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Dear editor,
In the last few weeks I have read several news stories in The Herald and
other newspapers about young people being shot to death or killed in some
other manner over the greed cause by prohibition of the herb known as
marijuana. Two cases really struck me as a good reasons to change the laws
that make marijuana such a high profit plant that people are willing to
kill for it.
Just a scant month ago, another local young man, 20 year old Joshua
Glaser, was also killed over this extremely valuable plant.
If marijuana were legal he would more than likely, - still be alive today.
If marijuana wasn't worth more than it's weight in gold, he would not have been shot to death during an untaxed, unregulated, 7 thousand dollar marijuana sale.
The drug war should not include a war on "POT". It has become quite aparrent that it's prohibition far creates too much greed - just like the days of alcohol prohibition.
Killers chastised at sentencing
By SCOTT NORTH Herald Writer Senseless. Tragic. A waste of life. Those are the words a Snohomish County judge used Wednesday to describe his feelings as he sentenced three teen-agers to decades in prison for the murder of a young Snohomish man last year during a marijuana deal gone bad. Joshua Glaser, 20, was gunned down for the $7,500 he was carrying to the fatal May 11 meeting near Arlington. "A young man is dead. For what? A few coins. How totally senseless," Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight said. Knight spent the morning hearing about the impacts of Glaser's killing on the young man's family and friends, as well as those who love the teens who took his life. In the end, the judge stuck to the tough sentences that the trio had negotiated with prosecutors in exchange for guilty pleas for first-degree murder or first-degree murder and attempted robbery. The teen-agers all had been charged with aggravated first-degree murder and risked sentences of life in prison without possibility of release. Paul Michael Thorsteinson, 19, of Seattle, the man who admitted shooting Glaser as he pleaded for his life, was sentenced to 48 1/2 years in prison. Even with time off for good behavior, he won't see freedom until he's 64, prosecutors say. Matthew Martin Leon, 19, of Seattle, was sentenced to 37 years behind bars. He admitted helping plan the robbery and drove Glaser to the scene of his death. Nicholas Edward Anderson, 17, of Arlington, also received a 37-year sentence. He also helped plan the robbery and lured the victim to the scene with promises of a marijuana deal. He is being treated as an adult because of the seriousness of the offense. Knight said he was struck by how little regard any of the defendants seemed to have for others. "They aren't animals, but what are they?" he asked, wondering aloud what the case says about society and the values that guide some young lives. The judge was told that people around the world, through contacts with the families of the boys, or via Internet groups, were praying Wednesday that he use wisdom and mercy in finding the right sentence. Knight said that it was clear there was genuine pain for the families of the convicted killers as well as of the victim. Glaser, who grew up in Snohomish where he was a standout athlete, was described by his family as a loving son who will be deeply missed. Joshua Glaser had "big, strong shoulders guarding a soft heart," his mother, Ariel, told the judge. "None of us should be here," she said. "This is so tragic and preventable." Thorsteinson apologized for the killing. "I wish I could have been half the kid Josh had been," he said. Leon also apologized, but insisted that he did not kill Glaser, in spite of his plea. Anderson faced Glaser's family as he spoke. He apologized for not having done something to stop the crime. "I was a coward," he said. Deputy prosecutor Michael Magee told each of the defendants that the investigation showed they were individually and collectively responsible for Glaser's murder, and he thought they escaped even harsher judgment. The facts uncovered in the investigation showed that aggravated murder charges were warranted, Magee said. The only reason prosecutors and Glaser's family agreed to allow pleas to lesser charges was because it would bring a quick and permanent close to the case, he said. "It is a tragedy. It is truly a tragedy," Knight said. You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431 or send e-mail to north@heraldnet.com .
