THE DEFENDER

Reading “The Rest of the Best,” by Jill Gottesman, I was completely disgusted by the comment of Charles English, who defended a young drunk driver who killed a family of four. He said of the defendant, “There’s no way this kid knew that if he killed someone while on the road, he would spend the better part of his life behind bars.”

So when has ignorance of the law been an excuse for committing a crime? Would this young man have not driven drunk if he thought he would receive only a three- to five-year sentence--instead of 30 years--for killing four people? It is time people in our society are held responsible for their actions.

KAREN MARKLEY, Carlsbad