LETTERS: U.S. ATTORNEY SHOULD DO HIS JOB

To the editor:

In the March 21 St. Louis paper, a retired detective from that city has a letter in which he relates the history of two brothers, Terrell and Cradell Poke. Between them they have been arrested 37 times since the end of 1995, convicted of eight felonies including possession of a sawed-off shotgun, and neither brother has served a single day in prison. They are in jail awaiting trial for killing a 3-year-old in a drive-by shooting. It is exactly this kind of justice system that makes people feel the need to protect themselves.

Further, keep in mind that federal courts have unanimously held that police have no obligation to protect any individual. Their obligation is to society at large. It is up to the individual to protect himself. Possession of any firearm by a convicted felon is a federal crime. Possession of a sawed-off shotgun is a federal crime. Where was our erstwhile U.S. attorney? Out campaigning against law-abiding citizens being able to protect themselves against dangerous criminals -- criminals he is personally responsible for allowing to remain free and endanger everyone. Can Mr. Dowd explain why these two dangerous criminals were not safely locked away in a federal prison instead of being allowed to kill a 3-year-old? At a debate on Proposition B a few days ago Mr. Dowd is reported to have admitted that he has only prosecuted eight cases of illegal firearm possession as U.S. attorney. Are we to believe that that those were the only cases in all of eastern Missouri since he took office? How many dangerous criminals who could be in prison are walking among us? How many more 3-year-olds have to die before Mr. Dowd acts to put violent criminals in prison? Instead, he is using the the resources of the federal government to interfere in the affairs of a sovereign state rather than prosecuting criminals, which is an essential part of what the taxpayers of the United States are paying him to do. Mr. Dowd is spending U.S. tax dollars in a personal campaign. He is using official Department of Justice stationary in "for official use only" envelopes and with postage paid for by your tax dollars to wage this campaign, which is totally outside his official duties.

ROBERT A. CRON

Cape Girardeau