Write your representatives!!

I wanted to share a letter that I recently sent to Jeb Bush. It has some great information in it that I hope you will read and think about, but I also hope that it inspires you. Your elected representatives will only know what you want if you tell them. I want to encourage you to start writing letters and making phone calls. Don't get discouraged if you don't get a reply--just keep on writing! It does make a difference!

Governor Bush,
I would like to send you copies of two recent news articles from my local news station:

• The first article is about a man who lives in my area. He was part of an international on-line internet child pornography ring. There is general information about the "ring" on the Department of Justice's website.
• The second article is also something local - a man who vandalized a local cemetery.
  I have highlighted the information that gives the possible sentencing in each case.

The following information is taken from www.weartv.com

Local Man Pleads Guilty to Online Pornography Ring 4-06-06

A Milton man has pleaded guilty to participating in an international on-line child pornography ring. 27 year-old Jason Wilson told the judge in US District Court. . . that he deserves life in prison or to be put to death for his crime. Wilson was one of 27 suspects from the US, Canada, Australia and Great Britain arrested last month. Their accused of participating in an Internet chat room and exchanging child porn videos and pictures. Wilson will be sentenced June 16th. He faces 5 to 20 years in prison


St. Michael's Cemetery Vandal Confesses To Crime 4-09-06

He rummaged through caskets filled with human remains, and wrecked century old grave sites.Today, a man has admitted to vandalizing a historic cemetery. As Andrew McIntosh reports, he says he did it for drug money.
Saint Michael's Cemetery Foundation Chairman Eric Mead walks the grounds of this historic Pensacola landmark.He has family buried here, and was deeply disturbed on January 23rd, the day someone broke into mausoleums.... destroyed headstones and opened caskets.
Eric Mead/Cemetery Foundation Chairman: "Absolutely horrified. I was aghast. The thought that somebody could be that careless with the memories of so many people who had such deep ties to Pensacola. I can't tell you how offensive that is." The vandal caused 75- to 100-thousand dollars in damages.Pensacola detective Danny Lawrence spends countless hours working the case with few leads. Then he figures out the suspect broke into the cemetery's maintenance shed around 1:30 in the morning and stayed at the cemetery for eight hours. During that time, the suspect did extensive damage and made several calls from a phone in the shed.
Lawrence traces those calls, and talks with the people contacted.
Det. Danny Lawrence: "Through the people, I developed leads as to who he was."The investigation points to 24 year old Greg Allen Woodard. He's already in the Escambia County Jail for grand theft and drug charges.While being questioned behind bars, he confesses, saying he was on drugs that night and needed a new fix but didn't have any cash.
Lawrence: "And therefore he was going to break into the mausoleums, and look for jewelry or anything like that, that had been buried with individuals, of value."

Mead: " There is nothing of value in this cemetery. He got nothing and did all of that damage and is gonna end up paying for it for a long time." Woodard is charged with 23 felonies, if convicted on all, he could be in prison for the rest of his life



You may be wondering why I would be sending these articles to you. The reason is that I am ashamed at the fact that a man who violated children on the large scale that he did is only facing a minimum of 5 years in prison. Governor Bush I must tell you that this is not an old man. Even if he was to be sentenced and served the maximum time he will be out of prison by the time he is 48 years old.

I do not want to minimize the fact that the second man, Woodard, committed a serious crime. But what I want to point out is that his crime was measurable in dollars - at least 75 thousand dollars in damage. For this crime Woodard could spend the rest of his life in prision.

Child pornography is not measurable in dollars, but that does not make it any less of a crime. It can be measured in something that I consider far more precious than money- a child's life. For Jason Wilson's crime he could be out of prision in five years-this is not justice!

Recently in Alabama, Governor Riley signed in a new law against child pornography. You can read the specifics about it here. This bill is an example of what I would like to see here in Florida. It recognises that each image of child pornography is a violation of the child and it calls for a separate charge for each image.

Governor Bush, Let's make Florida a state that considers a child's life to be worth far more than 75 thousand dollars.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Tracie _____

Tweet