Important NEW information about/from Matt Deatherage

[lunatic@netcom.com (L. Bruce E'Sex)]

     _
    |_
    |irst off, let me say that I know everyone here is sick of this
subject, but what I am about to post is a very important document
that everyone should at least read once.  I am crossposting it to
the three csa2* newsgroups that have gotten the most of the flaming
geysers of text about this subject, but I am setting the Followup-To:
line to comp.sys.apple2.  I know some people's news software doesn't
honour the Followup-To: line, and doesn't deal with crossposts well,
so please, if you MUST post a followup (and personally I'd just as
soon you didn't, but it's your choice), do NOT post it in
comp.sys.apple2.comm or comp.sys.apple2.programmer, do it in
comp.sys.apple2, instead.
     _
    (_onsidering all the crap that you people have been spewing in,
about, and around this issue, I was tempted to not post this at all,
since it would probably just generate more of it.  This is a very
important message, though, so I decided that above all that it really
needs to get out to everyone.  This message has already been posted
to all the major online services.  Please send copies to any place
that may not have access here or to those services.
 
                                                    -= Lunatic

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 =BEGIN DOCUMENT=
 
ANYONE WHO HAS EVER KNOWN OR CARED ABOUT MATT DEATHERAGE NEEDS TO READ THE
FOLLOWING MESSAGE, WHICH IS BEING POSTED ON ALL INFORMATION SERVICES. This
document is being distributed with the help and support of a number of friends
of Matt Deatherage, whose names and e-mail addresses are listed at the bottom.
 
MATT NEEDS YOUR HELP, AND HE NEEDS IT BADLY.
 
By now, most of you have probably read news accounts and seen public
discussions describing Matt Deatherage's recent run-ins with the law.  In
brief, Matt was arrested in late March and charged with three felonies related
to sexual misconduct with a 14 year old boy.
 
There have been a number of sensationalistic news stories describing the
incident.  What you need to be aware of is that these news stories are cases
of the news media simply reporting the statements of the people prosecuting
Matt. Everything we are hearing from the news media is the prosecution's side
of this story, with no effort being made to report Matt's side of things.
 
Since Matt has not contested the charges against him, you may be thinking that
it's not relevant what Matt's side is -- but it is quite relevant. Some of us
have spoken to Matt and his attorney.  Here's what Matt had to tell us:
 
"I made a mistake.  I know what I did was wrong.  I should not have done it.
I take full responsibility for all of this and for everything that has
happened.  During this whole thing I have not hidden anything I've done or
denied anything that happened.  That's why I pled 'no contest' to the charges.
I realize now that even though I thought I was in love with this kid and felt
he was very mature, I broke the law and I should have to face the
consequences.  I take full responsibility for this.  I feel horrible about
this whole thing."
 
The specific charges against Matt all revolve around a sexual encounter he had
with someone under the age of 16.  Matt emphasizes that everything he did with
this person was fully consented to by both parties.  According to Matt, there
was no coercion whatsoever involved; the young man contacted Matt, expressed
an open interest in sexual relations, and pursued Matt on the matter.  Even
during the sado-masochistic sexual acts (yes, that's what they were), there
were signals arranged between the two of them at every stage so that the
entire thing could be brought to a complete halt at any time either party
wanted to. This was not an act of rape.
 
In fact, none of the charges are termed as rape.  Matt has not contested the
charges which ARE placed against him, all of which revolve around the fact
that the person he had this encounter with was under-age.  The charges in
court are NOT that he forced himself upon this person.  Even the prosecution,
very much out for blood, has not attempted to charge Matt of crimes other than
simply having sex acts with an under-age person.
 
Had this been an 18 year old instead of someone just under 15, there would be
no case, because nobody was forced into anything here.
 
Matt acknowledges, however, that he still shouldn't have done this.  He says
that he fell in love with what he thought was a very worldly, very mature
person capable of making his own decisions.  He sees now that this was wrong
of him, because someone that age may not really be as mature as he seems, and
might easily be emotionally scarred or damaged by something like this even if
it was consensual.  It was wrong, and again, he recognizes that he should have
to face whatever consequences he must for his crime.
 
