To the editor:

If the Medis beating case is not one that would ordinarily warrant a classification of being a hate crime, why is it that in every article written about it, the fact that Jeffrey Medis is an openly gay man is mentioned? Might not that information contaminate the potential jury pool? If the sexuality of Jeffrey and his friends or the way they dress has nothing to do with it, why is the media treating it as if it does matter?

Well, the truth is, of course it matters! Hateful as that is, I believe it to be true even here in Lawrence. We should be disappointed at least, that any law-abiding citizen, no matter his sexual orientation, would leave town because he had been so horribly singled out and then publicly and brutally beaten because someone didn’t like his looks. What’s worse, this is a man who is accustomed to being singled out but makes no apologies to anyone for who he is.

Now that one person has been sentenced in this incident, hopefully the person who caused the horrific damage to Jeffrey Medis’ head and face will also be rightfully punished, not for who he is but for what he did.

Doris Stine,

Lawrence