Re “Deported man who fatally struck boy in hit-run sentenced to 3 years” and “Former teacher at Christian High pleads guilty to sex abuse of minor, faces 20 years” (June 27): Two stories on the same page of Saturday’s paper left me wondering what has happened to our justice system.
A man who struck and killed an 11-year-old boy, then fled the scene, received just a three-year prison sentence. Three years from now, that little boy would only be 14 years old. His family lost an entire lifetime with him, yet the punishment seems astonishingly light.
Right below it was the story of a former teacher facing up to 20 years for sexually abusing a minor. That crime deserves severe punishment.
But how can killing a child and leaving him to die result in only three years? These cases involve different crimes, but the disparity in sentencing is difficult to understand. If the law values justice, shouldn’t taking a child’s life carry consequences that reflect the permanence of that loss?
— Amie Boring, Carlsbad