please take a look and tell me what needs improvement on.
Dear Senator Mikulski,
I write this letter to you to ask that you remove the death penalty from the state of Maryland and work towards removing it from all states. It is my strong belief that the death penalty does not work in preventing crime. The death penalty has been going on for centuries yet it has not deterred crime. In fact crime has increased over the years in America. We need to work on our country to educate and prevent crime. Killing is morally wrong and religiously wrong. I have just finished “Dead Man Walking”, by Sister Helen Prejean. Before reading the book I was all for the death penalty but now after being educated and researching the death sentence I feel strongly against the death penalty. I was so naive to think we were doing the right thing by killing those that kill. There is a serious social injustice going on in America. The human rights are being abused in America and the justice system has flaws in it. We need to work on removing the death penalty not only for us but to set the example to the whole world. We are a country built on democracy for all yet fail short to address many issues regarding rights of the people.
It is said in America that “all men are created equal” but this is so far from the truth. The gettos of America are getting worst and worst year by year. More money is being spent on the prison system and less on education, less on the lower income communities, and even less on helping the poor. I wonder after reading “Dead Man Walking” how the life of executed convicted killer Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie would be if they grew up rich and in loving homes? America has failed these to men and they are not the only ones. In Robert Lee Willie's Juvenille record he once asked to be kept in jail because he had nowhere else to go. Only if there was a youth center for him when he was young and much more help for his family. There are countless others just like them with the same story. All across America today there are boys and girls with broken homes and nowhere to go except into the life of crime. Will these kids grow up to be productive in society? To answer that question I look at the governments crime statistics. Based on the data for the years 1976 to 2005, “Approximately one-third of murder victims and almost half the offenders are under the age of 25. For both victims and offenders, the rate per 100,000 peaks in the 18-24 year-old age group.(Beureau of Justice Statistics)”
It undeniable that our policies and funds effect the crime rate. Sister Helen wrote, “...as social programs are slashed , new prisons are built. Between 1975 and 1991 Louisiana expanded its adult prisons from three to twelve, with prison populations increasing by 249 percent.(pg.9)” This is outrageous to hear. Many of the criminals and murders grow up to become victims of there own environment. Its hard for the poor people to make a honest living with out our help. We spend so much money on killing a person on death row with its security, police, housing, food, court costs, and time, yet Sister Ann struggles to keep her clinic open for the poor. How can we justify killing these people on death row when American government is partially to blame. The criminals become the product of there own environment.
Sister Helen wrote about Florida, “..., each death sentence is estimated to cost approximately $3.18 million, compared to the cost of life imprisonment (40 years) of about $516,000.(pg.129)” Couldn't we spend our money in a much better way? Life imprisonment sounds to be a much better solution. With its added change left over we could use it in preventing crime instead of killing death row inmates. Another good example of misuse of money is Texas. “The state spends approximately $2.3 million on each capital case, a grossly disproportionate outlay of resources which forces cut-backs in other crucial areas of crime control.(pg.233)” So in reality executions really do not prevent crime. Executions actually increases crime because it takes away funding that could be better used to prevent crime.
There is a serious problem with our prison system. Patrick Sonnier is one example of someone slipping threw the cracks. He started his life of crime since the age of 9 and had a long criminal record to back it. Robert Lee Willie also had a long and extensive run in with the law. These two men are just two examples of people failed by our system of government. The Prison system failed to reform these men and still to this day fail many others. There needs to be some work to help reform and train the criminals to become productive and safe for society before and after being released from prison.
In jail and in prison Robert Lee Willie did not become better a person but ended up in a gang of a racist hate group,the Aryan Brotherhood. If the Government would have reached Robert Willie, there may have never been the tragic death of Faith Hathaway or injury to her boyfriend. “Prior to these murders, Willie had been involved in two other murders: the drowning death in 1978 of Dennis Buford Hemby...., and the shooting death in 1979 of Louisiana Parish Deputy Sergeant Louis Wagner II. (pg.119)” The system seriously failed to protect the people and did not help Robert Lee Willie be a productive person in society. Sister Helen wrote, “Between 1972 and 1979, when he was twenty-one years old Robert Willie was arrested thirty times.(pg.153)” How did Willie go unnoticed, thirty times before the tragic killings he was apart of?!
