Letters, faxes and e-mail

Editorial
09/20/00

Defense lawyers won't make profit

I felt compelled to respond to a letter in the Sept. 7 News regarding trial. The tenor of the letter was to denigrate the defense lawyers in the case as being only concerned with the "very large paycheck" they would receive in the future. I'd like to dispel that myth.

When all is said and done, the defense lawyers will in no way profit monetarily. In fact, the overwhelming majority of criminal defense lawyers in Alabama who take court-appointed capital cases rarely, if ever, earn what could be considered a profit. Their interest is to see their clients competently and zealously represented despite the tremendous financial hardship this type of case can cause on individual lawyers' practices.

When the state pays outside attorneys to do noncriminal work, fees can range well past $200 an hour. The disparity in what the state pays for civil work compared to what is paid in the defense of a person's life is staggering.

Those involved in prosecuting or defending a capital case are placed under extreme emotional strain. The defense lawyers in the Crawford case showed the natural emotion of relief that their client was spared one of the most heinous methods of execution in this country.

The lawyers who defend capital cases do so out of their sense of justice for their clients and the system as a whole. It's not about a buck.

John A. Lentine

Alabama Criminal Defense

Lawyers Association

It's the lawyers who clean up

I've read recently that Logan Martin Lake lawyers could see some money in about six months from a class-action lawsuit filed against Solutia Inc., formerly Monsanto, for polluting Logan Martin Lake with PCBs and reducing lake residents' property values.

The total amount of the settlement was $43.7 million. About $21 million will be spent on remediation projects. This leaves $10,925,000 for the lawyers. "We're pleased the settlement is going to be implemented," said one lawyer. The ||ý012 . 0000.00þ|| injured plaintiffs will receive whatever is left.

No. This is not a lawyer joke. This is our system at work.

Armond "Si" Simmons

Pell City

Judaism promotes tolerance of others

I cannot help but be amazed by the non-Jews who have emerged as experts on all things Jewish since the nomination of Joe Lieberman. I feel compelled to point out that opinions on very personal topics such as abortion are not legislated by Judaism. I have never heard any rabbi, Orthodox or not, make a blanket statement that all abortions under all circumstances are acceptable or unacceptable.

Whether Lieberman embraces the practice of homosexuality as stated in the Sept. 5 letter, I cannot say. But I can say with some authority that Jews are taught tolerance and acceptance of those who live and/or believe differently. Judaism's teachings are meant to unite and guide Jewish people, not all people. Many people share some beliefs, creating social values and some unity for a civilized world; people's differences create various religions and lifestyles. That's the reason tolerance and acceptance of others are so important. Further, I doubt any religious group can be sure that all its members are free of racial bias.

Finally, the writer claims to have grown up "being friends to good practicing Jews, their parents being fine business people." Why couldn't those parents have been thought of simply as fine people?<

J.W. Furman

Grayson Valley

Immigrant influx hurts environment

A recent article in The News said Alabama ranks ninth in the nation in the growth of the Hispanic population during the 1990s. A researcher said the state's Hispanic population is probably close to 100,000. I would hate to know how many immigrants there are in the other states.

All of these people have to be fed and need land on which to build homes. Why do environmentalists worry about saving the rain forest and not worry about saving our farmlands?

We are losing hundreds of acres of farmland to shopping malls and housing developments. I can show you some of the richest farmland in Chilton County that used to produce some of the prettiest crops and could feed the whole county that is now covered with concrete and asphalt. This is just one county. What about the other 66 counties?

We need to stop immigrants, legal and illegal, until we get control of and protection for our natural resources.

Robert W. Hill

Clanton

Taxing e-mail is no joke

There's a rumor buzzing across the Internet that the government may try to place a tax on every e- mail that you receive on your computer. The reason behind this absurdity is the apparent loss of income by the Postal Service because of the popularity, efficiency and ease of using e-mail.

Don't forget that this is the government that thinks it's OK to collect more in tax money on a pack of cigarettes that the cigarette makers earns in profits. This is the crowd that thinks it is OK to come in and seize over half your estate just because you died. This is the crowd that pays some farmers not to grow some types of crops. This is the crowd that penalizes you on taxes just because you are married. This is the same government that says prayer in schools it is taboo, but handing out condoms in schools is OK. This is the crowd that would take away your guns even though a gun has never pulled its own trigger.

So when you hear that your e- mails may be taxed, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Perry M. Grant

Mountain Brook

Labor column an education

Thanks to Richard Jones for providing a labor column in The News (Sept. 3). I learned some facts I didn't know.

I didn't know Labor Day began in 1882 with the Knights of Labor, and I didn't know United Way raises more per capita from union members than from others who make more money.

It would be great to read a column by the president of the Jefferson County Labor Council every Sunday.

Peggy Powell Dobbins

Mountain Brook