Judicial Logic

Explain to me judicial logic and fairness. Richard V. Winrow, a black youth from the South-Central Los Angeles streets, is convicted for possessing 5.5 ounces of cocaine with the intent to distribute. He is sentenced to life imprisonment without parole (“Drug Dealer’s Life Sentence Called ‘Cruel,’ ” Part A, Oct. 7). BCCI-controlled bank executives in Florida, convicted of drug money laundering running into untold millions, are given a slap on the wrist. There would be no significant worldwide drug crisis without the greedy participation of the banking system. After all, what this business is really all about is not really drugs but money.

This is not new information to men of finance. The crime of these bankers is obviously infinitely greater, given their privileged lives, yet those reaping the enormous middleman profits still get away almost unnoticed. The courts seem almost embarrassed to punish members of the established business community.

This may not be “white man’s justice,” but it is surely “rich man’s justice.” Better yet, explain it to Winrow.

RICHARD PEACOCK, La Costa