I respond to the Thursday letter “Harsh sentence in fatality was unnecessary,” from J.I. Lykins, who thinks it is barbaric to imprison Mary Kathryn Paul for running over and bicyclist killing Bob Lennon.
She said Lennon “chose to ride his bike on a narrow, hilly road instead of a bicycle trail.” To me, that seems to be the same school of thought that blames the rape victim because her skirt was short.
Accidents happen. Maybe Lennon would’ve been safer on a bike trail. The issue here is that he was hit, then abandoned. Maybe he could’ve been helped if Paul had stopped.
She lied to her friends and family about what had happened. She had gotten in trouble before for hitting someone else on a bike. It is unfortunate that Paul’s health is fragile, but her ill health did not stop her from being a hit-and-run driver.