Murder: Understanding Is Not Forgiveness

Re “Blame Anybody Except She Who Did It,” Commentary, July 11: Of course women aren’t “guiltless”; they’re human and as such are responsible for their actions. What has been happening on the evening news is mostly an acknowledgment that for every murderer there exists a context. We can’t fault the news for asking the question: “Why? What brings a person to take a life?”

The problem isn’t feminism. The problem is that although every person sitting on death row right now has a context, in the overwhelming majority of cases, no one cares. Yes, they’re mostly men, but the problem isn’t sexism; it’s closer to racism and the fact that most of them simply lack a distinguishing feature that triggers the question: “Why?” They’re not celebrities or women or children. Even an IQ of 60 rarely merits our interest. Where’s the “story”?

No one is suggesting we free Andrea Yates or any other killer. They’re all responsible for their actions. But every single one of them does in fact have a story. A context. And each time we choose to ignore it, we miss an opportunity to understand what it is to be human.

Dawn O’Leary

West Hollywood

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Who are the Betty Friedan-wielding “feminist soldiers” at whom Norah Vincent rages? In what year is she living? Yes, some writers have observed that when a woman suffers a suicidal depression after the birth of her fourth child, getting pregnant again right away might not be the best idea. But not one has described the poor Yates children as “drool-encrusted, gunk-besmeared, urine-soaked ingrates” or “greedy little monsters ... barfing on newly laundered apron fronts, screeching incessantly for porridge.”

The sheer hatefulness of her language suggests that it’s Vincent, not “feminists,” who has a problem with motherhood.

Carol Mithers

Los Angeles