Letters To The Editor

Accused hits justice jackpot

Just when it seems the legal system can sink no lower, it does.

First, Rodney King, then O.J. Simpson and now we’ve got our own local travesty, the Tony Ledenko rape fiasco.

The case began with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old female Eastern Washington University student in Ledenko’s dorm room. (We have to say “alleged” because in the eyes of the law a rape victim is lying until proven honest.) She was allegedly raped by Ledenko while three people were present. Witnesses Brandon Schmid and Rondell Honcoop signed affidavits saying they heard the victim say no over and over and then saw Ledenko drag her down the hallway by her feet.

Ledenko was only charged with second-degree rape, also known as date rape. The rationale for this reduction is, ostensibly, that the victim is culpable because she was voluntarily present with the rapist. (Will I get second-degree murder if I shoot my neighbor when he invites me in for coffee?)

This date rape charge was dropped against the ex-EWU student/football player because Judge James Murphy ruled that Ledenko’s right to a speedy trial was violated. Ledenko’s trial was Jan. 22, but Prosecutor Carol Davis was in San Diego at a conference, not in court. She claims that she left instructions for a continuance to be filed; the motion was never filed. The office attributes the error to a communications problem.

Just what the hell is going on? How can our system protect a criminal and injure again the victim?

Where is justice? Steven Brodsky Spokane

Face it, prosecutor screwed up

I wonder what Michael Wiman (“Technicality shouldn’t abort case,” Roundtable, March 11) would say in this situation if he was being judged.

Hold not the defendant or his attorney responsible for this error, and place the blame where it belongs: at the feet of the deputy prosecutor. The procedure for prosecuting a defendant is well known and long established for any practicing attorney, especially the those at the prosecutor’s office.

The deputy prosecutor’s inability to obtain a written waiver before journeying off to some seminar, thereby missing the trial deadline and violating Tony Ledenko’s rights, is reprehensible. Any appeal on her part to set aside her own failure to adhere to procedure should be rejected.

The prosecutor’s office wields the power of the state. It is from the prosecutor’s office that the victim should seek restitution, because if she was victimized once by the defendant, she has definitely been victimized again by a deputy prosecutor’s callous disregard for procedure.

Is the issue definable as a legal technicality? Maybe to some. But I despair of a society that would define the rights of us all as mere technicalities and grumble and gripe when they are violated by the state. Kerry P. Zeiler Spokane

Cookbook justice should be cheap

What the article on alleged rapist Tony Ledenko doesn’t mention is that Judge Murphy had discretion that he could have used in considering the deputy prosecutor’s request.

By taking the easy road, he killed the victim’s chances for justice and likely affected the career of a dedicated prosecutor. And look who wins - Ledenko.

Why doesn’t this surprise me? Consider this: If a judge doesn’t apply the discretion he is given, why do we scrutinize his character, education and background when electing him? We could pay someone much less money to make by-the-book decisions. J.E. Carman Spokane

No slack for murderous youths

Re: Rick Nelson’s opinion of the error of trying juveniles as adults (“Errant youths handled badly,” Letters, March 11):

Our juvenile law system was put in place in the days when the most likely things a teen would be arrested for were petty crimes. Ah, yes, those days of reckless youth. Vandalism, joy riding, shoplifting. These are crimes, but not serious ones.

The system was put in place to allow our youths their mistakes while not placing a permanent blotch on their record. All criminal convictions of a youth are expunged at adulthood, giving them a chance to put the mistakes of youth behind them.

We are now faced with a new type of young in our society. The blame for these criminals could be passed around forever. The point is, however, that there is a new and dangerous youth out there.

Killing three in a school room; firing a shotgun into the face of another teen; shooting three teens in the back as they sat on their front porch; blasting away at a transient because two boys were yelled at - these are not just petty crimes anymore.

Until society can figure out why we’re raising such a generation of remorseless monsters, we’ll need to protect those who are their prey. I submit that anyone, regardless of age, be subject to the same penalties as everyone else for these very violent acts.

