Jeff Quinn should not have been surprised at the outrage shown against Sen. Orrin Hatch for his stupidity in urging a presidential pardon for rapper John Forte ("Hatch shows mercy," Forum, Dec. 18).

John Forte deserved an even harsher punishment, not a lessening of his sentence. He was caught red-handed with 31 pounds of liquid cocaine, worth an estimated street value of $1.4 million. Because of the severity of the offense, mercy should not apply in this instance.

The majority of people in our prisons belong there, and if let out they will be repeat offenders. Statistics show that very few will reform and become useful citizens. As a retired sheriff for Washington County, I have seen this many times.

Quinn obviously has no comprehension of the horrors that come from the amount of cocaine that Forte tried to smuggle into this country. Forte does not deserve mercy.

Because of guys like him, many of our youth are hooked on drugs.

Save your compassion for them, not for those offenders we have managed to catch and imprison.

Eugene Jones

St. George