Facing racism

The editorial "Trial By Jury," May 8, did a fine job of summarizing why many thoughtful Americans are refusing to join a media-inspired lynch mob following the Simi Valley verdict. But we should also comment on the dreadful insult implicit in the assumption that having a black on the jury would necessarily have changed the outcome.

Civil-rights activists have told us for decades that blacks and other minorities simply want fair and equal treatment. Assuming that a black on the jury would have made a politically correct finding regardless of the facts presented to that jury flies in the face of those assurances. Fair-minded Americans should reject any such theory. William G. Dennis, Kelso, Wash.

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