This is in response to the stories about John Stevens, the Auburn panhandler, printed Oct. 29 and Oct. 30.

I should preface this by mentioning that though this letter may sound somewhat liberal, I’m hardly a liberal; I grew up in a family of mill workers, police officers and servicemen, which instilled, if anything, a conservative bent in my personality.

However, I was dismayed by the lack of responsible journalism shown in those two pieces. Yes, Stevens is a convicted pedophile, and if he were to re-offend, especially against someone I care for, I’d be among the first looking to take some retaliatory action. However, as it stands at this moment, and as it did when the stories in question were published, he had paid his debt to society.

The initial story was not as bad as the nearly cheerful followup; the story made it clear that Stevens did not want his past divulged, yet the Sun Journal did not honor his request. An editor interested in responsible journalism should have had the reporter rephrase nearly the entire document.

It’s clear that, human nature being what it is, those stories could have led to Stevens’ injury or even death just as easily as they did to the recriminations displayed, as far-fetched as that might seem here in Maine.

The articles were sensationalism, and not worthy of the Sun Journal.

Jonathan Ross, Biddeford