Sentencing of Linda Sue Decker

* Re “Mother Who Abducted Son Spared Lockup,” Jan. 13.

Judge Bruce Clark’s sentencing [of] Linda Sue Decker, aka Michelle Jones, to 250 days of community service in her home state for abducting her infant son 17 years ago and hiding him from his biological father sends a tragic message to our community: The relationship between father and son is virtually worthless in the eyes of the judicial system. Go ahead and steal your son from his father.

And what of this fantastic rush to leniency for this woman, apparently intended in some obscure way to aid the healing process? I would venture to say that at least 10 times this month, some man has been sentenced to prison for stealing something as insignificant as a car, worth only money, as opposed to 17 of the most important years in a father-son relationship.

Were Deputy Dist. Atty. Denise Payne and [defense attorney] Jay Johnson arguing vociferously for leniency so the man could continue his relationship with his son? This double standard in the judicial system serves no one.

I served six years as a social worker in the juvenile dependency court. Now, as a marriage, family and child counselor, I lead three men’s groups, which often focus on divorce and custody issues. Too often the juvenile and family law court systems reach decisions that, sadly, mirror the above-mentioned criminal decision.

Your article chronicling some of our worst nightmares will serve our community if it continues to raise disturbing questions about how, as a culture, we value and protect the father-son relationship. It is a mystery to the court system.

RICHARD KLINE Jr.

Ventura