LETTERS: TRIALS ALLOW BOTH SIDES TO BE HEARD

To the editor:

I saw a column by local (and personal) favorite, David Limbaugh. As usual, I wasn't able to read past the second paragraph. But even that short essay was monumental in its scope.

He said, "But we don't need a trial to establish the government's culpability. It has already been established through the investigations conducted following the event."

You don't have to be a lawyer to disagree. Our mothers told us to hear both sides of the story. Our forbears, from England to the constitutional convention to now, tell us that a trial with an advocate on each side is the best engine of truth. We don't rely on investigations or allegations or hearsay or gossip. We demand a trial. We let both sides present the very best case available. We test the truth of the "investigations."

We don't do this for technical reasons or to try to help the guilty. We do it because it works.

JOHN L. COOK

Thomasson, Gilbert, Cook & Maguire

Cape Girardeau, Mo.