Letter to the Editor

Many questions remain about case

To the editor:

We are writing to express our outrage over the unfair and unwarranted conviction and incarceration of Greg Sparkman. Greg is one of the most honest and compassionate people we have ever known. He gives tirelessly of his finances and efforts in many charities, including Cape's Wildest Rodeo with all the proceeds going to the Shriners Hospital in St. Louis.

He and his family have been business leaders for many years, and he is one of our major taxpayers. He is a giver, not a taker. He contributes to society instead of taking from it. Our community is a better place because of him. On the other hand, federal prosecutors are releasing a convicted meth dealer, and we are paying for his testimony by granting him an early release from his prison sentence. What is wrong with this picture? The meth dealer has every incentive to say exactly what the prosecutors want him to say.

As a vehicle dealer with a hundred or more vehicles in stock, Greg would have been stupid to burn two of them. If money was a motive, it would have been far more profitable to take them back to auction, get a check and receive more than you'd ever get after hassling over insurance.

Greg is innocent. Why is he being held in the Pemiscot County Jail away from his family and friends instead of in Cape Girardeau County? Why hasn't he been granted bail pending sentencing and appeal? These and many other questions need to be answered.

BOB and SHIRLEY MOSS, Dutchtown