Letters

All of this gives at least some measure of validity to the defense claims that she was a willing participant in the sexual activity that occurred. Do I think that the boys should be punished? Yes, without a doubt. Should they be required to forfeit their lives for these transgressions? In my opinion, that would be overkill.

If the DA's office had pursued a reasonable punishment for these acts, we would not be in the middle of this fiasco. By trying the boys as adults and going for the flat-out maximum penalties, the DA's office forced the boys' families to engage in an all-out defense to try and avoid decades in prison for their children. What would be a reasonable penalty for what these boys did? How about two to three years in jail, five years of formal probation and fines steep enough to offset some of the prosecution expense? The boys would be harshly punished, Jane Doe would not have to go through the ordeal of the trial, the county would be saved big bucks, and we could all be spared the constant media infatuation with this sordid trial.