Victim Plight Is Ignored in TV Debate
I take strong exception to Howard Rosenberg’s column on the William Kennedy Smith rape case (“Smith vs. Courtroom TV,” Aug. 2). Rosenberg addresses some of the objections to televising the trial, refutes them and concludes that there is no reason not to put the case on TV.
But he overlooks the most compelling reason of all: What about the alleged victim?
The treatment of rape victims by our court system is a national disgrace. They are browbeaten, humiliated and made to suffer an ordeal that many consider almost as horrific as the crime itself. Forcing a rape victim to face this abuse on national television is so appalling that it sickens me to think about it.
Is the plight of the victim really an argument “too ridiculous to bother refuting”?
TERRY BLACK
Costa Mesa
MORE LETTERS: F4
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