We must quit using age as an excuse and treat these punks for what they are: criminals who have lost their right to be part of a law-abiding society. Jim White Spokane

Send young punks a message

In response to Rick Nelson’s March 11 letter (“Errant youth handled badly”) teenagers are fully aware that there are different punishments for juveniles and adults.

In many cases teenagers should be prosecuted as adults, as a deterrent to violent crime. If the thought of life in prison, rather that a slap on the wrist, would keep just one teenager from pulling the trigger, then so be it. The victims are just as dead whether the shooter is 14 years old or 40 years old. Kristy Bennett Newman Lake

Drugs won’t foil polygraph exam

In a Feb. 27 article, John Evans is convinced his teenage son died from gang violence in 1989. Private investigator Sandy Brewer states she has identified “prime suspects,” two of whom bragged about passing a “lie detector” test in 1989 after taking a muscle relaxant.

I am a retired Spokane County sheriff’s detective who, as a polygraphist, designed the city/county’s present polygraph section. I’ve personally administered over 2,000 examinations on criminal matters and have been involved with another 2,500 examinations.

I assure all concerned that a tranquilizer/muscle relaxant won’t let a deceptive subject falsely indicate that he or she is telling the truth.

A properly conducted polygraph examination will include at minimum a one-hour pre-test interview with an examiner. A trained polygraphist should be able to observe normal functions that have been masked by medication.

A drug will not allow an individual’s involuntary nervous system reactions to be suppressed regarding relevant questions in an examination. Should drug use be suspected, a urine sample for a lab examination prior to the polygraph could be taken.

Should a drug be used, or anything else done to sabotage an examination that masks or distorts the recordings so they cannot be analyzed, the examination results are inconclusive.

A properly conducted polygraph examination by a recognized expert should be in the range of 96 percent accuracy, 3 percent inconclusive, with a 1 percent chance of error. There are polygraph operators who don’t strive for this proficiency range. Ronald A. Laws, ACP Polygraph Truth Verification, Inc. Spokane

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

‘The Giver’ unsuitable for kids

I recently discovered that a disturbing book, “The Giver,” by Lois Lowry, was read aloud last year in school to my niece and her 11-year-old friends. This book, a futuristic fiction work, contains a running subtheme of euthanasia, including one passage graphically describing infanticide of a newborn child.

Part of this passage reads: “He pushed the plunger very slowly, injecting the liquid into the scalp vein until the syringe was empty … As he continued to watch, the new child, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion. Then he went limp … head fell to the side, his eyes half open. Then he was still.”

While this book is well written and creative, the content is not appropriate for children.

We have forgotten that our greatest freedom and responsibility is to care for and protect the youngest and most vulnerable in our society.

Please review this book and find out if it is in your child’s school library or has been used by your child’s teacher. If such is the case, talk with your child’s principal or school superintendent and begin the process to limit access to this book. The material has the potential to be psychologically damaging, and we have the responsibility to protect our children. Muriel Tingley Medical Lake

Book foe right to express opinion

Re: the March 8 article in which Allen Kopf, co-chairman of the Washington Library Media Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee criticizes Debbie McSpadden for objecting to a child’s book that McSpadden believes promotes lying and cruelty:

Kopf is quoted as saying, “She’s determining her values should be the values of everyone else in he community.”

Who better to speak up for their values than members of the community, of which she is one? I would bet that McSpadden is just as intellectual as your committee, Kopf, and certainly entitled to the freedom to speak up for the standards she believes in, even if they do not coincide with yours. Donna Cross Medical Lake

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Doctors must never deal in death

Again, Dr. Jack Kevorkian has gone to trial for helping someone to commit suicide. Again, he has been found not guilty.

Years ago, as a hospital administrator, occasionally the question as to whether euthanasia or assisted suicide should be allowed was posed to me. More often than not, this question was asked by high school or college students. Always my answer was the same: It is the duty, the responsibility and the obligation of the medical profession to sustain life, not take it, and to ease suffering in the process.

My answer is still the same. Medical professionals should never deviate from the Oath of Hippocrates. Never! In this regard, Kevorkian is morally, ethically and legally wrong.

