Pubdate: Tue, 15 Jul 2008
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2008 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
Website: http://www.sptimes.com/home.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n674/a06.html
Author: Patrick E. Timmel

A VICTIM OF THE DRUG WAR

Another innocent victim is dead as a result of the "war on drugs."
Nachenga E. Robinson, 32, died because of the incompetence of a
Pinellas Park Police Department's botched drug sting.

If you support the United States' and Florida's draconian drug laws,
then please do the correct thing and accept your responsibility for
the death of this young mother. The drug dealers followed their
natural instincts to try and avoid years of incarceration and abuse at
the hands of the people of the United States and our great state for
the crime of dealing in illicit drugs. They chose to engage in
capitalism. How horrible.

Please don't get me wrong. I do not wish to encourage people to use
illegal drugs. But I recognize that the best solution to this problem
is education, not criminalization.

I grieve for the family of Nachenga E. Robinson. But I refuse to make
scapegoats out of the two men who followed their natural instincts of
survival. Instead I put the responsibility of her loss upon the
mercenary criminal justice industry and on those who have bought into
their lies.

Patrick E. Timmel, St. Petersburg
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake