Child Abuse

I see another article on a mass murderer and rapist, Dean Philip Carter (Part A, Jan. 29). And again I read the implication that he was always a bad kid. According to the article, he defied his parents and was a confirmed burglar by the time he was 14 or 15. Only in passing are his alcoholic parents mentioned and the fact that they shackled him to his bed to discipline him when he was 10 years old. We can only guess at the severe abuse he suffered throughout his childhood.

As a nation we are loathe to acknowledge the prevalence of child abuse and the rippling effect of damage it causes society. These children are taught violence and hatred, taught to distrust others and taught to dislike themselves.

Dean Philip Carter must pay for his crimes. But nothing is learned or gained by executing him and then forgetting him. When are we going to notice that the one thing people like Carter, Ted Bundy, Patrick Edward Purdy, etc. have in common is the extensive abuse they suffered as children.

Let’s stop giving lip service to our love of children and put our money where our mouths are. We need a massive increase in funding for child protective services, family counseling services, foster-parent programs, mandatory high school parenting classes, etc.

JOSEPH S. PALACIOS

San Gabriel