Judge showed disregard for justice, victim's family

Judge showed disregard for justice, victim's family
EDITOR:
Moral decay has eroded our city to the extent that our judges sit arrogantly on the bench we provide. We elect our judges to assign justice and punishment, but in the case of my son, Anton Flint, there has been no justice and no punishment.
The accused in this case of murder was immediately returned to the street with little repercussion for his crime. Robert Douglas Jr. was the judge assigned to this case and he viciously made victims of my family once again by imposing a disgraceful bond of $5,000 for the accused who took my son's life.
In another case, he forced an offender with two misdemeanor counts to pay a $150,000 bond while being on house arrest. What kind of message does this send to criminals?
What kind of message has Douglas sent to the citizens of this community? What was this elected official considering when he put down this vile order?
The murderer was released from custody and returned home before my son was properly buried. The criminal has the luxuries of home while I have cemetery visits. He can enjoy his freedom while I have thousands of dollars in medical bills.
Douglas has been quoted as saying he "dispenses justice impartially." This is not justice. Douglas' judgment should have reflected the seriousness and finality of murder. Instead he considered the biased testimony of hired defense attorneys. Did Douglas consider the fate of my son? Did he reflect upon a mother's loss? Did he think about the witness' safety? Did he weigh how his judgment would affect testimony and conviction of the accused? Did he imagine the repercussions left to a stunned city? How can he defend such reprehensible actions on the bench?
Where is justice for Anton?
ANITA FLINT
Youngstown
Wasn't sales tax hike to alleviate budget woes?
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to several recent articles in The Vindicator about the Mahoning County Child Support Enforcement Agency. I am perplexed about why that agency is experiencing financial difficulty.
I, along with thousands of concerned citizens and taxpayers, went to the polls last year to pass a half percent sales tax so that county agencies could remain open and operate without layoffs and hardships. Now I find out that this was not the case.
The sales tax was passed, but there are still layoffs and financial difficulties in a county agency. Why? What happened to the money that was supposed to keep these agencies and departments open and at full staff?
With all the shenanigans that have come to light in the last year or two here in Mahoning County involving government officials and office heads, maybe it's time to ask for an audit to see what happened to the money that was supposed to keep not only the child support agency open but all the county offices. Without an audit, the credibility of the commissioners will always be suspect.
JEFF KOVACH
Austintown
Bush keeps promises -- to campaign contributors
EDITOR:
President Bush has ended a half-century of the American Bar Association's involvement in the rating of U.S. Supreme Court justices and other nominees to the federal bench. This, of course, makes all the nominations 100 percent political.
Republicans think this is just fine -- now that their man is in office. Will they like it when a Democrat is elected? There is no reason why 50 years of American Bar Association ratings should be abolished except to load courts with political cronies.
The president has already broken a campaign promise -- to cut the damaging carbon dioxide coming out of smokestacks. Why? It costs too much to take care of the problem.
He intends to ease regulations for anything his big-business contributors want -- opening public lands, including national monuments and the Arctic National Refuge to drilling and "necessary" destruction. He also wants to expand drilling off our southern coastline.
Hopefully, our congressman can stop this from happening. Also, hopefully, this arrogant Texan can be voted out of office in three and a half years.
VINCENT DORIA
Boardman