Is there any easier target than the people who defend accused sex offenders for a living? Seems like they get more flack than sex offenders themselves sometimes, as Broadsheet runs yet another "That's Outrageous!" piece ill-informed of the criminal justice system.

The learned counsel is defending a man accused of an infamous felony. He would be committing malpractice and violating his sworn duty if he did not use every tool available to him to defend his client, who is up against the full prosecutorial resources of the Crown. If the complaining witness claims that she is traumatized and suffering from PTSD, it is not only not wrong but it is entirely appropriate for the defense to proffer conflicting evidence to rebut this. This is a fundamental right under American constitutional law that we have inherited from the British legal system, one that protects all of us from injustice should we find ourselves accused.

If the man is guilty, which he may well be, but which not a single commenter here has any first-hand knowledge of, then he should and hopefully will be punished because a jury of his peers finds him guilty based on the evidence.

The Salon readership purports to be outraged by the Bush administration running rampant over our Constitutional rights and protections, but how quickly they attack even a lawyer for exercising perhaps the most fundamental right of all; the right to hold the government to its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt before it inflicts punishment.

Clearly I missed the point that he was convicted and this was for sentencing and not guilt, but the point remains pretty much the same.

The lawyer has the same duty to his client at sentencing, and if the prosecution is putting forth a PTSD victim-impact argument, the lawyer has a right and duty to rebut this with evidence. Of course there is a risk that this tactic could backfire, but that's a professional judgment call.

Casey Anthony had certain Myspace photos of her partying after Caylee disappeared that are being used against her. I am sure the grand jury that indicted her found them very interesting.

Where's the outrage there? Can't a mother have a little fun and smile after her daughter disappears without that being used against her as proof that she killed her?

Different circumstances obviously, but the point is that before you start jumping to conclusions that about what shouldn't be considered evidence maybe you should realize that evidence is a huge area of the law that has evolved over hundreds of years of experience and litigation, and kneejerk sensational reaction does not good policy make.

to know that it's a bunch of bull. And I don't need to waste more complaining about this kind of crap on Salon, because dozens of others have done so, handily.

Thank you for this story. It is mercifully absent of the insipid, ignorant false optimism of so much coverage of the world (and African) situation that minimizes the scope of the problem.

Someone mentioned Joe the Plumber, that wonderful man who sees evil Socialism at the prospect of paying an extra 2% of tax on income above $250,000 ("My money, mine!"). I am also reminded of a sneering McCain Wednesday night telling Obama that we need to cut taxes for businesses, "NOT spread wealth around." Meanwhile the median state of human dignity is just a hairsbreadth away from the abject misery snapshotted in Patrick's photostream here."

"My friends," as John McCain would say, we are screwed. Even as the proportion of people living at this level of poverty has dropped over the past few decades (although this has been slowing down), with the relentless world population growth concentrated where human condition is worst, the NUMBER of people living in this way sets new records every single day.

But in America, the "left" will only talk about the middle class. Poverty is a dirty word (look what happened to Edwards)--we don't want to bring charges of class warfare.

So, honestly, thanks for taking a moment to think about the animals in the midst of all this. They are the most innocent victims of humanity's self-inflicted death-spiral, whether it is being entangled in our detritus, tortured and eaten for food, or hounded out of their habitat.

And thanks for proving once again that travel IS broadening, at least for those with a capacity for broad-mindedness.