Executing Stanley Williams was the correct punishment

Executing Stanley Williamswas the correct punishment
EDITOR:
As a supporter of the death penalty, I applaud The Vindicator editorial of Dec. 15 on the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams.
One would hope that the books he has written will help to keep others from following in his lifestyle. Unfortunately, no amount of reading material will restore the lives of the four people he killed.
I believe when Tookie Williams entered this world, he was given a soul making him a human being.
I also believe a person's conscience and soul are one and the same. That is every person's spiritual guide that keeps them human or destroys their own humanity by committing inhumane acts against others.
Opponents of the death penalty believe executing those who have killed will not restore the life of their victims. I believe that reason alone should prove how precious and priceless a human life is.
Perhaps those who give no thought to the horrible pain they cause by killing others might stop to think that what they gain -- whether it is money, power, thrills -- could cost them their own lives.
As human beings we are given choices by which to live.
Those who choose to live in the light will always find their way. Those who choose the darkness should realize that sooner or later they are bound to fall.
Sadly those who take the life of others place no value on their own. A person's humanity is priceless. Anything less is worthless.
MARY LOU JURINA
Youngstown
War distracts United Statesfrom serious issues at home
EDITOR:
Lately, we hear how China's economy is growing at a rapid rate. Then, we watch ours deteriorate at just as rapid a pace. If the Chinese were to call in our debt to them, we would go under.
China doesn't want a military battle with us; it's easier to bury us economically. Have you looked at the United States lately? General Motors is laying off 30,000 employees. That doesn't include the trickle-down effect of vendors associated with the industry. You can bet that Ford and Chrysler aren't far behind.
The airline companies are going under at record rates. Pension funds are going broke. People are living on credit; credit debt is the highest it has ever been. The average American household savings is the lowest since the Great Depression.
More and more people have no health care or are paying out-of-pocket with large deductibles just for basic coverage. Poverty is at one of the highest levels ever in this country. Finally, FEMA's response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina was pathetic.
We spend $12 billion a month in Iraq, while we turn away our own starving people. Did you ever think you'd see the day that one of America's biggest employers would be a department store?
Bin Laden said he could break us economically by luring us into a war. Another five years and he'll prove his point. He doesn't have to come here to kill Americans. We supply them to him on a daily basis.
Within the next couple of years, we had better be out of Iraq and fixing what's wrong on the home front. You can plug the dam for only so long. When the water breaks over the top, it'll make Katrina look like a walk in the park.
ROBERT W. McKAY
Grove City, PA