The New Yorker – May 13, 2019

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THE NEWYORKER, MAY 13, 2019 3

of murdering her mother. Gopnik rec-

ognizes, as the Tennessee Supreme Court

found in overturning the conviction, that

Noura was the victim of a pattern of

misconduct by the district attorney. Nev-

ertheless, he elides the fact that uniden-

tified blood was found at the scene, and

construes inconsistencies in Noura’s de-

scription of the night her mother was

killed as evidence of her guilt. With tragic

irony, a book review promoting compas-

sion in our criminal-justice system leaves

as collateral damage the reputation of a

young woman who has suffered unimag-

inable trauma. In this regard, Gopnik

perpetuates the jaundiced prosecutorial

misconduct he seeks to denounce.

Bryce Benjet

Senior Staff Attorney

Innocence Project

New York City

1

A CULTURE OF BELIEF

Reading Paul Elie’s piece on the Cath-

olic Church’s sexual-abuse scandal, I was

struck by the claim that “the gravest pe-

riod of priestly sexual abuse was the six-

ties and seventies” (“Acts of Penance,”

April 15th). As a child-abuse pediatrician

who has been practicing for thirty years,

I have witnessed society’s growing rec-

ognition of the problem. Only after the

women’s movement of the seventies and

eighties were people—first adult women,

and then children—asked about their

victimization. A flood of disclosures fol-

lowed, which continues to this day. The

notion that sexual abuse by priests started

or peaked during a particular period is

myopic. In all likelihood, the increasing

numbers of priestly-abuse disclosures in

recent years simply indicate that victims

finally feel they have permission to speak

and be believed.

Lawrence R. Ricci, M.D.

South Portland, Maine

FARMERS’ MARKETS

John Seabrook commendably charts the

many challenges of using A.I. in farm-

ing, and also the potential advantages

(“Machine Hands,” April 15th). One sig-

nificant benefit, which the article only

briefly mentions, is that advanced farm-

ing techniques could slow the effects of

climate change. Agriculture produces

around a quarter of the world’s green-

house-gas emissions, and yet it is often

neglected in debates about how to com-

bat global warming. Greater investment

in research and development is critical

for finding ways to feed a growing pop-

ulation on a hotter planet.

Joe Cerrell

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

London, England

1

DIGNITY BEHIND BARS

Adam Gopnik, in his review of Emily

Bazelon’s “Charged,” surveys a set of new

books that humanize the millions of

people imprisoned in the U.S. (Books,

April 15th). Recent public discourse about

the harms of incarceration echoes prin-

ciples espoused by our Founding Fa-

thers, who saw compassion for prison-

ers as a fundamental value. In May, 1787,

Benjamin Rush brought together civic

leaders, including Benjamin Franklin,

to form what is now the Pennsylvania

Prison Society, an organization based on

the premise that “the obligations of be-

nevolence” are “not cancelled by the fol-

lies or crimes of our fellow creatures.”

Rush’s emphasis on the humanity of

those in prison, and on the importance

of finding ways to restore prisoners to

“lives of virtue and happiness”—no mat-

ter how severe their crime—is a signifi-

cant antecedent to today’s anti-incar-

ceration movement.

Claire Shubik-Richards

Executive Director

Pennsylvania Prison Society

Philadelphia, Pa.

Gopnik’s otherwise thoughtful review

casts doubt on the innocence of my cli-

ent Noura Jackson, who was convicted

•

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