Six-year sentence a tragedy

Your article about sentencing a teen mother to six years in prison for threatening to poison her baby born of rape was very disturbing, not for the crime but for the punishment. The prosecutorial zealousness exhibited by the authorities is disgraceful and inhumane. From The Bee's report, I understand the mother is an abused and mixed-up victim needing help, not further punishment. What sort of sadistic society are we in Stanislaus County to impose six years in prison? The district attorney, a woman no less, should be fired and the judge should be disbarred. What a tragedy.

Women across the land should be thankful that for four more years at least, the state will not force a woman to carry an unwanted child conceived in rape. An abortion is a tragedy, too, but who is better off in this case? Certainly not the mother, and probably not the child. Only the rapist wins.

JOHN KRAMER

Vallecito