Letter: Waste of taxpayer dollars

To the Editor:

It bothers me that sentencing someone to six years in prison elicits so much gratitude to the court. (“Driver in 2019 hayride crash near Plano sentenced to six-year jail term,” Kendall County Record, May 26, p. 2). This is a tragedy for all concerned.

The accident occurred because the tractor was traveling slowly. Had it not been obstructing the road, the defendant would have gone home? We are sentencing people for consequences of actions, which vary randomly, not for the action itself, cocaine impairment and driving. A repeat DUI offender stopped by police gets what sentence? It should bear some relation to to the danger represented. If the offender hits a pedestrian, why should the punishment be higher? Revenge? The object is rehabilitation of the offender, not revenge.

The accused may have had other shortcomings, but the article omitted mention of them. So – the 25 year old with cocaine impairment must spend 85% of a six-year sentence without parole? Also – why does it take almost 2-1/2 years to adjudicate this case? The defendant might have served her time, been rehabilitated and a productive citizen again by now.

Maybe Judge Pilmer could revisit this case. It seems too much like revenge and a waste of taxpayer dollars in useless incarceration if rehabilitation is the object of criminal justice.

Alphonse I. Johnson

Lisbon