Fitting Punishment

How refreshing to see the commentary by Enzensberger. He stated what I have been thinking since last August; that is, Saddam Hussein is nothing more and nothing less than the second coming of Adolf Hitler. We and the coalition forces should be devoting our time to ferreting out this psychopathic monster before he commits suicide in his bunker. He could then be placed in solitary confinement for the rest of his natural life, a very fitting punishment for one who survives only by being surrounded by people whom he feeds off of. D.L. SMALL Orange

A Santa Paula teenager, convicted in March of fatally beating and slashing a couple before stealing their car for a joy ride, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Adam Sarabia, 18, was given the maximum sentence for the murders of John Ramirez and Joanne Wotkyns, slain two years ago in their Santa Paula home. Because Sarabia was 16 at the time of the killings, he was not eligible for the death penalty.

A Santa Paula teenager, convicted in March of fatally beating and slashing a couple before stealing their car for a joy ride, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Adam Sarabia, 18, was given the maximum sentence for the murders of John Ramirez and Joanne Wotkyns, slain two years ago in their Santa Paula home. Because Sarabia was 16 at the time of the killings, he was not eligible for the death penalty.

A man on a mission, Tony Rackauckas hung up his judge's robes in 1998 to rid the Orange County District Attorney's Office of what he called the political cronyism and destructive prosecutorial policies that had tarnished the agency. Nearly four years later, Rackauckas finds himself accused of waging his own political crusade, with his loudest critics--and his challenger in the March primary election--coming from within the ranks of the district attorney's office.

After reading Milton Rouse's letter (Nov. 15) regarding Beverly Jean Ernst's prison term, I agree with his view that a 4-year prison sentence isn't a correct punishment. Beverly Jean Ernst's crime isn't one of typical cold-blooded murder. This isn't to say that no sort of discipline should be enforced. However, it should be a punishment more effective and beneficial than four years in prison. A more fitting punishment for Beverly Jean Ernst would be four years of consistent community service.

I read in The Times that the judge in the IRS case involving Leona Helmsley and her husband ordered her to go to federal prison for a four-year sentence, pay an $8-million fine and serve 750 hours of community service. In my opinion this judge's decision dramatizes how out-of-touch our justice system is. Since the shortage of funds for public use is painfully present all over our country (according to the politicians) it would seem that for a case like this where a super-wealthy person (who employs several thousand people and gives lots of money to charity)

Shame on Nordstrom for telling its sales associates to pursue their entrepreneurial instincts and act as if they actually owned the business ("The Other Nordstrom," Feb. 4)! Shame on Nordstrom for honoring those who thrive in such an environment by giving them the opportunity to sell more and earn more, to avail themselves of enviable merchandise discounts and to aspire to increased responsibilities thanks to a strictly enforced promote-from-within policy! And shame on Nordstrom for fostering middle management autonomy!

Jeffrey L. Gunther, the presiding judge in Dr. Michael Elam's case, the controversial cosmetic surgeon, apparently needs more than mere cosmetic surgery. If his recent decision ("Doctor Who was Stripped of His License Gets Reprieve," Sept. 6) is any indication, he needs a full-fledged brain transplant as his thought processes and sense of logic seem to be severely impaired. Instead of concluding that Elam's medical license should be revoked, as the Medical Board of California had recommended due to numerous violations, including forged insurance billings, a botched "tummy tuck" and unwanted operations, Gunther gave him a mere slap on the wrist, which included requiring Elam to take an ethics class and to have his practice monitored until his case is resolved in court.

Allow me to take issue with your pronouncements on the death penalty as stated in your editorial. Your proposition that the death penalty should be abolished on grounds that more killers of whites are executed than killers of blacks, is not only illogical, but actually unjust. It is illogical because it attacks a system, based not on a possible intrinsic lack of desirability but on the way the system is used. It would not surprise me to read one morning an editorial suggesting that car theft could be eliminated by abolishing cars.

