Bail for Stalkers

* Re “Bail for Stalking Rises Fivefold After Slaying,” Dec. 24.

They still don’t get it. The judges who voted to raise the county’s mandatory bail in cases of felony stalking from $20,000 to $100,000 still don’t understand. All they accomplished was to raise the price of a stalking murder. They did nothing to protect women from being stalked and killed by angry, violent men.

The problem here is not the amount of bail. In Vicki Shade’s case, and many others like it, the problem is a system that permitted Roland Sheehan, Shade’s stalker and murderer, to violate a restraining order 15 times, with apparent impunity.

Fifteen violations is pretty clear evidence that Sheehan had no respect for authority and no intention of obeying anyone’s “order.”

Restraining orders are nothing more than a joke. Sheehan got to violate his 14 times and Vicki Shade paid with her life. The system, and the authorities who operate it, are partly culpable.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Why don’t we just come down hard on people who won’t obey the law and make them accountable before something terrible like this happens?

ED SHOOP

Somis