Again, you may ask the question, what relevance is this?  He's admitted to
this thing and will now be sentenced, and that, as they say, should be that.
 
HOWEVER, THERE IS A PROBLEM.  The prosecution in this case is attempting to
make a great deal more out of the incident.  Rather than simply acknowledge
this for what it is -- a case of an adult having sexual relations with a
teenager -- the prosecution is attempting to paint a portrait of Matt
Deatherage as a sexual predator in the online world, using his various system
accounts as a means to stalk and pounce upon innocent children so that he
might do nefarious and unspeakable things to them.
 
Because the world at large does not understand what the national online
services are, they tend to form nebulous, half-baked ideas of how they work
and what people do there.  They (and now the news media) are easily able to
dream up a bizarre and frightening image of Matt somehow stalking the alleys
of a mysterious online world, sneaking into children's homes to molest them.
 
Those of us who understand the world of national online services, and how much
time and energy these activities take up, and how people really encounter each
other on them should know better.  Does anyone honestly believe that Matt
would spend years hanging out on the national services, spending enormous
amounts of time there outside of his full-time day job at Apple, just so that,
in whatever time he might have left in his schedule, he could hope to find
children living near his home who also happened to be on the same national
services, in order to act out a frustrated desire to be a serial child
molester?
 
Let's be frank: if hunting down children were the sort of thing YOU were going
to do, couldn't you think of a ways to carry out such a task that were at
least more efficient... and maybe a little more practical? :)
 
Is not the more logical explanation that Matt, hanging out in the gay chat
areas on AOL, got into an online conversation with someone who turned out to
be younger than Matt would have initially thought?  And that it turned out by
coincidence that this person lived relatively near him, and that they got to
know each other better because of that?
 
NOW WE COME TO THE QUESTION BEFORE YOU.  The question is not whether you
approve of what Matt did.  The question is not whether you are friends with
Matt Deatherage.  The question is not whether you even LIKE Matt Deatherage.
WE consider Matt our friend, despite whatever shortcomings he may have as a
person that led to this situation, but that is not we are asking of YOU.
 
What we are asking those of you who have known Matt as part of our online
world is this: Of all you have seen of Matt, could you ever believe that Matt
is some sort of horrible, twisted, predatory monster who uses his online
access as a tool to waylay unsuspecting waifs into some horrible sexual abyss?
Is that really in character with what you've seen?
 
Or is what you know of Matt more what we his friends know of him -- that for
all that he may be an irascible or grating fellow at times, he's also a funny
guy who knows plenty about computers and spends a lot of time trying to share
that knowledge?  That he's the kind of person who goes out of his way to be of
help to those who need it?  That he's someone who is essentially honest and
forthright and driven to help people?
 
Heck, if nothing else, can you see where he'd have the TIME to skulk about
hunting for local children online?
 
SO WHAT'S THE POINT OF ALL THIS?
 
Matt will soon go before a judge to face sentencing.  We repeat yet again that
he admits his crimes, has never contested them, has expressed deep regret for
them, and has never been charged with doing anything against anybody's will.
He himself says that, regardless of the circumstances, he should NOT have had
sex with this young boy -- he was highly attracted to this young high-
schooler, and believed at the time that this person was mature enough to make
this choice, but acknowledges now that he was wrong. He does not wish to hide
anything and stands ready to face whatever consequences he must for his
actions.
 
Matt now faces up to four years and four months in prison for these charges.
But, it could be better.  He could get only two or three years. Maybe only one
year, plus some form of probation.  There's even some reason to hope that he
might be sentenced to a minimum-security prison with a work-release program,
with perhaps some sort of psychiatric treatment, so that he would be able to
keep his job while staying in jail nights and weekends, with a few years of
probation thereafter.
 
Needless to say, what happens to Matt and what his life is like from this
point onward will depend a great deal on what the judge decides Matt deserves.
 
