My brother is Billie Coburn, who recently vandalized the Riverside Cemetery. He was right when he said that his family was and is disappointed in him. I am only 14 years old, but I know right from wrong and I understand that my brother made an incredibly terrible mistake. My mother cried when she discovered his wrong-doings.

It was not like him to do something so reckless. When he and I were younger, we attended the Jesus Party. When I discovered what he did, it was a strange realization. Coming from a childhood filled with morals, he committed a crime while intoxicated with alcohol. I have never experimented with drugs or alcohol and don’t plan to, but I’ve learned they can really mess you up. Still, that is no excuse, and Billie understands that.

He really isn’t a bad person, he just made a bad choice. When Billie submitted his letter of apology, it was an honest gesture. He hasn’t consumed alcohol since the vandalism. He wanted to go volunteer to clean up, but of course, he wasn’t allowed to.

My brother really is sorry, yet some people have said he didn’t mean his apology. I am saying, in all honesty, that he meant it. He is just a child, making mistakes, in an adult’s body. I love my brother and I hope he sticks to his path. I know that I’m supposed to say that, but I can, because I know what he is like.

Savannah Barnes, Lewiston