Stiff Sentence
* Re “Dispute Grows Over Tough Gang-Related Sentencing,” April 9: As a supporter of the Unusual Suspects, a theater group in which Michael Duc Ta was a participant during his time in Juvenile Hall, I attended his sentencing in Pomona on Jan. 5. Although Judge Charles E. Horan admitted he took no pleasure in the verdict of 35 years to life, he made a chilling comment when he told Ta something to the effect that if he behaves, by the time Ta gets out he will still be younger than Horan now is.
I am only relieved that this boy’s story is finally getting told, although I recently learned there is a possibility he will be sent to Pelican Bay State Prison. Yes, Ta made mistakes, but young lives are being lost forever by the decisions of intractable persons in authority who seem to take more pride in being tough on crime than seeing the whole picture. The justice system is certainly skewed toward defendants with means and capital to pay for justice. I hope Ta’s story has a different ending.
KERRY MADDEN-LUNSFORD
Los Angeles
*
Regarding Ta’s questioning if his gang member “friends” make him a part of the gang life by association: Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I can tell more about a man, not by his speech, but by the company he keeps.”
JARROL TAYLOR JR.
San Fernando
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