OKAY, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
 
The Santa Clara County District Attorney, currently facing a re-election bid,
is making as much of a public hoopla over this case as possible.  The
prosecuting attorneys are using every conceivable scrap of data they can to
paint a picture of Matt Deatherage as the most despicable and evil human being
imaginable. This is being presented to the judge (and passed on by an
uncritical media) in an effort to get Matt the most severe possible sentence.
 
The defense, of course, will attempt to show that most of this is nonsense,
that this was a consensual act with an underage person by a man who made a
mistake.
 
Among other things, evidence attesting to Matt's good character will be taken
into account by the judge in deciding the sentence.  And what we're asking for
everyone in the online community who knows Matt at all to do is to write
letters in support of Matt.
 
You are not being asked to support what Matt did -- Matt himself does not
defend what he did.  You are not being asked to write letters saying you
believe Matt is innocent -- Matt himself does not claim to be innocent. You
are being asked to write letters in support of Matt as a person you have
encountered, in the hopes that the judge will give him a humane and temperate
sentence.
 
WHERE DO I SEND THE LETTER, AND WHAT SHOULD IT SAY?
 
Your letter should be addressed to:
 
 Judge Charles Gordon
 Judge of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County
 c/o Dennis Lempert
 100 Saratoga Avenue
 Santa Clara, CA  95051-7305
 
The letter should give your full name and address, and should say a bit about
yourself -- who are you, what you do, how old you are, and how you know Matt
(that's all very important).  It should also state that you are aware that he
is being sentenced on a number of felonies relating to sexual misconduct with
a minor.  And it should give your opinion of Matt Deatherage; essentially, how
you feel about him as an individual, and what you feel about the idea that he
is some sort of dangerous, malicious person given to preying upon young boys
sexually.
 
You might say other good things about him, such as that it's clear that he's a
knowledgeable, productive member of society. (We've spoken to people at Apple
who work with Matt who wanted us to say he is well liked there and did good
work for the company.) You could mention that the knowledge he gained through
his job allowed him to do many helpful things for people online in his spare
time.  You might mention that he's never seemed to you to be a disturbing sort
of person prone to talking about sexual matters with you online (i.e. he never
seemed sleazy or disgusting).
 
You might also want to keep in mind the following things when writing to the
judge:
 
 - Matt is penitent.
 - He admits his crime.  He has never attempted to lie about this thing.
 - It is his first crime.
 - We have every confidence that he will not repeat his crime.
 - Just by the news exposure he's getting, he's already begun to pay,
   and will almost certainly be paying for the rest of his life.
 - He'd likely be harmed in a real prison. (Matt is a large man, but
   anyone who knows him personally knows that he is very unthreatening in
   personality and probably easy to victimize physically.)
 - Justice would probably be better served by work-release probation
   and some sort of treatment that would give him a chance to put his life
   back together after all of this.
 
What you write is up to you.  You should NOT send form letters or simply copy
and paste the things in this document.  Most important of all, you should not
make things up or say things that you couldn't possibly know about Matt.  Just
be honest and write what you feel, written in your own words.  The judge isn't
going to check your spelling and grammar, he just needs to know how you feel.
;-)
 
Matt has also suggested that any young people who know him who would care to
write and tell how they feel about him might be particularly helpful, since
any young people he's encountered online should know full well that he is not
predatory toward them.
 
We must emphasize again that these are not letters asking you whether or not
you are "friends" with Matt.  The question is how ANY of you who have watched
or seen or encountered Matt, whose lives online have been affected by this
man, feel about what the prosecution is saying... and whether you can find it
in your heart to do something about it.
 
Every letter written will help Matt.  Every letter NOT written by someone who
believes Matt's story is a blow against Matt.
 
Matt wishes it to be known by the people who know him online that he has no
desire to share the intimate details of his private life with anyone. He is
very uncomfortable with this entire matter being discussed in public, and it
is only because of these dire circumstances that he is asking for this help.
 
