Letters to the Editor

Letter: Outrageously lenient charges

Add my voice to those of other Alaskans who are both mystified and outraged that a person can, by his own admission, kill more than two dozen moose and get off with only four misdemeanor charges. And not only did Fairbanksan Joseph Johnson kill the moose, he did so in an especially cruel fashion, snaring them to use for bait on his trapline.

If news reports are correct, for all of this appalling and illegal carnage, Johnson has apparently been charged with four misdemeanors: for using wild “game” as bait, unlawful possession or transportation of game, and two counts for leaving the marten traps out after the season closed.

What about all the moose Johnson killed? What about being charged for the wanton waste of two dozen or more moose? It doesn’t appear he is being penalized at all (or minimally) for that. Leaving out marten traps after the season ended appears to be treated as a more serious offense than the killing of numerous moose. This makes no sense at all.

I encourage Anchorage Daily News staff to follow up on this and learn the rationale for these charges. In my opinion, there can be no acceptable explanation for the way the state appears to be handling this case. Based on the facts presented so far by the ADN and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the punishment — or at least the charges against Johnson — do not in any fashion match the severity and disgusting nature of the crime.

— Bill Sherwonit

Anchorage

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Bill Sherwonit

Anchorage nature writer Bill Sherwonit is the author of more than a dozen books, including "Alaska's Bears" and "Animal Stories: Encounters with Alaska's Wildlife."

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