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2002-08-28 - 11:51 a.m. More on Claude Typed in Claude Dallas on Google and had lots of fun with all the sites that were pulled up. One had all the hiking trails in the southern part of our state which I promptly sent to 2d. Another was a country place with a message board that had a very funny posting about astrological signs Southern style which I may try to copy here. What I was really looking for was verification about several things I related about the Dallas saga. For the most part, my memory was correct. Dallas came up for parole spring of 01 and was refused, leaving him to serve out his full sentence until 2005. Lots of folks wrote to the parole board expressing fear that he would again turn to a life of crime or killing. When asked about that, his reply was, 'If I am approached in a reasonable manner, I react in a reasonable fashion.' That is a statement that is true in the lives of most of the Western men I know. Maybe even in all men, maybe even in all people.
Another reason for his parole denial was an apparent lack of remorse. When asked about that, he replied,'My feelings are my own. They do not belong to the state.' That basically is all the current info to be obtained. There was lots and lots of rhetoric on both sides of the issue, most badly tainted by whichever point of view was held. I hope he finds a measure of peace when his sentence is finished, and even a determination to change some things. Whatever folks feel, pro or con, when the sentence is over, he will have served the punishment that was meted out to him and deserves a fresh start. That is the strength and the weakness of our judicial system. In the final analysis, we are left with the puzzle of whether the penal system is capable of reforming the prisoner, or is just punishment. I have wondered about that myself. I know punishment often can change one's mind and cause them to start fresh, but often it is just punishment and serves only to remove the guilty from society for a while. I seem to remember Scripture about that subject. Will have to dig in. 
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