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Judi Bari trial is about civil rights
To the Editor:
The Judi Bari trial now under way in Oakland, contrary to popular belief, is about violation of civil liberties and not about who set the bomb. According to a 4-12-02 interview (thisweek@kqed.com) film-maker Steve Talbot revealed that a person with a prior history in bombs and who should be investigated is Mike Sweeney, former husband of Judi Bari. Everyone agrees that the author of the Lord’s Avenger letter must have been intimately involved. All aspects of this missive – from the prose style to the sequence of the DNA remaining on the envelope – should be scrutinized if we are to fix responsibility for a murderous attack on a gifted and courageous woman. One more time: our hatred for the FBI and the OPD, however justified, should not distract us from identification of the perpetrator of the crime.
- J. B. Neilands
Berkeley
