayer for a new jail? Just implement Judge Zimmerman’s system. Use her model in the adult system.
The average cost per prisoner is $20,000 per year. We could keep all but the truly dangerous out of jail/prison for a lot less. Rehab them, set up supervised work programs and save a fortune. The cost as of now is the $20,000, plus a huge loss of productivity by loss of our workforce, plus a new generation of unparented children largely guaranteed to find their own way into the prison system. Madness.
We can’t possibly incarcerate our way to freedom.
MAC CHILDS
Fayetteville