Don’t let repeat offenders keep repeating

It’s time to reassess the trend to let criminals go with a promise to be a good citizen and put them on probation to ensure they do.  They aren’t fulfilling their promises. Two stories in the Pioneer Press this week are good examples of criminals not changing their ways.

First was Richard Wooton, described as a career criminal who has defrauded many businesses and homeowners out of their money through buying things with bad checks and taking deposits on work he never planned on performing. He has several convictions for these crimes but they keep letting him out and he goes right back to what he knows.

The second involves the suspects in the recent triple homicide in Coon Rapids. Thankfully those responsible for the shootings were caught. The information released on their background is appalling. It was reported in the Pioneer Press article by Nick Ferraro that   “According to court records, (Alonzo) Mingo was convicted in 2020 in federal court in Minnesota for being a felon in possession of a gun after St. Paul police found a Glock handgun on him near a BP gas station at Lexington Parkway, just north of Interstate 94, in October 2018. Mingo had been convicted in Cook County, Ill., with aggravated battery in a public place in 2017; felon in possession of a firearm in 2011 and 2006; and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2006.”

Sadly this type of arrest-and-release cycle not only continues, it is getting worse. Low or no bails for violent crimes, reduced and dropped charges and shorter and shorter prison sentences. Couple those with ineffective probation oversight and early release programs that aren’t working and society suffers. People continue to be victimized by these repeat offenders, losing their money, personal safety and in some cases their lives.

It is time for society to hold those responsible for this accountable. Prosecutors should have to explain why charges are reduced or dropped and why they are asking for low or no bail for violent crimes. Probation officials need to put people back in custody for violations of their probation rather than the threat if-you-do-that-again type approach. The Sentencing and Guidelines Commission needs to set sentences that keep violent offenders in jail. The Legislature needs to adequately fund the corrections system to build capacity to incarcerate those who continue to hurt and kill others. The news media, both print and broadcast, need to get back to doing in-depth reporting on who is dropping the ball when it comes to our safety. We as citizens need to let our elected officials know that enough is enough and to do their job. We elect them to provide the means to effectively protect us. We don’t need new laws, the existing criminal statutes are more than adequate to keep us safe. We all need to tell those in the system that enforces our laws that it is time for them  to step up and do their job.

Rick Anderson, Forest Lake

Hyper hype

I am writing with concern that the Metropolitan Council is even entertaining the idea of funding a hyperloop study (“Travel from Twin Cities to Rochester at 700 mph?” Feb. 15).

For half the price of $1 million I will tell them what any half-informed public transit supporter already knows. It is a terrible idea and currently only grifters and con artists are promoting the idea to well meaning but gullible politicians. There has been no example of it being successfully used at scale so to get it up and running will take years if not decades to just test and it will be exponentially more expensive than high speed rail. High speed rail can also be carbon neutral if it is electric and uses renewable energy.

Rochester deserves a convenient public transit connection to the Twin Cities, but high speed rail is proven, eco friendly, and a whole heck of a lot cheaper.

Jon Lundberg, St. Paul

We are so far in blood …

In ancient Greece, sex and death were sacred, and this is no longer true, especially in the once great state of Minnesota where we continue to do our level best to desecrate all possible taboos. While our medical facilities flood with women from other states seeking abortion, our legislators in 2024 will try to enact the End-of-Life Options Act, which will lure to their deaths not only Minnesotans, but precious human beings from other states. This is a special and catastrophic mistake that will lead us not down the proverbial slippery slope, but into the abyss.

In all countries of the world where it is legal, this doorway grows quickly larger to include pretty much anyone who feels physician-assisted suicide is a human right. For proof, we need only to look north to Canada where MAID (the most insane euphemism ever), deaths are rising about 30% every year, with nearly 14,000 deaths in 2023. Yes, this number includes those grievously ill, but also folks who suffer mental illness, alcoholism, and sometimes just plain sadness. Horrifically, our neighbor to the north funds studies that aim to dial in “pediatric euthanasia” for “mature minors.”

As the line runs in Shakespeare, we are so far in blood that sin will pluck on sin. Dear Minnesota: we mustn’t do this — we must not.

Jeff Johnson, Avon

Contempt for preservation

I read with sad resignation the Feb. 4 letter concerning the fate of Summit Avenue. Mae Seely Sylvester’s appeal to the powers that be is heartfelt, but unfortunately, pointless. For it falls on deaf ears.

If you Google search Summit Avenue, it comes up as one of the most impressive and famous residential streets in the country. Is there no alternative street for a bike path in the entire city, seriously? The egos in City Hall cannot pass up an opportunity to alter that iconic street in their own image. That there are questions of transparency is hardly surprising. Historic preservation is treated with utter contempt in our halls of power. But for all their contempt for history, our city leaders are repeating it, only it’s the other side of the same coin.

Much of the previous destruction of our historic sites and buildings was tied to what was looked on at the time as the future of modern transportation, the car. Now that future is seen as bikes and light rail and their smug certainty of belief in that future will continue the destruction of what makes St. Paul unique.

I have experienced our city’s contempt for history first hand, being involved in the effort to stop the removal of the Justus Ramsey house on West Seventh Street. The loss of that structure has greatly diminished the historic narrative of our neighborhood. That struggle has left me with a deep sense of despair and a great deal of cynicism toward our local government. We also felt a big lack of transparency. That has left lingering speculations about future development funding being hampered if a historic structure was on that site, especially if light rail goes down West Seventh.

If one of the oldest, if not the oldest, houses in St. Paul, on the National Trust Registry since 1975, was not worth preserving then nothing is safe, not even historic Summit Avenue.

What is the point of either a local or national historic designation when they become meaningless? If the powers that be care so little for historical sites, why bother having or funding them? Why even bother restoring any structure or house in the city if that effort has no value? It has all become pointless to me.

Naomi Austin, St. Paul

Twice as many license plates as we need

I always look forward to the daily “Word Sleuth” puzzles. The Feb. 5 edition in particular piqued my curiosity: “No Front License Plates.”

As I worked through the puzzle, I counted 17 states that do not require a front plate on their vehicles. I am sure there are many more states out of the 50 that require only a single plate.

I have a three-fold question for the Minnesota legislative session, which began this week. Why does Minnesota have both front and back plates, why don’t we have just a back plate, and can you propose and pass lower vehicle license fees (especially new vehicle purchase licensing) and annual tab renewals to the agenda?

Those of you who are members of the Legislature are also Minnesota residents, licensed drivers, vehicle owners and are not exempt from paying these outrageous fees. The fees are way overpriced considering that the value of the vehicle declines year after year. Do your fellow constituents and yourselves a favor by proposing and lowering these fees! It should be a fairly easy bipartisan agreement.

Barbara Bicha, White Bear Lake

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