The San Diego City Council's revocation of the opening of Pomerado Road ("S.D. Council Revokes Plan to Reopen Pomerado Road," Nov. 6) is petty and arrogant. Too bad about extra traffic coming through Scripps Ranch. Every community in greater San Diego has the same problem, but they don't fence off public streets. The city of San Diego and the council should be ashamed of being so small-minded. I sentence all of them to two hours of nonstop driving on I-15 at rush hour for at least six months.

Re: "Conroy Paid Aide Suspended in Sex Harassment Case" (Oct. 26). The average man has 66 pounds of muscle, 40 pounds of bone and 3.25 pounds of brain, which seems to explain a lot of things. The Mick was reprimanded for violating the sexual harassment policy by embracing, kissing, asking for back rubs and making inappropriate remarks to a clerical worker. Let's make these violations punishable by caning, his preferred form of punishment. To demonstrate that punishment by caning is not too severe, perhaps he would voluntarily assume the position on the [Assembly]

I read in The Times that the judge in the IRS case involving Leona Helmsley and her husband ordered her to go to federal prison for a four-year sentence, pay an $8-million fine and serve 750 hours of community service. In my opinion this judge's decision dramatizes how out-of-touch our justice system is. Since the shortage of funds for public use is painfully present all over our country (according to the politicians) it would seem that for a case like this where a super-wealthy person (who employs several thousand people and gives lots of money to charity)

How refreshing to see the commentary by Enzensberger. He stated what I have been thinking since last August; that is, Saddam Hussein is nothing more and nothing less than the second coming of Adolf Hitler. We and the coalition forces should be devoting our time to ferreting out this psychopathic monster before he commits suicide in his bunker. He could then be placed in solitary confinement for the rest of his natural life, a very fitting punishment for one who survives only by being surrounded by people whom he feeds off of. D.L. SMALL Orange

Jeffrey L. Gunther, the presiding judge in Dr. Michael Elam's case, the controversial cosmetic surgeon, apparently needs more than mere cosmetic surgery. If his recent decision ("Doctor Who was Stripped of His License Gets Reprieve," Sept. 6) is any indication, he needs a full-fledged brain transplant as his thought processes and sense of logic seem to be severely impaired. Instead of concluding that Elam's medical license should be revoked, as the Medical Board of California had recommended due to numerous violations, including forged insurance billings, a botched "tummy tuck" and unwanted operations, Gunther gave him a mere slap on the wrist, which included requiring Elam to take an ethics class and to have his practice monitored until his case is resolved in court.

Shame on Nordstrom for telling its sales associates to pursue their entrepreneurial instincts and act as if they actually owned the business ("The Other Nordstrom," Feb. 4)! Shame on Nordstrom for honoring those who thrive in such an environment by giving them the opportunity to sell more and earn more, to avail themselves of enviable merchandise discounts and to aspire to increased responsibilities thanks to a strictly enforced promote-from-within policy! And shame on Nordstrom for fostering middle management autonomy!

After reading Milton Rouse's letter (Nov. 15) regarding Beverly Jean Ernst's prison term, I agree with his view that a 4-year prison sentence isn't a correct punishment. Beverly Jean Ernst's crime isn't one of typical cold-blooded murder. This isn't to say that no sort of discipline should be enforced. However, it should be a punishment more effective and beneficial than four years in prison. A more fitting punishment for Beverly Jean Ernst would be four years of consistent community service.

A man on a mission, Tony Rackauckas hung up his judge's robes in 1998 to rid the Orange County District Attorney's Office of what he called the political cronyism and destructive prosecutorial policies that had tarnished the agency. Nearly four years later, Rackauckas finds himself accused of waging his own political crusade, with his loudest critics--and his challenger in the March primary election--coming from within the ranks of the district attorney's office.

Allow me to take issue with your pronouncements on the death penalty as stated in your editorial. Your proposition that the death penalty should be abolished on grounds that more killers of whites are executed than killers of blacks, is not only illogical, but actually unjust. It is illogical because it attacks a system, based not on a possible intrinsic lack of desirability but on the way the system is used. It would not surprise me to read one morning an editorial suggesting that car theft could be eliminated by abolishing cars.