Readers, imagine, as you read this letter, that you have been accused of doing something terrible 30 years ago, or longer.
Imagine yourself and your family undergoing national scrutiny by people who do not even personally know you but are taking the accuser's side. Imagine your accuser insists repeatedly it was you who committed the crime. Imagine that the accusation will affect your entire life and maybe even cost you a job or career.
This is a horror many of us will not have to face, but imagine if you did.
Would you expect to be entitled to due process? By law, aren't you are innocent until proven guilty? The burden of proof rests with the accuser, not the accused, but that may be changing.
I'll phrase this another way: Who would any of us be, if we were judged for life based on who we were when we were 18 or so? After all, a man who admitted (in his book) to heavy drinking and using several illegal drugs, including cocaine, in his school years was elected president of the United States - twice (President Obama).
The recent turmoil over Justice Brett Kavanaugh is frightening because it appears that the idea of a suspect being innocent until proven guilty is going by the wayside, and it will now be “guilty until proven innocent.”
Just imagine applying “guilty until proven innocent” to any case against anyone - even yourself.