All Detainees Are Not Created Equal

“Americans Held in Foreign Jails Feel for U.S. Detainees” (Dec. 2), comparing Americans held in foreign jails with current U.S. detainees, was very disturbing. Comparing Stephen Roye of Los Angeles, a convicted and admitted heroin smuggler, with the current U.S. detainees is like comparing apples with oranges.

Roye says he has lost his Jewish faith and doesn’t want to come back to the U.S. If he really had Jewish faith he would not have committed the crime of drug smuggling. Are we supposed to be sad for him? Why would any American want him back here; he gives us all a bad name.

I hope I speak for most citizens when I state that I would much rather have 99% of the U.S. detainees who were arrested for immigration problems. The choice between a hard-working illegal alien trying to realize the American dream and a convicted drug dealer is not hard to make. Free the detainees and let Thailand keep Roye.

David A. Freemon

Tujunga