Justice?

Dear Yoko Ono,

Years, years, and years ago, in 1980, a pathetically deranged man murdered the love of your life. You were walking home, into the Manhattan building where you lived, and suddenly this man, seeking the world’s adoration, gunned down your husband, John Lennon. Mark Chapman was given a 20-to-life sentence. After almost four decades, he remains in prison. You want to keep him there for the rest of his life.--SD

A good letter, written with tremendous heart.

Yet, I'm not sure how I would react if some sleaze bag cold bloodily killed my family.  I would like to think that I could see some light, a road to redemption, a change that 40-years might induce in a human being.

I'm against the death penalty, but when we talk about the U.S. justice system we are talking about something few of us really understand.  Prisons are brutal and inhumane, as this letter conveys with clarity.  Should an incarcerated killer--one who has turned docile in advanced years--suffer torture by the state when the intent is clearly vengeance and nothing more?


TS