The kindest cut

I think Bevan Dufty seriously misjudges the city's dog owners, and I wonder how many of them he even spoke to regarding an all-breed sterilization ordinance ["A Quick Fix?" 11/30/05]. Did he actively seek their input, or did he just jump the gun and assume that we'd all be in favor of pit-bull sterilization, but against sterilization of pets in general?

I own three dogs, all sterilized. All dogs have the ability to do harm. My Jack Russell may not cause as much damage as a pit bull, but he certainly has the capacity to cause some damage, if he had a mind to do so. Because intact males are more aggressive, and because a small dog's teeth are also painful when locked on your ankle, the city should require all pet owners to act responsibly and sterilize their pets. This goes for cats too.

This doesn't even begin to take into account the damage done when nonsterilized dogs escape their pet owners, as lost-and-found ads show is not uncommon. Animals will do what animals do, and the sad result is a shelter stuffed full of unwanted animals who did nothing wrong but be born to the pets of irresponsible humans.

And then we can move onto more important matters: sterilization of parents who let their kids scream in restaurants (just kidding).

Jamie Cantwell San Francisco

Redemption and justice

Thank you for the twin articles "Redemption Songs" [11/30/05]. As I was mentioned in one of the stories, I think it is appropriate that I point out some of the broader issues. The United States incarcerates more people than any country on the planet. We have a bloated prison-industrial complex that shows no signs of slowing its growth. The vast majority of those arrested are released. We, as a society, must ask ourselves the questions, "What rehabilitative opportunities have these prisoners had while incarcerated?" and "What opportunities will these formerly incarcerated people have in society?" Sadly, as it stands now, prisons breed anger, hatred, and violence while providing very little opportunity for self-improvement. To make matters worse, there is discrimination in all aspects of our society for a person attempting to rebuild his/her life. Discrimination in housing, employment, student aid, and welfare creates ongoing punishment and barriers to resuming life as a productive member of society. In the name of public safety, we must change for the better the way we treat the millions of men and women who will encounter the criminal "justice" system.

William Buehlman San Francisco

There's no hope

The point of capital punishment, if there is one, is to deter violent crime. The execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams would be the opposite of deterrence. Former gang leader Williams has deterred violence in the lives of over 150,000 youth, as documented by law enforcement officials.

If we execute Williams, we would be telling troubled youth that in our eyes, they're bad for life. There's no point in changing; there's no hope. They will resort to the violence that Williams has passionately and effectively sought to discourage.

The State Senate has appointed a commission to investigate the recently reported wrongful convictions and whether the death penalty is being administered fairly. The governor should stay Williams's execution (and others) until the commission has reported. Even better would be to grant Williams clemency, for the good of us all.

David Spero, RN San Francisco

Hypocritical society

I found your article on Tookie Williams highly provocative, and I hope this information gets to our governator. I remember the first execution [after the death penalty was reinstated], back in 1991, when we had Pete Wilson as governor. I feel that this particular execution was performed as a sign that California believes in death row. Every day we are living in a more and more hypocritical society. Our politicians realize this, but they ignore that notion because our political and economic "ideals" – if you want to call it that – are a lot stronger than our intuition.

Daniel Guich San Francisco

Yeah, too bad

It's too bad that Stanley "Tookie" Williams's murderous rampage did not take place in San Francisco. Our district attorney, Kamala Harris, would not have prosecuted the death penalty.

Jeff Ricker San Francisco

Catholic in recovery

Re: "Cross Purposes" [11/23/05]: I am a recovering Catholic, and my recovery continues after the Vatican's decision not to hire gay priests. So they think these pedophiles were gay? How can one be expected to follow the doctrines of such a closed-minded and misinformed organization?

Terrie Frye San Francisco