Letter to the Editor

Because of the scandal surrounding Judge Mark Ciavarella, hundreds of convicted juvenile delinquents are being released, with their records expunged. Ciavarella pleaded guilty to taking pay-offs and trying under-aged defendants without a lawyer. While these children clearly did not receive a fair trial, is this really the best course of action? They are now being released, and given a clean record. What is this teaching them? The only thing these kids are learning is that our justice system is corrupt, and they can get away with their crimes without any consequences. Although it would take a great deal of time an effort, perhaps it would be wiser to allow these children a second trial, this time with a lawyer, rather than simply letting them off the hook.