However, whenever a person has nothing but agony to look forward to, the medical profession has the duty, responsibility and obligation to so advise the patient and family members. Chronic pain is not quality of life.

Then, when the patient’s misery is overwhelming, the decision to take one’s life is up to them. After all, when a pet is in extreme pain, the humane thing to do is to put the pet out of its misery.

A person should have the right to ease their suffering when that time comes. Certainly, God will understand. But never should a member of the medical profession take part.

When people experience ongoing pain they should have access to pain-killing medications. The rules in effect regarding the prescribing of pain-killing medications are stupidly in error. David Wayne Farlowe Spokane

Immunization wrongly touted

D.F. Oliveria’s March 11 editorial is an unfortunate example of medical propaganda. Several important facts were ignored in this piece and your readers deserve to hear the whole story.

First, Oliveria condemns the 5 percent of parents who knowingly choose not to vaccinate their children for “medical, political or religious reasons,” stating their “misguided” notions put the entire community at risk. Yet Oliveria quotes “disease experts” who state that 90 percent community immunization is necessary to prevent disease from spreading.

Hmm, let’s see, 100 percent minus 5 percent - yup, that’s greater than 90 percent. So how do these conscientious parents put the whole community at risk?

Oliveria also assumes that the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine is highly effective, a fact not well supported by medical literature. A 10-year effectiveness study of this vaccine published in 1988 concluded that it was only 50 percent effective for a 6-year-old last immunized at 18 months of age. In 1994, Mink and associates demonstrated that the vaccine was only 47 percent effective in “fully immunized” eighth graders. It’s interesting to note that another small epidemic may be occurring in North Idaho despite the thousands of children immunized last year.

Lastly, Oliveria trivializes parents’ concerns over the side effects of vaccines. Speaking not only as a naturopathic physician, but as the father of a child hospitalized with a pertussis vaccine reaction, the concerns about this vaccine are real, and all of the propaganda to the contrary will not change the facts. Tim C. Birdsall, N.D. Sandpoint, ID

OTHER TOPICS

Kosher dinner: Thanks to our guests

On behalf of the Spokane Jewish community I wish to publicly thank everyone who gave our annual Kosher Dinner and Entertainment their overwhelming support.

The problems in Israel and the Middle East seem far away from the warmth, hospitality and great food that was enjoyed at Temple Beth Shalom. We served 3,000 home-cooked kosher roast beef dinners to a record-setting sell-out crowd on March 10.

Our gratitude goes out to the entire Spokane area media who helped us promote this positive invitation to the general public to come into our temple and learn about Jewish customs, music, traditions and kosher food. Through knowledge comes understanding.

We are sorry to have disappointed those folks who could not get tickets. We were completely sold out. Hopefully we will see you next year. Ethel Grossman, dinner chairwoman Temple Beth Shalom, Spokane

Cartoon ‘sophomoric idea’

By the looks of his cartoon on the Opinion page of March 10, Staff cartoonist Milt Priggee must be devoid of any substantive thoughts. What a sophomoric idea and drawing. I can’t believe you would waste space in the paper with it. Diane Augustine Kettle Falls, Wash.

‘50s strength was education

I enjoyed the March 8 dueling editorials, for and against the ‘50s. However, I was surprised that neither writer touched on the decade’s most salient feature: schools.

As a child of the ‘60s, I always envied my older, ‘50s-educated cousins, who could place the Civil War in the proper century. Golly, Anne Windishar, some of them even knew that Stendhal (1783-1842) was instrumental in the evolution of the nineteenth century novel.

I say hats off to the ‘50s and the man who presided over them, Dwight David Eisenhower, nineteenth century soldier-statesman! Paul Doherty Rathdrum, Idaho

Don’t give culprits publicity

I realize that the recent bomb threat at University High School is news, but why validate this contemptible act with publicity?

All things considered, might it be a wiser decisions to deny the criminals - and I mean criminals - their 15 minutes of fame? Is it possible that by refusing them publicity you might decrease the chance of it happening again? Martin Miller Spokane