"William W. Johnstone - Ashes 13 - Fury In The Ashes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnstone William W)

results, however small. I would sit and read the
newspaper and watch the TV evening news and hear
how grown men were able to kidnap small children, keep
them prisoner for years, rape and sodomize them, and
when caught, receive a five-year prison sentence.
That's true, Linda. It happened more than once.
How gangs of teenage punks could beat and rape and
leave for dead in a ditch some unlucky person, and
in many cases draw no prison time at all because
some group of judges who sat on high had decreed
that anyone under the age of seventeen was not responsible
for his actions. But still he could get a driver's
license. We had some strange laws, Linda. And
I stress
had.
I would read or see how a family would come
home from work and find their home vandalized, every
precious memento they had gathered over the years
destroyed, and when caught, the guilty parties would
get a slap on the wrist and be turned loose.
How perverted assholes could torture helpless
animals and be guilty of no more than a
misdemeanor. How people who dared stand up for their rights
and use a gun to defend self, home, or
loved ones, would sometimes go to prison and the crud who
broke into their homes or cars or attacked them on
the streets could sue for damages. Did you ever stop
and ponder that, Linda? That a criminal was allowed
to sue his
victim
for damages? And in many cases
collect!
"There were those of us who wrote letters to newspapers and
national TV networks and news magazines. We
said that in our opinion something was terribly wrong with
our system of justice; it was warped, bent in favor
of the criminal. Many of the media people would immediately brand us
as bigots, or gun-nuts, or crazies. Therefore
fewer and fewer of us chose to voice our opinions.
Those who persisted were sometimes harassed by federal
agents. I know that to be true, because I was
one of those who were harassed.
"But because I had achieved some degree of fame as a
writer, with a respectable, if not a massive
following, I was not harassed nearly so relentlessly
as others with no clout."
She noticed Ben's smile and wondered about that.
He cleared it up.
"Of course, I had some years in the intelligence
community too. That probably helped with the