Time to trust juries with full facts

I agree that the system of capital punishment works poorly, and I have some questions about recent reports.

One article cites a 77 percent reversal rate in Alabama and 66 percent nationwide. Does this percent apply to all convictions? If only 23 per 100 hold up, isn't drastic court reform needed?

Both articles cite prosecutorial misconduct, but neither mentions any consequences to any prosecutor anywhere. But isn't knowingly tampering with, destroying and concealing evidence a felony, no matter the motivation ascribed?

Shouldn't pursuit of truth be the objective rather than a joust between sometimes mismatched lawyers? Shouldn't juries be trusted to have the full facts, unamended, undoctored and not ruled irrelevant on some technicality?

One article says Alabama has sentenced 27 persons to death, while Georgia only 11. Could it be that Alabama prosecutors are overzealous?

In the conviction of Ulysses Sneed, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the prosecutor doctored the evidence and presented false facts to the jury. Isn't false testimony a felony, especially when the defendant's life is at stake? How can a sworn officer of the court violate his oath of office with impunity?

Doesn't anyone want to hold our courts to the same standards they impose on citizens?

G.B. Hall
Lowndesboro

Nightlife might be bigger boon

Your esteemed entertainment editor Rick Harmon may seem like an unlikely source for the solution to Montgomery's riverfront development dilemma. Nevertheless, his suggestion in the July 13 Go magazine certainly appears to have merit.

He recommended a downtown/riverfront entertainment complex as an alternative to having nightclubs located adjacent to residential areas.

I read this column upon my return from a trip to Pensacola Beach, where my friend and I had remarked on how nice it would be to have a development such as their waterfront Boardwalk in our fair city. There, people park their cars and stroll from one boutique, restaurant or nightclub to another until they find on to their liking.

I witnessed a similar transformation and revitalization of the downtown area when Jacksonville developed the Jacksonville Landing on the St. Johns River.

Maybe the answer to downtown development isn't night baseball after all, but nightlife. Sure wouldn't hurt our tourism prospects.

Jerry L. Gantt
Deatsville

We have to protect kids

Enough political cartoons about how Boy Scouts are homophobic. The reality is that there is a small minority, but a dangerous minority, of homosexuals that preys on young boys and our kids deserve protection from all sexual predators.

Walter Jackson
Millbrook

Distractions hard to prohibit

As appealing as it might be to ban using cell phones or eating behind the wheel or reaching to change a CD, it would be as difficult to enforce such restrictions as it is to enforce, say, speed limits.

What is more obvious and simple to determine for law enforcement than a vehicle which is speeding? Does pointing a radar gun require physical or mental skills which are basically beyond the capabilities of a law enforcement official?

Your paper implies that correcting this blatant law infraction is difficult to undertake. I would suppose this judgment was made after witnessing the proliferation of drivers who do not obey the laws on a daily basis, and is reinforced by the excuses and lack of effort of those whose job it is to correct the problem in the first place.

When one realizes that driving is probably the most potentially dangerous and deadly activity in which a citizen engages on a daily basis, the commitment to monitor and regulate this activity cannot be overrstated. I would hate to think what your paper would determine if someone committed a crime whose circumstances and consequences are any less obvious.

Chris Biegler
Wetumpka

Not really much to celebrate

Why do we celebrate Independence Day, a day during which we listen to one speech after the other emanating from the mouths of monarchists praising our Founding Fathers who fought and died to gain our independence from an overpowering central government, while having long forfeited that very independence to an all-powerful central government? On the Fourth, we unwittingly enjoy our pork ribs while today's floundering fathers continue to trade more and more pork for more and more power.

Armond Simmons
Pell City

Police actions often prejudged

I would like to know why none of the media mentioned any of the injuries that the officers received in the recent alleged beating until three or four days after the story broke. It seems to me that Rep. Holmes is just trying to bring some attention to himself and not to the issues at hand. I'm sure he would probably say he was unaware of the officers' injuries. He should not run his mouth until he knows all of the facts of the issue.

I do not think the public should prejudge the police until they have walked a day in the shoes of a police officer. They are human, also. They are cussed, spit on, and hit and are expected to turn their head and ignore it. They are not paid to be punching bags for the citizens of Montgomery.

For $12 or $13 an hour, would you let someone treat you like that? In no way am I saying that the police should abuse anyone, but some people fight and the police have no choice but to fight back.

J. Miller
Elmore

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