Talk to inmates, families about criminal justice reform
I find it difficult to understand why Georgia is being hailed as a national leader in the criminal justice reform effort. (“Learning from Georgia’s criminal justice overhaul,” Atlanta Forward, Oct. 1). Surely, the writers have failed to consider the impact the death of Kelly Gissendaner will have on the state and country. While they spoke with “stakeholders of every stripe,” they apparently overlooked the fact that the number of executions has dropped nationwide since 2009. They also apparently overlooked the current investigation by the FBI and GBI into drug deals made by Georgia inmate,s as well as recent stories published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealing the lack of medical treatment for inmates. I can only hope the Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections will spend less time talking with judges, defenders and prosecutors and more time talking with inmates and their families, as well as those working inside the state and federal prisons before making final recommendations.
KRISTINE F. ANDERSON, SMYRNA
Extra gun laws wouldn’t have stopped Oregon tragedy
President Barack Obama’s true colors shine, concerning the question, “Is Obama really a Christian? We have an official “hate crime” committed against the brethren of his own supposed religion, and all he goes after are gun owners. Had the criminal killed just gays or Democrats, would Obama only then recognize this as a hate crime? To add insult to injury, instead of placing any trust or faith in said God, he totally discounts him and places all his trust and confidence in Congress. Do you see the colors? Incidentally, all the guns used in this tragedy were purchased legally. Thus, no extra gun laws would have prevented what happened. Consequently, had the guns being obtained illegally, again, no additional gun laws would have prevented this tragedy. Somehow, the thousands of laws already on the books, governing guns, seem to always be overlooked by criminals and bad people.
MICHAEL DOSIE, STOCKBRIDGE
Prosecute gun merchants for mass murders
As we consider yet another mass shooting, we need to face facts. Due to proliferating gun violence in the United States, we have become the least-civilized of the major Western nations, a truly dangerous place to live or visit. Our elected representatives obviously fear the NRA and value their positions more than they value human lives. That leaves us only one option. We must prosecute those who sell the guns to mass murders as accessories to the crimes caused by their weapons. Anyone who sells or trades a weapon to a mass murderer must be held accountable for the death and mayhem their weapons cause!
A.C. MCQUAIDE JR., BERKELEY LAKE
