‘Had I known about the crime problems around Arizona State University I would have never let Kyleigh move to Tempe.” Those are the words of Karen Montenegro, the mother of murdered ASU student Kyleigh Sousa.

It was no surprise a 20-year-old man was arrested over the weekend for stabbing another man at the Country Thunder music festival in Pinal County. News reports tell of an argument escalating into violence. I’d bet excessive and criminal alcohol consumption played a part in this crime.

The burns on the 17-year-old girl’s legs will scar her forever.

I find it interesting the number of Arizona folks who are captivated and fascinated with sex crimes. It’s like they can’t get enough of it. I hear constant talk about the media-created, soap-opera-like atmosphere surrounding the Jodi Arias murder trial. People are fascinated with the sex talk and titillating tales of what Arias and Travis Alexander did before she admittedly murdered him.

Gov. Jan Brewer rallied doctors and nurses at the Capitol on Tuesday in her bid to get the necessary votes to expand the state's Medicaid program.

If you’re a commuter who endured one of the four recent massive traffic back-ups on Valley freeways thanks to serious accidents involving big rig trucks, no doubt you spoke words you’d never say in front of your kids.

Joe Arpaio is the best sheriff ever in the history of Maricopa County! No, he’s the worst Maricopa County sheriff ever!

“There ain’t nothin’ more powerful than the odor of mendacity!”

With the opening of the state legislative session, school safety soon took center stage.

My reaction to Bill Richardson’s guest commentary of Dec. 28, “Young warriors a truly special breed,” is dismay. Although I respect his service as master police officer, and appreciate most of his contributions to the Tribune, I must comment that some of the opinions in this article are historically naive, on one hand, and disingenuous on the other.

How would you like to buy a gun that killed an Arizona police officer?

Just before Christmas we had a guest in our home. A young man who is a U. S. Army staff sergeant, a soldier, an infantryman who has led men in combat on the fields of battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was passing through on his way to his latest tour of duty in Afghanistan where people want to kill him. He’s been to war a half-dozen times now since he enlisted a dozen years ago after graduating from high school. Going to war has been his adult life.

The jury was out just 40 minutes before it came back with guilty verdicts against Joseluis Marquez for murdering Arizona State University student Kyleigh Sousa during a 2010 robbery in the downtown Tempe area as she walked across the street from a police station.

Area football players were snubbed on the All-Arizona team voted on by the football coaches association.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio won again.

The word rape strikes terror in the hearts of women who are most often the targets of a rapist. Rape, often called sexual assault, is one of the vilest crimes that can be committed. It’s a crime I found in my career that can be uglier than a murder and often more difficult to investigate and solve.

Editor's Note: These letters to the editor have been sorted by topic by the Tribune editorial staff in an effort to allow readers to read varied opinions on the issues, candidates, and other circumstances surrounding the 2012 general election. These submissions are the opinions of the author, not the Tribune, and have not been edited for grammar or content.

More bad news about the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Ex-Tempe City Council member Ben Arredondo is nothing more than a crooked politician who took advantage of his position of power for personal gain.

This week marks the beginning of the trial for Joseluis Marquez who is charged with the May 26, 2010 robbery and murder of Arizona State University student Kyleigh Sousa in downtown Tempe. Her brazen murder took place across the street from a police station and was the first of three student murders in and around Tempe’s downtown that year.

Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. -- General Douglas MacArthur, Thayer Award Speech, 1962

On Jan. 28, 2012, Scottsdale Police Lt. Ron Bayne shot and killed Jason Prostollo. Prostollo was highly intoxicated, reportedly five times the legal limit to drive, and had a piece of broken pool cue in each hand as he walked towards Bayne and other officers, including a K-9. According to news reports, Bayne fired two shots into Prostollo, one of which hit the K-9 that was attacking Prostollo.

Imagine for a moment you’re a child. Your life isn’t normal. It’s controlled by fear and pain. It’s that way because you’re being raped by your 43-year-old uncle who lives in your home with you and your family.

Our officers have been at the forefront of figuring out how to protect our city. When we have a safer community, we have a community that people want to invest in. This is real nuts-and-bolts police work that gets to the base cause of crime.” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Arizona Republic, “Mesa’s crime rate for major offenses is lower than in 1963, Mayor lauds preventive strategies by police,” Aug. 2, 2012