ALL LETTERS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN APRIL 27, 1994.  Letters received
after April 27 will be of no help whatsoever.  Matt needs your help and he
needs it right now -- delaying action will be the same as no action
whatsoever.
 
We, the below-named persons, have read the contents of this document you are
now reading, and support with what it says.  We are not saying we support
Matt's actions.  We are saying that this is a person we know who we respect in
other contexts, who we wish to support against the extremely negative
portrayals by the prosecution and the news media.  We ourselves intend to
write to the judge to urge sentencing that is appropriate to the actual crime
he admits to, and to who he is as a person.  We urge you to do the same:
 
 Dean Esmay                               Eric Mueller
     (dean.esmay@genie.geis.com)              (dland.eric@genie.geis.com)
 Kent Fillmore                            Roger & Pam Wagner
     (draco@genie.geis.com)                   (rwagnerinc@aol.com)
 Tom Weishaar                             Dennis Doms
     (tom.w@genie.geis.com)                   (d.doms@genie.geis.com)
 Dave Lyons                               Jim Murphy
     (dlyons@apple.com)                       (murph@apple.com)
 Mark Baumwell                            Joel Cannon
     (baumwell1@apple.com)                    (cannon1@apple.com)
 Randy Brandt                             Jerry Cline
     (brandt@genie.geis.com)                  (75300.735@compuserve.com)
 Patti Birse                              Jim Merritt
     (birse@newton.apple.com)                 (presbyte@aol.com)
 Ellen Rosenberg                          Jerry Kindall
     (e.rosenberg@genie.geis.com)             (ii.alive@genie.geis.com)
 Gary Utter                               C. Stephen Gunn
     (gary.utter@genie.geis.com)              (chuckie@genie.geis.com)
 John E. Rahn                             Dave Ely
     (jrahn@netcom.com)                       (ely.d@applelink.apple.com)
 Tara Dillinger                           Hangtime
     (tara.d@genie.geis.com)                  (hangtime@genie.geis.com)
 Tim Buchheim                             Jim Zajkowski
     (t.buchheim@genie.geis.com)              (73223.1046@compuserve.com)
 L. Bruce E'Sex                           Richard Bennett
     (lunatic@netcom.com)                     (richard.b@genie.geis.com)
 Susan MacGregor                          Gena Saikin
     (a2.susan@genie.geis.com)                (g.saikin@genie.geis.com)
 David D. Miller                          Nick Passino
     (just.dave@genie.geis.com)               (mac.ps@genie.geis.com)
 Earl Childers                            David Hecker
     (75300.1743@compuserve.com)              (sevenhills@genie.geis.com)
 Joe Schober                              David Ramsey
     (afljoeys@aol.com)                       (76702.335@compuserve.com)
 Greg DaCosta                             J. Nathaniel Sloan
     (gregd@pro-desert.cts.com)               (a2pro.help@genie.geis.com)
 Bryan Pietrzak                           Nate Trost
     (bryan.zak@genie.geis.com)               (n.trost@genie.geis.com)
 Andy McFadden                            Jawaid Bazyar
     (fadden@oes.amdahl.com)                  (bazyar@netcom.com)
 Tom Zuchowski                            Doug Cuff
     (t.zuchowski@genie.geis.com)             (editor.a2@genie.geis.com)
 Jay Jennings                             Mike & Patty Westerfield
     (insidebasic@genie.geis.com)             (mikew50@aol.com)
 
We wish to express again that we do not support Matt's actions here.  Our
support is for Matt -- again, not for what he did, but for who he is and out
of a desire to see a fair portrayal and treatment of someone we know and
respect as a part of our online community.  If you know Matt from online, even
if it's not as a close acquaintance, please help us to help him.
 
Please don't think that your letter doesn't count.  Every letter will make a
difference.
 
 =END DOCUMENT=
 

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   /       -= L. Bruce E'Sex     (:       /
 _/  lunatic@netcom.com  GEnie: LUNATIC  /_