The American Government also needs to work on the growing drug problem in America. The system we have in place is not working! “The Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that in 2006, 5.3% of the 14,990 homicides in which circumstances were known were narcotics related. Murders that occurred specifically during a narcotics felony, such as drug trafficking or manufacturing, are considered drug related.” What exactly is going on with the increase drug related crime? We need to help and educate people on drugs. Sister Helen seen first hand how drugs impact a persons ability to fit in society. Sister had this to say about Robert Lee Willie: “Freed of drugs, he can read books, reflect, articulate his thoughts and opinions.(pg.152)” Funding for drugs is being mismanaged. We need more money going into early prevention and education. DEA needs to focus its energy in getting those at the top not the bottom of the barrel. Also, there needs to be more funding for addicts of drugs. Why is it that those with a drug related offense can not get student aid to go to school to better them selves? It is known fact that drugs will always be there in society.
There is news that CIA smuggle drugs into our own country from Vietnam to present. In Vietnam it was reported that the CIA used our own military planes to bring in heroin. Then, there was the Oliver North scandal of drug smuggling. And, just recently September 24, 2007 a well documented used plane of the CIA crashed landed with nearly 4 tons of cocaine. Is our government making money off drugs? If these things are really going on with in our government how can we justify that we are moral enough to sentence someone to death and execute that person?
Our system of government was set up so that each individual shall have a fair and just trial. The 5th , 6th and 14th Amendment says so. The 14th Amendment says, “...; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The poor and the blacks are not afforded such rights. The system has failed them in there due process and equal protection of the law. Millard Farmer, a very good lawyer in Louisiana, stated, “99 percent of death-row inmates are poor. They get the kind of defense they pay for.(pg.47)” He goes on to state that court appointed lawyers are usually in adequate in representing clients in capital cases because they are over worked with many other cases or they lack the resources to give proper defense. Millard also goes on to state that in Louisiana judges often appoint attorneys in private practice to take on capital cases because the public defenders offices is over booked with cases even though that lawyer may only practice civil law. “They may never of have cracked a single book on criminal law, and yet they are asked to defend a person's life...(pg49)” , said Millard Farmer.
The 6th Amendment states the rights of a fair trial of the accused. One part of it specifically states that the accused shall have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Chava of the coalition office of Louisiana explained, “... in Louisiana, court-appointed appointed attorneys are required to represent clients only in the state courts, not on federal appeals.(pg.14)” If this is true that this is breaking the constitutional rights of citizens to right of counsel. The poor can not afford lawyers, so what real chance are they given to a fair trial?
Morally it is wrong to kill. We are being hypocritical society by caring out executions. No matter which way and how people are executed there is no way of considering that dignified whether it be by lethal injection, gas, electric chair, hanging, and so on... The Eighth Amendment protects against cruelty and torture. Death Row inmates are subject to torture every day. Sister Helen said, “...one dimension of suffering that can never be eliminated when death is imposed on a conscious human being: the horror of being put to death against your will and the agony of anticipation.(pg.217)” We must never forget Killer and criminals are people to. There is only one person that can ultimately pass judgement and that is God.
I do feel pain and suffering for that that have lost love ones to tragic crimes. I have felt the pain of two people murdered two separate time. My friend Jossie Brown was brutally killed by a person she met online. And, my friend Ashley was killed by her boy friend at the time by domestic violence. My heart goes out to the families. For a long time I believed these killers should be punished by death but I look to God and the bible and he has answered me by several passages in the bible. “Let him without sin cast the first stone,...(John 8:7).” Vengeance is for God. Jesus spoke of forgiveness. I do not condone what the killers did but I feel killing will not acomplish any thing. I believe that will be better off by severing there life in doing good behind bars.
Senator Mikulski I ask again please stand on the moral side of removing the death penalty. We look to you as the leader to make the stand for moral code. Lets remove the death penalty and work on a better mean of preventing crime. “Dealing with the real crime problem in this nation involves a far more comprehensive approach in areas of employment, drug prevention, police security, and education...(pg129)”, said so wisely by sister Helen. So far the death penalty has not detered crime. Lets try a means of crimes prevention with in America.
Sincerely,

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Disclaimer: I do not buy, sell, cultivate, manufacture, or use any illegal substance. Any postings I make on this forum are purely for entertainment purposes. Any pictures that I may post have been created by artificial means from images gathered from the internet and other sources. Any statements made should not be considered truthful.

I would critique, but you left us no bandwidth. Just kidding, nice letter, a few misspelled words but that is about it. I'll give you an A-.

Looks good to me! Well writen. Took some time for sure.

very well written nice work

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Prophet-of-zion
a pot head