ROOM AND BOARD FOR FALSE IMPRISONMENT

Now, I've heard it all. On the evening of March 14, I was watching the COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMAN television program on MSNBC. Near the end of that program, Olberman designated the Law Lords of Birmingham, England as "the worst persons in the world." He described the Law Lords as being "a kind of super-appeals court." Why did he believe they were the worst persons in the world?

Olberman reported that "brothers Michael and Vincent Hickey spent 18 years in jail for a murder they did not commit. When their convictions were overturned, each was awarded huge settlements, more than a million dollars each. But now the Law Lords have sent the Hickey brothers a bill. Vincent owes $244,000. Michael owes $478,000. Why? Room and board during their 18 years of false imprisonment."

I have to agree with Olberman's worst persons designation. I can't believe that the Law Lords had the chutzpah to charge those poor bastards room and board for the 18 years they spent in prison for a crime they did not commit. To those of you who think that a million bucks each is too much to pay for all those years in prison, I would ask - as a productive member of society, how much is 18 years of your own life worth?

I have always been, and continue to be a strong law and order advocate. But, I also have a strong sense of justice. Whenever society, whether English or American, falsely imprisons a person over a prolonged period of time, it should be expected to pay for this miscarriage of justice by adequately compensating that individual for the loss of his freedom and the loss of wages he might have earned had he not been incarcerated. And, he should certainly not be charged room and board for his time in prison!