Dan Rodricks: Letter to a young man in jail

Dear Lee Dotson: I believe I speak on behalf of the majority of citizens of Baltimore when I say we're glad the police arrested you Monday afternoon. We're glad because it looks as if another fellow with a gun has been taken off the streets, thereby reducing the possibility of at least one shooting in a city that has had too many this year already.

Of course, until the police and prosecution prove their cases beyond a reasonable doubt, you are innocent of the five charges against you – all of them violations of Maryland firearms law, including being a felon in possession of a gun.

I'm not telling you anything you do not already know. You are 26 years old, and based on court records, you have had a lot of contact with police, public defenders, prosecutors and judges since 2007.

It's one thing for the police to arrest you, another for them to prove their case.

But now that we have that out of the way, let's be real: You're in trouble again, young man. The law says that a person found guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun "is subject to imprisonment for not less than 5 years and not exceeding 15 years."

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