Letters: Why rewards for catching criminals?

Re “Pay the Dorner rewards,” Editorial, March 31

This debate over paying out the reward money for Christopher Dorner’s capture and conviction should be less about who deserves this money and more about why a reward is necessary in our supposedly just society. In the case of the two groups now vying for a piece of the reward, it’s very likely both would have brought their information to the police regardless of any compensation.

Rather than turning people into mercenaries, we should inform citizens and encourage them to do the right thing. What we say instead is that we are willing to pay citizens for information that is their duty to provide — information anyone whose family was in danger would desperately want.

Kip Gilman

Malibu

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