A case in point is from my native India, which occurred a decade or so ago. A young woman was riding home by a private bus. Four male passengers raped her. She was flown to a Singapore hospital where she died. After a fair trial, all the accused were sentenced to death, but the punishment was delayed by clever, well-paid lawyers who filed endless appeals and clemency petitions to the president of India. All appeals were summarily rejected. Finally, when the day came for hanging by rope around 5 a.m., hundreds of men and women, including parents of the victim, had gathered for a vigil outside the jail in question. The whole country cheered when all were executed.
The best way to resolve the problem is to put the proposition as an amendment to the US Constitution. Let the chips fall where they may.
- Vittal P. Pyati, Beavercreek
In her March 31 column, Melinda Zemper expressed plenty of hysteria about oil and gas production in Ohio. Facts, on the other hand, were less abundant.
Her first sentence begins with “the frackers are coming.” They aren’t coming; they are already here. Hydraulic fracturing has occurred in Ohio for decades, which has allowed Ohio to become among the national leaders in oil and gas production, providing stronger national security and greater energy independence
She laments the signing of House Bill 507, which allows for leasing public lands for drilling. But the concept of the legislation became law in 2011. HB 507 simply makes the process more efficient for establishing rules, while allowing private landowners to safely develop their mineral rights.
Furthermore, Ohio’s energy industry has partnered with public entities in the past, such as the 57,000-acre Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. It hasn’t led to in the destruction of our parks. Rather, the development has allowed the conservancy district to reinvest $150 million into upgrades for the park’s infrastructure.
Finally, the writer says that “the oil and gas industry needs strict state and federal oversight and regulation.” In reality, Ohio’s standards go beyond what federal regulations require, something even the US EPA itself has admitted.
The natural gas and oil industry has a decades-long positive track record of operating in Ohio, including in partnerships with public entities – something industry opponents cannot ignore. The enactment of House Bill 507 deserves praise, not hysteria.
- Cheri Hill, Cambridge, OH