Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I read the Gazette-Journal faithfully every week and was awestruck by the "Readers Write" letter on Sept. 2, 2010 ("Make the punishment fit the offender"). About a year ago, I would have shared part of the uneducated opinion of the author.

It certainly does seem to average citizens with no legal or law enforcement backgrounds that criminals, for the most part, do get their crimes nolle prossed, dismissed or receive "light sentencing" and even repeat chances. Many unfortunately do enter a revolving door at the courthouse.

I’m sure if asked, any lawyer, judge or probation officer would attest to the many factors that affect all decisions in the legal process. There is an intricate web that judges and lawyers go through which makes decisions more complex than giving an elementary decision of "lock ’em up and throw away the key."

For 32 years of my life, I was a law-abiding citizen. I broke the law and a...