Mopeds, scooters dodge taxes, laws
To the editor:
The state of Nevada allows vehicles such as mopeds and scooters to ride on our roadways, apparently without any laws or restrictions, or paying any vehicle taxes.
I recommend that the state start requiring that these vehicles be registered and operated by a licensed and insured driver who must comply with all motorcycle laws.
This would help the state’s needs and stop all the unlawful hazards for the legal drivers on our roadways.
BILL FISHER
HENDERSON
Secure border first
To the editor:
Before any immigration bill is passed in Washington, the southern border of the United States has to be secured, period.
Lawmakers want to construct only 700 miles of fence along the border. That’s a joke. We need a double-layered, double-tiered fence, divided by a large road between the fence for Border Patrol vehicles to operate. It should run the length of the entire southern border, from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast.
Remember, Congress promised us a fence years ago. What did they do? They built a few miles of fence, and in some places, a person could actually step over it. So I say no immigration reform without first showing Americans the border is totally secure.
BRADLEY KUHNS
LAS VEGAS
Bales’ plea clarified
To the editor:
Some of your readers perhaps feel that Staff Sgt. Robert Bales should’ve received the death penalty (“Dodging death penalty,” June 18 letters). Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a defendant facing the possibility of a death sentence is not permitted to plead guilty; he or she must plead not guilty and be tried by members (a jury); the prosecution must present evidence and witnesses, and prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt; and if the members convict the defendant, then the members assess the sentence. A death sentence requires a unanimous vote of the members. Military judges cannot impose a death sentence.
When convening authorities (flag officers) refer a case to a court-martial, they’re permitted to set limits on the maximum penalty that may be imposed. When the convening authority referred Staff Sgt. Bales’ case to a General Court-Martial, he ordered that the death penalty wasn’t authorized. By referring the case as non-capital, the convening authority gave Staff Sgt. Bales the opportunity to plead guilty. By pleading guilty, Staff Sgt. Bales saved the government an immense amount of time and money that would’ve been needed to prove the case against him. Also, a guilty plea meant that the victims’ families wouldn’t have to undergo the ordeal of testifying in court and reliving the horrors of the event.
Furthermore, in reality, the chance of Staff Sgt. Bales ever being executed was slim. Even if the convening authority had sought the death penalty, and even if the court-martial had sentenced him to death, he cannot be executed unless the president signs an order of execution. The military has not executed anyone in more than 50 years, although many service members have been sentenced to death by court-martial in the past 50 years. Presidents, both Republican and Democrat, simply haven’t signed the order of execution.
By not authorizing the death penalty, the convening authority saved the government a lot of time and money, and spared the victims’ families the emotional pain and suffering caused by testifying. The convening authority achieved the same result, a life sentence, that most probably would’ve been the outcome if he had sought the death penalty. The military justice system is superior to the civilian justice system in many ways, and this case provides just one example.
JOSEPH F. BOETCHER
LAS VEGAS
