Columnist Jay Ambrose deserves more than a few swift kicks. The man who I believe has never been right about anything preserved his perfect record with his July 14 column, “Some things right with justice system.”
We have rape shield laws for a good reason. A defense team is no longer allowed to defend the case by putting the victim’s reputation, associates or past history on trial. Against the background of a terrible history of trying rape victims instead of their assailants, Ambrose lauds “the legal system” for allegedly doing exactly that. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former chief of the International Monetary Fund, has hardly been proved innocent. We do now know he has a sordid history. The DNA? Well that is inconvenient.
Ambrose, however, seems to suggest we can try the victim. Shame on Ambrose for suggesting that rich and powerful men should be allowed to rape poor and powerless women, and get away with it.
William D. Robison
Vancouver
