Pubdate: Wed, 25 May 2005
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Copyright: 2005 New England Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.berkshireeagle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/897
Author: Joanne LaRochelle

TOUGH DRUG SENTENCE 'A BLESSING IN DISGUISE'

To the Editor of THE EAGLE:- I am a parent who has followed and actually 
lived through the experience of the youth and their parents in Great 
Barrington.

It would be a mockery of justice not to impose the mandatory two-year jail 
sentence upon those 17-year-old youngsters. As a parent of a once 
17-year-old who was one of the first youngsters in Pittsfield to serve that 
sentence, I remember it like it was yesterday.

Social class has nothing to do with the crime. I am a working middle-class 
parent who brought up all my children with a strong moral and ethical code. 
My son had never been in trouble; this was his first offense. He made a 
poor choice and had to pay the consequences for his actions. A law is a 
law; it has to be and should be enforced; it has been enforced and should 
continue to be enforced regardless of who commits the crime.

I recall a certain police officer who said to me, "This is a blessing in 
disguise." Those words became a reality. My son, along with the rest of the 
family, suffered through this painful, but valuable, lesson. He served his 
sentence and is now living a very productive and meaningful life in the 
community. It's important for us, as parents, to teach our children how to 
function appropriately in society. On the matter of "tough love," it was 
well worth it!

JOANNE LAROCHELLE

Pittsfield
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