LETTERS: OUTPOURING OF CONCERN KEEPS FELON IN PRISON

To the editor:

This letter is to the concerned citizens of our area communities. We wish to thank each and every one of you for responding in such an overwhelming way when you became aware of the Missouri Department of Corrections' intent to release convicted felon Charles Eugene O'Howell.

Your response was far and above anything the Board of Probation and Parole could have anticipated and more than that for which we could have ever hoped. In three short weeks, the parole board received more than 2,500 signatures petitioning it to reconsider an earlier decision to release O'Howell on June 21. These signatures, along with more than 100 personal letters, which so many of you gratifyingly and responsibly took the time to write, evidently had a major impact on the members of this board.

As reported in the July 3 issue of the Southeast Missourian, O'Howell was denied parole, and he will continue serving his 55-year sentence. His next hearing is expected to be in June 1998.

We greatly appreciate the action taken by Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, in bringing this situation to the attention of the people of Cape Girardeau and the surrounding communities. We would also like to express our gratitude to those of you who responded as you did. Your letters, thoughts and prayers not only helped our family through a very difficult time, but also helped to ensure the safety of all the children of the area. Communities are safer when people care about others and respond in time of need. Your immediate response to this situation proves that you care and shows what can be accomplished if we look out for one another and work together.

Thank you, and God bless each of you.

JERRY, KATHLEAN and MICHELLE DRURY

Cape Girardeau