Letters to the Editor | June 17, 2024

The recent Sunday editorial comparing Donald Trump and Joe Biden hit a grand slam delineating some of the differences in policies promoted by the two presidential candidates. The very first paragraph identifies the Trump strategy described by Steve Bannon, who once said the best way to combat fact-based media was to “flood the zone” with misinformation. Well, I am relieved the editorial sets the record straight.

Each paragraph provides a different reason why voters need to check out Trump’s claims and generalizations against specified points and data in Biden’s efforts and proposals: reduced unemployment, limiting the cost of lifesaving insulin, pardoning thousands of those in jail for simple possession of marijuana, the signing of the first gun safety legislation in 30 years. There is also some input from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on specific ways Biden’s policies are benefiting Philadelphia. I hope the questions in upcoming presidential debates make both candidates reveal specific things they have done or will do as president to make life greater for all Americans. Just the facts — and let the voters decide which proposals ring true.

Mary A. McKenna, Philadelphia, marymckenna135@comcast.net

After reading Chris Palmer’s report on the American Civil Liberties Union and how Pennsylvania’s public defenders are so underfunded, it brought to mind the common phrase that “no one is above the law.” That statement serves as a stark reminder that if you are charged with a crime, you must be held accountable in our system of justice; however, if you cannot afford an attorney to represent you, and the public defenders are not well-funded, you may suffer the injustices of being wrongly accused and more. It’s a disgrace to learn that Pennsylvania is tied with Mississippi for the lowest-funded state indigent defense system on a per capita basis. We must do better.

Maria Duca, Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s new budget removes funding for syringe exchange, which the city acknowledges will lead to increased HIV infections. Missing from the conversation is that this will harm not just people who inject drugs, but the broader Philadelphia community. This low-cost intervention dramatically reduces HIV transmission. After syringe exchange began here in 1992, new infections in people who inject drugs dropped by 95%, preventing 10,000 HIV infections over 10 years. Defunding syringe exchange will reverse this.

Importantly, epidemics don’t stay confined to specific communities. The explosion of HIV will start in people who inject drugs but will spread to the general community through sex partners. Surging HIV infections will likely hit hardest among people of color, worsening Philadelphia’s health inequities. This will also inflict great financial costs for care. And syringes on the streets will be more likely to carry HIV and hepatitis. Some blame syringe exchange for increasing injection drug use, crime, and needles on our streets, but careful studies show no evidence for that. In fact, unsafe disposal is curtailed with well-run syringe exchange. If there are concerns with the services, address them. But as medical doctors, we urge the city not to cut something that makes Philadelphia safer. Don’t return us to the 1980s.

Florence Momplaisir, Villanova, and Ronald Collman, Philadelphia

Finally, Donald Trump and I agree on something. The justice system in America is rigged, though not in the way he claims. By some estimates, around 5% of people in prison are held for crimes they did not commit. This translates to tens of thousands of prisoners. People of color, often without the means to hire competent legal counsel or to appeal wrongful decisions, are overrepresented in that number. Before Trump’s guilty verdict recently, he had defrauded students at his namesake university, defrauded a charity, and lost civil decisions for tax fraud, sexual assault, and defamation, yet Trump is not doing jail time even though he shows no remorse, and continues to rail against the judge and the witnesses who affirmed his guilt. Yes, Trump is right, the system is rigged. The fact that he remains free while so many are wrongfully incarcerated is all the proof we need.

Elliott Miller, Bala Cynwyd

Donald Trump claims his judge and jury were “rigged,” and his case was a Joe Biden-engineered hoax — unsurprising fiction from a chronic liar. But the same complaints from a chorus of Republican officeholders — lawyers among them — are more jarring. Our jury trial system in principle protects the accused’s rights. We challenge biased jurors for cause, and then with peremptory challenges we turn away jurors we think are unsympathetic. Trump exercised those rights. Twelve ordinary citizens decided Trump’s guilt — not Biden, and not some servile magistrate working at the pleasure of a strongman ruler.

Yet, House Speaker Mike Johnson — himself a lawyer — derided the case as a purely political vendetta, impugning the integrity of the judge and the courts. Lawyers who falsely condemn a judge or jury as rigged and the case as a hoax ignore their professional responsibilities. The rules of professional conduct forbid an attorney from making intentionally false statements concerning the integrity of a judge, and from engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. The speaker and his lawyer allies in Congress should promote, not diminish, respect for the rule of law.

Justin T. Loughry, Haddonfield

Reading a recent Inquirer article on school vouchers, I was taken aback by the term “school choice advocates.” Let’s be clear: The only people who are actual advocates for school choice are the ones pushing for public school funding. Public schools are the choice for those without the means to afford a private school. They are the choice for people whom private schools don’t want. Public schools accept disabled students whom private schools won’t handle or have adequate facilities for.

Conversely, vouchers provide the illusion of choice. They weaken public schools by stealing public money to give to private hands. For example, in Arizona, over 75% of initial voucher applicants had never been to public school. Many of these students were already in private schools before vouchers. And many elite private schools refuse vouchers, and the students’ vouchers pretend to help. The commonwealth has a $1.4 billion funding gap with the School District of Philadelphia, and vouchers only widen that gap. Strong public schools provide choice for Philadelphia families. Tell your legislator to pass on PASS, the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success.

Jayson Massey, Philadelphia

Kyle Sammin’s column on Donald Trump’s prosecution expresses the belief that the case will leave a “stain” on our justice system. But our justice system has already been stained by allowing Trump to continually appeal and delay the even more important cases against him that would send a powerful message to his entrenched followers if he were found guilty. Both the election interference and the classified documents cases should be coming to trial before the next election to allow our country’s voters to have the clearest picture of who Trump is. That will not happen, though, because Trump has slowed the judicial process to a snail’s pace. To that end, I am grateful the New York prosecution was a judicial success.

Jan Alter, Elkins Park

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