Editor,

I am compelled to respond to the Baileys’ Feb. 21 letter to the editor regarding redemption versus condemnation.

I speak with some tough-learned experience in this arena having two sons now in prison, one of them for life.

After countless hours in courtrooms, jails and prisons over the years, both juvenile and adult, I’ve concluded that there is but one reason why we must continue to have a prison system.

Yes, we tried counseling, treatment, probation, church organizations and more to try and save our boys, but it still boils down to one reason.

They weren’t abused and had educational opportunities, food and television, but still latched on to that one reason.

Ask my sons and they will tell you the reason they chose to pursue that lifestyle. They will admit that their undoing was of their own making, and that society is too quick to try to nail the cause down to the various things outlined in the Baileys’ letter.

This is not to attack the Baileys or their letter, but merely offer a deeper explanation of the truth.

I too commend our system for the deferment programs and other aids. In the case of my boys and many others, those options didn’t work.

It took me a long while to realize that the state Department of Corrections and jails are not responsible for turning misguided individuals into responsible citizens. That is an inside job that the individual must opt for.

I don’t have the answers that lead to rehabilitation, but I have plenty of experience in seeing what doesn’t work.

Maybe it is time to realize that our society is too permissive and continues to get more so. And that discussion is best kept for another letter.

Gary Raster

Oak Harbor