Judge William Shaffer was blasted by Eric Bailey in a June 4 letter headlined "Impose tougher sentences." His letter referred to a case concerning a man who faced 87 charges, and considers it "disgusting" that 86 of those charges were dropped.

The only thing that is disgusting is the path Butler County law enforcement and the District Attorney's Office have taken since the opening of the new prison. It seems their only goal is to fill it at any cost.

There was a time when the police would try to resolve issues. Not anymore.

Gone are the days when cops would take the time to try to diffuse simple situations. Now, they write up as many charges as they can, anytime they can, counting on the number of charges to ensure something will wind up sticking.

Worse, we suffer a draconian DA's Office. Nothing is done for the greater common good of the citizenry or the individual.

Cops want arrests and DAs want convictions, and the public suffers.

I thought it was a good thing for Butler County to build a new prison, but it has turned our public servants into self-righteous, out-of-control monsters. The only thing that protects us any more is the hope of a wise and compassionate judiciary that actually is concerned about the facts.

Bailey used the words "disgusted" "disgusts" and "disgusting" in his short diatribe. He needs to find out what else is going on outside his little world of self-righteous indignation.

For instance, by the mere allegation of stalking, a disabled veteran is roughed up, jailed, forced to come up with $15,000 bail, and still wear an ankle monitor for three months while awaiting a hearing, costing an additional $300 a month.

Another citizen, while trying to protect his home and family from several known troublemaking juveniles from another neighborhood, is told by police to "come down to the station so we can write up a disorderly conduct." He happily obliges and is jailed and charged with 38 felonies.

Thirty-seven of those charges were dropped after costing thousands of dollars, and having needlessly hindered an already seriously backlogged court system.

Moreover, a grandfather who has had children, nieces and nephews and a hundred neighborhood kids in his life over the span of 40 years is maliciously accused of inappropriately touching his only granddaughter, and molestation charges and a protection-from-abuse order are issued without even one inquiry from officials.

The gravity of these charges alone should warrant an attempt at getting to the truth first. Such allegations can ruin a man's reputation for life, even if the charges ultimately are deemed "unfounded."

I am happy to live in a society that respects the rule of law, but Butler's police and DA seem to care nothing about justice any more.

If anything, this new breed of law enforcement hinders justice, because it takes judges so much longer to separate the truth from sensationalism.

By these tactics, the DA's Office loses credibility, and the police lose the respect of the public.

But be it for men like Shaffer and other judges who actually are interested in getting to the truth, our new prison, in no time, would be as overcrowded as the old one was.

Bailey should be happy someone like Shaffer is on the bench.