'Travesty' 

Editor:

Thank you for the public service you provided to all of us with your coverage of the hiring and firing of the Humboldt County Public Defender David Marcus ("Don't Screw This up Again," Dec. 14).

Although Mr. Marcus is leaving, it does not diminish our outrage at the travesty created by the Board of Supervisors. I appreciate that you are continuing to ask questions about the severance debacle. I hope you are successful in drilling down deep enough to discover why our Board of Supervisors not only abdicated their responsibilities to us by hiring an incompetent, but also why they refused to address the issue sooner. What prevented the board from acting on the information in the letter of no confidence written by the staff and lawyers who witnessed firsthand the damage done?

The Board of Supervisors is no better than the Harvey Weinsteins of the world, who are operating from a misplaced sense of power. The public defender's office employees and clients suffered because of the board's arrogance. All of us have experienced a terrible injustice and I am grateful for your diligence in seeking out and speaking the truth to power.

Sheila Evans, Eureka