PD reader commends Brett

Letter published on page B8 of the Cleveland Plain Dealer,
Friday, January 7, 2005

Commending Brett's bravery

Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett deserves praise for the very public position she took regarding the terrible assault of Mario Russo - a position she bravely took before it became popular

The sentence handed down against Khalid Arafat - and the disposition of the charges pending against several other assailants - confirms that Brett was right in her early assertion that many people were guilty of rushing to judgment (by buying the assaulters' story that they brutally attacked Russo after becoming enraged at witnessing the acts of a supposed pervert, and that they were guilty of acting only as any of us would under similar circumstances).

Their story was hogwash. But lots of folks seemed all too willing to believe it. And, really, who could be expected to openly consider the rights of an accused sexual predator? Only someone of exceptional courage.

It seems to me that Regina Brett routinely acts upon her convictions, even when doing so causes her personal difficulty. (I can only imagine what reactions her early columns on the Russo matter precipitated in terms of hateful voicemall and e-mail.)

Bravo, Ms. Brett. I don't always agree with the positions you take. But I always respect them. And you.

Mike Murray
Berea

Blog Note: Brett is a former BJ columnist