Nothing like a nice voice-mail message to start the day. It’s the way I begin most of my days here in beautiful downtown Primos. I open the door to my office, and the first thing I see is that flashing red light on the phone.
This morning a man, who of course did not bother to identify himself, wanted to let me know what he thought about three different stories in yesterday’s paper.
What had his dander up were the stories concerning William Ernest, who entered a plea to involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with a beating that led to the death of his wife, who suffered from Alzheimer’s; Glenn Manus, who was seeking to get out on bail while he awaits trial on charges of molesting several children; and Joseph Melito, a 76-year-old man who pleaded guilty in a case in which he lured a woman with a mental disability into his home and then sexually assaulted her.
I get the feeling this gentleman didn’t appreciate reading these stories. He also didn’t much care for the way the way the justice system was working in these three instances.
“They ought to just take them out and shoot them,” the man said.
Uh, no, that’s not the way the system works.
But it’s the way some people feel.
Not me. I get depressed enough just trying to report these cases as they make their way through the justice system. I can’t imagine the kind of emotions the police and district attorney’s office deal with as they sort through these impossibly sad sagas.
They do a pretty good job of dispensing justice. And it doesn’t have anything to do with the kind of rash, emotional, snap judgment the phone caller had in mind.
Thank god for that.
This morning a man, who of course did not bother to identify himself, wanted to let me know what he thought about three different stories in yesterday’s paper.
What had his dander up were the stories concerning William Ernest, who entered a plea to involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with a beating that led to the death of his wife, who suffered from Alzheimer’s; Glenn Manus, who was seeking to get out on bail while he awaits trial on charges of molesting several children; and Joseph Melito, a 76-year-old man who pleaded guilty in a case in which he lured a woman with a mental disability into his home and then sexually assaulted her.
I get the feeling this gentleman didn’t appreciate reading these stories. He also didn’t much care for the way the way the justice system was working in these three instances.
“They ought to just take them out and shoot them,” the man said.
Uh, no, that’s not the way the system works.
But it’s the way some people feel.
Not me. I get depressed enough just trying to report these cases as they make their way through the justice system. I can’t imagine the kind of emotions the police and district attorney’s office deal with as they sort through these impossibly sad sagas.
They do a pretty good job of dispensing justice. And it doesn’t have anything to do with the kind of rash, emotional, snap judgment the phone caller had in mind.
Thank god for that.
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