Legislators Should
Follow Gov’s Lead

The Vermont Legislature is letting Vermonters down. We elected them to pass laws we believe are in our best interest. It now appears that our elected lawmakers are not acting in our best interest after all. The puzzling question is why they chose not to accept Governor Douglas' request to meet in a special session to consider tougher laws in dealing with sex offenders?

In the Valley News of July 22, it was reported that the legislature does not agree with the governor's proposals to enact tougher laws dealing with sex offenders and instead wants to waste our time by taking the route of holding meetings to first find out the reasons why Michael Jacques was released from prison in 1996 from his 6-to-10-year sentence for his brutal rape in 1993.

This is deplorable. The facts surrounging the Brooke Bennett case cannot wait for a round of meetings dealing with past events. Yes, these past events and early release of Michael Jacques are crucial and should never have happened, but for the Vermont legislature to refuse to meet with Gov. Douglas in a special session to solve this major problem in Vermont is a travesty of justice for Brooke and all of us.

The governor is trying to do what is necessary. We need our lawmakers to realize how important it is to move ahead now with drafting new legislation. They can hold meetings on the cause and effect of Jacques' early release in their own time. Act now, before a dangerous situation may spiral out of control.

Molly McDermott

South Royalton