Letters: Readers discuss Afghan evacuees in KC, Kyle Rittenhouse and Kansas clemency
Big picture
We appreciate The Star’s attention to Afghan evacuees in the Nov. 17 story, “Welcomed But Not Sheltered,” (4A) but are concerned it did not accurately portray the current situation. Jewish Vocational Services, or JVS, has been resettling refugees and other displaced people for more than 70 years, with staff and volunteers working closely with government agencies to ensure new arrivals receive the support and services needed to integrate into our community.
JVS staff members greet new arrivals at Kansas City International Airport, provide hot meals and help settle families into temporary homes, apartments or hotels where they may stay for a few days or months while longer-term accommodations are readied. Every person receives a bed and three nutritious and culturally appropriate meals each day.
Long-term support includes: assistance obtaining government documentation, enrolling children in school, connecting with medical and mental health care providers, transportation, language learning, job-placement and skills training.
Thanks to the tremendous generosity of corporate and philanthropic donors, as well as individual, everyday Kansas Citians, JVS provides these services for months and sometimes years so evacuees can build a new, safe, healthy future in our community.
- Martha B. Baird, president, board of directors, Jewish Vocational Services, Kansas City
What they saw
The writer of a Nov. 21 letter to the editor (20A) called Kyle Rittenhouse a “vigilante” who carried a “lethal weapon across state lines” and shot three people. The writer couldn’t “understand what the members of the jury saw and heard that would clear Rittenhouse.”
Apparently, this letter writer obtained more information about the Rittenhouse trial from CNN and MSNBC than from the trial itself. I seriously doubt that this writer saw and heard all the evidence that was presented to the jury. If she did, she would know that the evidence persuaded the jury that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. If she did not, then her conclusions about and criticisms of the jury’s verdict are wildly misinformed.
- Steve Ruse, Overland Park
Use your voice
Unbelievable. Who would be surprised to see Kyle Rittenhouse’s name in the media again in the future, since he got away with it this time? His mother should have been charged for driving him to Kenosha to kill, and the friend who bought the gun for him also needs to be punished.
This whole thing with guns is so out of hand. When are our elected officials going to do something about this? The General Assembly is doing the people of Missouri no favors with the gun legislation it has enacted. The Second Amendment Protection Act passed this summer was not supported by many members of law enforcement because it could prevent them from getting help from federal agencies such as the FBI. How unreasonable is that?
Write to your state senators and representatives and tell them what you think. They think they are in some kind of a bubble and don’t have to listen to you. Make them hear you.
- Charlotte Folsom, Lee’s Summit
Consider clemency?
In 1999, Daniel Crocker was big news. Almost 20 years before, he committed a horrible crime. He attempted to rape a young woman and, in a panic, smothered her to death. That crime woke him up and he got his life in order, but his Christian faith troubled his conscience to the point that, to the great surprise of then-Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison, Crocker turned himself in.
According to Morrison, “Had (Crocker) not come forward, we would have not solved this case. In the 18 years I’ve been a prosecutor, I’ve never seen a case unfold this way.”
Crocker was sentenced to a prison term of 20 to 60 years, with the possibility of parole in 10 years. This agreement was approved by the family of the victim, but in 2008, some family members had a change of heart and requested he serve another five years.
Crocker has now served 23 years. Although he mentors other prisoners and has a good record, he was again denied parole in September.
Shouldn’t the Kansas Department of Corrections and Gov. Laura Kelly investigate this matter and consider offering clemency to Daniel Crocker?
- James Hansen, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.