Teaching a lesson

Somerset, N.J.: It is all well and good that Gov. Cuomo said the state will pay for a new memorial in honor of the Navy SEAL hero Lt. Michael Murphy. The kid who vandalized the memorial should be made to make restitution, not his parents. The judge should give him a job at one of the zoos cleaning out the cages until he has met the cost of replacing the memorial. This punishment I think is appropriate and he would learn dishonoring war heroes or any gravesite is not acceptable in our society and a price has to be paid. Doing a paltry community service would just have him shrug it off as an inconvenience and it would be over and done with and surely have no impact on him whatsoever.

Patricia Juzwiak