Letter: Tony Ayala deserves break

I often read Tim Graham with a great sense of anticipation. As a rule, I respect his views and opinions on boxing and I look forward to reading his articles not only in the Sun, but also in the various boxing magazines in which they appear from time to time.

However, I must take exception to his views on Tony Ayala. I feel that Ayala has paid his debt to our society in spades, and that the man deserves a break until proven otherwise.

Tony Ayala has spent the last 16 years locked up.

By all accounts he has been a model prisoner and conducted himself in a manner deemed appropriate.

I could go on and on here, but essentially what I'm trying to say is that the man has paid the debt which our society has deemed he must pay. Ayala has admitted fault in a most atrocious crime, and he has confronted the demons which haunted him in the past.

While I certainly do not condone the actions of Ayala or Mike Tyson, I don't feel that it is proper to continue to chastise them when they have served their time.

--TOM STEWART Belfast, Maine

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