Dear Editor,

I read Kevin Malay’s response “Accused should face expulsion” to the Michael Powell case and felt that I had to give some sort of response to this judgmental individual.

Unless you are a DPS officer and you have intimate knowledge about this case, you have no business calling the accused names and demanding he be kicked out of Northern Kentucky University. Maybe you are able to magically transform yourself into a fly and you personally witnessed this occurrence with your own eyes. Then, you have some sort of ground to stand on while acting as judge and executioner.

The truth is nobody knows exactly what happened in this case except for the two people that were directly involved. Let me ask a question. Why is the accused automatically assumed to be guilty and the accuser should be trusted?

Newsflash folks: Women have lied about being raped! Has anyone ever heard of “Rosewood?” I am in no way trying to be unfeeling or insensitive towards the accuser if this indeed went down the way she said it did. But, this is a simple truth of society. Until this matter is sorted out in a court of law, the public’s opinion is null and void, including yours.

And to the wannabe lawyer: this is not a race issue at heart. It became one when it was decided that this story will get the front page priority and publication when other despicable acts that have happened on NKU’s campus have not. We have had crimes happen on campus, and the only way people really find out about it is through “word of mouth.”

If it comes out that the accuser did lie about this matter and Mr. Powell is vindicated of the charges against him, will we hear about it? Or, is it just going to be a small little backdrop of a story because it came to light that the “victim’s” account of what happened was severely embellished?

The same goes for the flip side of that. If Mr. Powell is convicted of the charges, then he should be punished accordingly for his wrongdoing. But, you know what? This hasn’t happened yet! Until that time comes, Mr. Lawyer, save your “lynching tactics” for the cases you’re involved in.

Travis Hines

Psychology Graduate