(Danny Purvis) wrote in message
. com...
I argued both ways, so I am a loser as well as a winner. But I am not
about to make the same mistake twice. Now that Dr. Sherzer has been
found not guilty, I will go on record as saying that I believe the
verdict is proper and that Dr. Sherzer is, in fact, entirely innocent.
People vary. Some people are not really mature at age 30. Alexander
the Great, on the other hand, conquered the world at age 15.

No, Alexander the Great (born 356 BCE) had not even become the King of
Macedonia (at age 20) until after his father's assassination in 336 BCE.

I believe that Dr. Sherzer's original judgment was vindicated by the
trial testimony as reported in the various journalistic renderings.
The particular 15-year-old who so attracted Dr. Sherzer was already a
fascinating woman, fully capable of taking care of herself, and who
indeed did take care of herself.

The intellectual and emotional maturity of fifteen-year-old females can vary
widely. At Oxford University, Ruth Lawrence earned a B.A. in mathematics by
the age of 14 and a B.A. in physics by the age of 15, yet reportedly she never
had been out on any romantic dates by that time.

'Those virtues which command esteem do not often inspire passion.'
--Frances Moore Brooke (The History of Emily Montague)

Note the extreme caution with which she treated Dr. Sherzer's cell phone gift.
I believe Dr. Sherzer is a wonderful man and a man of courage, as his conduct
and frank testimony proved, even for those who have never met him or watched
him play chess. He was found not guilty by a jury who observed him for
several days and who listened to his lengthy testimony and his reaction to
the most strenuous of cross-examinations. Our law, our very constitution,
presumes a man innocent unless and until proved guilty in a court of law.
I will do no less, especially in a case like this where innocence shines
through so clearly. For all who would cast stones I say, "May you never
become the target of a law enforcement sting. There are very few of us who
are immune to every temptation."

'Those who never have been guilty of any indiscretion are generally people
who have very little active virtue.'
--Frances Moore Brooke (The History of Emily Montague)

'What is it that constitutes virtue? Is it the circumstance of being able and
willing to resist temptation; or that of having no temptations to resist?'
--Anne Bronte (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)

--Nick