Sir, - I wish John O'Donoghue (he of the zero tolerance doggerel) would call to my guesthouse and try consoling one of my guests, a young American tourist, who was viciously assaulted in Dublin last week.
As she walked along one of our busy streets, two thugs pulled up alongside her in a car. They snatched her handbag, she held on, and was dragged for some 20 yards, eventually giving up. She lost her bag, credit card, money, etc., and also suffered significant personal injuries.
Much was made of the harsh sentence handed down to a young heroin addict who snatched a handbag, and the leniency with which Charles Haughey appears to have been treated. As a society we have become very tolerant of serious crime, and if someone is a drug addict, it seems to be a plausible excuse for any felony.
I say yes to tough sentences for white-collar criminals, but also yes to the nine-year sentence for the heroin addict who snatched the handbag. - Yours, etc., David P. Jameson,
The Cumberland Lodge, York Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.