Published: Sun, August 20, 2017 @ 12:00 a.m.

Richmond doesnt belong in YSUs football family

I completely agree with a recent letter condemning the decision of Youngstown State University to allow Mr. Malik Richmond to be part of the football team even if he will never play. I am a community health provider who treats drug addicts at local clinics. Most, whether male or female, have been sexually abused. Having even a contrite Mr. Richmond as part of the YSU football family is wrong. It is a slap in the face to victims of sexual violence.

There is no more enthusiastic college football fan than myself. I also am a student of A Course in Miracles, which teaches forgiveness as the path to spiritual enlightenment. However, a college football team is the wrong venue for the redemption of Mr. Richmond. It sends the wrong message and has made YSU the target of nationwide criticism (i.e., the Aug. 11 column in the NY Daily News by Evan Grossman).

There are other meaningful ways that Mr. Richmond can make a contribution, such as advocating against sexual violence within mens groups. I support his right to higher education completely. But football Coach Bo Pelini, President James Tressel, and others really got it wrong this time.

Susan J. Sabo, MD, MPH, Avon, Ohio

Parole hearing for Poullas killers reflects immorality

I cant believe that I feel so compelled to write this letter, only because I believe our justice system is so flawed in many areas.

What is it about the Ohio Parole Board members who dont get the judgment life in prison? Who on this parole board would be so blas and apathetic toward low-life criminals who dont deserve the distinction of human being if what they did to Elaine Poullas back on June 3, 1979, was done to one of your loved ones?

I refer to David Jacobs (A156579), and Charles Teague (A156577-SB2). Why is there even a hearing for anyone convicted of a heinous crime? Why should taxpayers even have to support this scum of the earth, when we know what would have happened to them if they had committed this crime in, say, Singapore?

Our liberal society continues to move so far left that immorality is becoming the norm. Believe me, if these so called human beings get paroled, it will be highly immoral without justification.

God bless the Poullas family and their close friends. Let us all fight the battle to keep these two, whatever they are, behind bars.

Robert DeFelice, Poland

Ban exotic animals from being kept as house pets

The plight of an Ohio woman who made a desperate call to 911 after her boa constrictor clamped down on her face begs the question: Why is it legal to keep these dangerous animals as pets?

A Florida toddler was killed in her crib by the familys pet python and two Canadian boys were strangled to death by an escaped snake. People have been airlifted to hospitals after being bitten by captive snakes and neighborhoods have been evacuated when they made a break for it, costing taxpayers money and putting first responders at risk.

Contact with reptiles either directly or simply touching things theyve come in contact with also poses a serious risk of contracting Salmonella, which kills nearly 400 people annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most reptiles captured or bred for the pet trade end up ignored and neglected in cramped aquarium tanks or dark basements and garages. When the novelty wears off, many are simply dumped outside like trash, where theyll starve to death or die of exposure or predation. Those who survive can wreak havoc on local ecosystems.

How many people and animals must suffer and die before lawmakers ban exotic pets?

Jennifer OConnor, Norfolk, Va.

Jennifer OConnor is a senior writer for the PETA Foundation.

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