System failed us in cop killing case
The police shootings by Ismaaiyl Brinsley demonstrates the faults in our criminal justice system. While the AJC story “9 arrests didn’t prevent cop killings” (News, Dec. 23) notes this criminal “fell through the cracks,” the facts suggest otherwise. After some 19 arrests in his 28 years and several convictions, Brinsley continued to escalate his criminal behavior. With this record of criminality, the subject was caught with a weapon and charged with a number of firearms and other offenses, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and discharging that firearm.
Instead of 20 years in prison, he was sentenced to four months in a boot camp. Many inmates suffer from personality disorders, which often require many years of psychotherapy to correct. As such, they are rarely treated by the public mental health system. Former Cobb County prosecutor Philip Holloway acknowledges that “this (sentence) is in line with what you’d normally see, considering the charges.” The subject did not “slip through cracks” in the system. The system failed the public in failing to keep an escalating menace off the streets.
STEVE MILLER, DECATUR
Boost investment in teachers, teaching
AJC reporter Eric Stirgus’ article “Fewer Georgians become teachers” (News, Dec. 21) provided excellent information. Our state government and legislators have added to the problem of fewer Georgians choosing teaching. The cost of attending state schools has increased greatly under their direction. The amount given to post-secondary state schools has caused an increase in the amount of money college students must borrow. Congress has made Pell Grant funding less and less. Our state government has enacted additional procedures to become certified as a teacher and layered that cost onto students.
If Georgia leaders wanted to improve the educational level of citizens in our state and encourage more people to become teachers, they would put more money into secondary educational institutions, remove or greatly lower the cost of getting certified as a teacher, and raise the state funding structure so teacher base pay would equal the amount of work demanded of teachers in today’s society.
KAREN DAVENPORT, DECATUR
Teacher shortage? What a surprise!
Fewer people are choosing teaching? A few years ago, many public school teachers lost their jobs and health insurance when counties suddenly realized they had run out of money. My wife was one of them. Some of my married friends are two-teacher families, so the furloughs meant a 20-percent decrease in income for the year. Nationwide, it has become evident that all municipalities have the same game plan: No money? Cut teachers first. If you take a low-paying job that demands many additional unpaid hours and high intelligence, and then take away any semblance of job security, what will happen? Who could possibly have seen this one coming?
AL LINTEL, MARIETTA
