Dear Neighbors and Potential Constituents:

I offer a modest proposal to address problems related to crime and punishment in America. I call it the "Five Strikes" Program.

When a person makes the decision to take what isn't his, by force, he steps across a threshold. He becomes a criminal. If his foray is violent enough, and the damage is great enough, he becomes a felon. If his transgression is so significant that it is "beyond the point of no return," then he becomes ... a monster. Simply put, I say let's treat him (or her) accordingly.

Baseball players get three strikes before they are out. I added two chances to demonstrate my sincere desire to present a fair, and yet fundamentally strict, system of justice. Let's say a man steals (without hurting, maiming, or killing) and a court of law finds him guilty. According to my program, he would get one year of prison - no more, no less. That one year sentence would be carried out in a prison that is actually devoted to rehabilitation. The regimen would consist of six days a week of HARD labor coupled with six days a week of HARD education - five hours of each per day. Are you thinking that's a pretty tough schedule? Damn right. He gets Sunday off ... meditation, church, 12-step program, counseling, whatever. The conditions would be fair and humane, but extremely Spartan. No videos, no TV, no cigarettes, no drugs, no exceptions. Guards would actually protect one prisoner from unfair treatment by others: in other words, no raping, no gang-banging, and no monkey business.

After one year of this, the man is bound to be a better person than he was when he committed his crime. Well, at least, he couldn't possibly be worse off than if he were to be incarcerated in one of our existing prisons - learning how to rape, wound, sneak drugs, cozy up to future partners in crime, etc. You've seen the videos; you've seen the movies. What if the man completes his sentence, gets released, and commits another crime (again, something bad, but not horrifying or murderous)? Simple. He goes back to prison for a two year sentence. Identical regimen. Perhaps he is just thick-headed and stubborn ... or had a tough childhood. OK. So, take two years to figure it out and upon getting out, be a better and smarter, more able to make a living kind of an ex-con. Thus far, under my program, we (Society) have only expended three years of imprisonment resources on this not-so-wonderful citizen. By the way, remember that he is busting his butt ten hours a day, six days a week, to help defray the costs of the prison AND to repay his victims. No lazing around in this system!

Fast-forward: 3rd conviction - 3 years; 4th conviction - 4 years. More of the same. But wait, if a man or woman truly, seriously, actually doesn't learn after all these lessons and disciplinary tactics, would a 5th trip do him/her any good? No! This is the harsh part of my program. After four convictions in a court of law, and an accumulation of ten years in a fair prison system (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10), it's time to eliminate the problem.

Execution is the result of the fifth strike. "Capital Punishment" is a misnomer. Punishment implies an aftermath ... of atonement, or reconciliation, or transformation. Any person who is unable to walk the path of humanity -- living fair and square with his fellows, after all these chances -- deserves no further investment. Such a person will have turned in his ID card to the Human Race. Execution (extermination) is the appropriate response -- same treatment we would give a rabid dog.

By the way, what if the person had committed a crime of greater violence (e.g. rape, pillage, murder) in the 1st place ... or 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place? The same thing that happens in baseball when the batter hits a fly ball that gets caught? He's out! He does not pass go. Does not go to jail (again). He goes straight to the end of the line: execution.

Along with prison reform and streamlining, there would be no "Death Row" for 5 years ... or 8 years ... or 20! That's just spinelessness and absurd waste -- to the tune of $50K up to 500K per year, per scumbag! A safety net period of 6 - 12 months is plenty ... then, we pull the plug.

The point is that we need to take back our lives. We, the vast majority of society, who work hard to live within the law, deserve to live our lives without fear. We deserve security. We deserve justice. We've got more important things to do than waste our life's blood and energy on the refuse of humanity.

In contrast, consider this. There is no such thing as a "victimless" crime. I advocate the immediate release of certain "convicts." All men and women imprisoned for buying, selling, or using drugs (as long as these activities involved only consenting adults) would receive an official apology and be released. Same would go for gamblers and prostitutes.

But what if these drug addicts or alcoholics had stolen to get their drugs?! Then, of course, they would need to be prosecuted in a court of law for their crime: robbery. The reason behind the crime is irrelevant. It is the initiation of force against another human being that breaks the sacred obligation of respect that we all owe one another. By implication, "hate" crimes are an absurd redundancy. People pass "hate crime" laws out of shame -- shame for not having been willing to administer justice appropriately in the first place.

A vote for me is a vote against crime. I am ready and willing to help root out the petty criminals as well as the hard-core murderers and child molesters. It's time to take out the trash and clean up our state. Let's be proud and secure in our neighborhoods.

Thank you for your time and consideration on these matters.