I must answer Mr. and Mrs. Faubions letter of Aug. 23. I believe the Bible speaks of redemption in many places. I wish it was a wonderful world where everybody loved each other and there were no mean, violent, evil people in the world.
But it's not. There are inmates in prisons who cannot be dealt with by anybody. If you ever watch "Lockup Raw," a news program that goes into several prisons to investigate conditions in these institutions, you will see for yourself how mean and violent some of these men are. They throw human waste on the guards and attack them very chance they get. The inmates have killed other inmates and some guards.
You must be very naive to believe love, grace and forgiveness can cure all people. Experience shows it cannot.
There was a case in Texas where a violent rapist and many more were released because the Texas prison system was overcrowded and some inmates were having to sleep on a mattress on the cell floor.
A judge ordered the system to release a certain portion of the prisoners. In one case, two inmates went back to the town they were from and killed three women, including a mother of two small children. She had been tortured sexually and was strangled to death.
Some of the terrorists released from prison go right back and start killing again. If you believe radical Muslims will stop committing terrorist acts by telling them you and God love them, you have got to be the most gullible uninformed person on the planet.
I can assure you that evil persons who have killed someone and are executed will never kill again.
I know the Faubions mean well, but be realistic. We are the most tolerant, forgiving nation in the world. We stopped hanging and the electrocution process because it's cruel and unusual punishment, though those who are executed have committed some of the most gruesome murders ever.
I respect your opinion. I hope you respect mine.
Neil L. Boykin
Clermont
Another look at figures on filling Lake Lanier
At the end of July, William Sellers wrote an interesting letter discussing the amount of rainfall and resultant number of gallons on various areas.
Unfortunately, some errors in calculation crept into Mr. Sellers' letter. This letter is to provide corrected information.
Mr. Sellers discussed rainfall of one inch and calculated how many gallons resulted on an area of one square yard and one acre.
Here are corrected numbers:
One square yard = 9 square feet. One square foot equals 144 square inches; therefore one square yard = 9 X 144 = 1,296 square inches.
One gallon = 231 cubic inches, therefore 1,296 square inches covered in water one inch deep = 1, 296 cubic inches = 1,296/231 = 5.61 gallons NOT 4.7 gallons.
One acre = 43,560 square feet = 6,272,640 square inches, therefore one acre covered in water one inch deep = 6,272,640 cubic inches = 6,272,640/231 = 27,154.29 gallons of water not 27 million gallons!
Still, if we could receive rainfalls in excess of one inch often enough, we would fill the lake.
Earl B. Jackson
Flowery Branch