ARREST: Own up to the mistake

I watched a daytime talk show and one of the top stories was the arrest of a 9-year-old for stealing a pack of gum in Idaho. OK, that sounds like a good topic for discussion and the hosts started going back and forth with their thoughts. I turned the TV off before I heard any of the details. Later I read the article on the cover of The Press.

Missed appointments were cited as the cause of the arrest warrant. Because he failed to appear, this child was taken by police and booked into juvenile hall on Tuesday and released Friday; all for a pack of gum. (It cost the taxpayers more than a buck to house him.)

Apparently the prosecutor’s office felt there was a reasonable expectation that the kid could get himself to court. Really? They can barely catch a school bus; the responsibility was on the parents. Yes, they should have followed up with the prosecutor’s office, but what parent could have ever entertained the thought that their child would be hauled away and held for days over a pack of gum?

The blame falls squarely on the prosecutor’s office for filing the warrant without consideration for the situation. Much of their days are spent making plea bargains and a little due diligence would have gone a long way in this case.

Mr. McHugh’s “bummer man, sorry” attitude does nothing to take away that boy’s terror and future lack of trust in authorities and his parents.

LORNA CARPENTER

Coeur d’Alene