Editor,
The Question of the Week comments about John Hyde, who is accused of murdering five people, were published in the Daily Lobo on Thursday, the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's murder at the hands of a demented man.
Two freshmen said, "I don't think you can use mental disorder as an excuse," and, "I feel if he is competent to kill someone, he is competent to go to trial."
These are astoundingly ignorant responses to a terrible tragedy for all concerned. These freshman could not have given their replies serious thought, something that will be rectified in their college education should they be intelligent enough to succeed in their course work.
In the meantime, I urge them to either take basic psychology courses, wherein they will learn much about how the mind and body work together for better or worse, or volunteer on a psychiatric ward so they can begin to understand what they obviously don't grasp.
Our 21st century society desperately needs to address such ignorance about the issue of mental health so we can prevent needless tragedies that deeply affect all of us.
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Anne Rice
UNM staff
