The Issue: Whether John Edwards got off too easy on the verdict in his campaign-fraud trial.
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If John Edwards was Patrick Phelan (self-unemployed contractor) from Sayville, would there be a mistrial (“Sleazy Does It for Edwards,” June 1)?
I think not. Phelan would be in jail with the worst criminals on the planet, because he does not have any friends in the Democratic National Committee.
Patrick Phelan
Sayville
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The Edwards mistrial comes as no surprise. However, that is not a defense of Edwards.
He is a true skunk, through and through. But being a skunk is not a crime — it is an odious characteristic worthy of the scent associated with it.
To deprive a man of his liberty by incarceration, a real crime must be proved. That is the job of the prosecutor, and the prosecutor in the Edwards case failed miserably.
This almost always happens when issues of emotion and moral turpitude are confused with issues of actual legal consequence.
Shame on Edwards? Of course. Lock him up in prison? Not this time.
Next case, please.
Tom Cahill
Manhattan
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Edwards’ demeanor is similar to that of a television preacher. The way he conducts himself brings to mind a reverend you see on Sunday mornings on low-budget-cable TV.
Too bad Tammy Faye Bakker’s no longer around. Edwards could have hooked up with her and done the mega- church circuit as a new career.
Ray Hackinson
Ozone Park