Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

Punishment fit crimes?

The Aug. 9 article, Caged Crusader, caught my attention. Prisoner Harold Hempstead has served 15 years of a 165 year sentence, is a model prisoner, and risked his life by exposing the violent Florida prison system.

He was sentenced to the 165 years for non-violent crimes by Judge Brandt Downey III, later was defrocked by a pornography scandal. Questions: Did his sentence fit the crimes? Has Hempstead paid for his mistakes with the 15 years served?

Max R. Tudor, Palmetto Bay

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Punishment fit crimes?."

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