Patti deserves fair trial

To the Editor: In response to Linda Grassia’s letter to the editor printed last week regarding Jeffery Patti: How can she conclude that he “knowingly” downloaded or “deliberately” possessed anything, let alone child pornography? How in the world does she know? The last I read, he had pleaded “not guilty.” Maybe in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or the former Soviet Union guilt was concluded by virtue of simply being charged by the state. Not in America! In America, you are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. All Americans are afforded this right, even Ms. Grassia. Just because someone is charged by the state doesn’t automatically mean guilt. When was Patti convicted? When was the trial? Did I miss something? The only information the public at large has to go on is that provided by the media. If people have concluded that Patti was convicted of something, it is largely a result of the media’s incorrect reporting, as noted in a previous correction printed by this paper on this subject. Finally, if Patti had been convicted, there would be no pre-trial intervention offered. Ron Romine Sparta