I read an article about the art exhibit at the University of Southern Maine. The article said police officers were angery when they heard that a man who had killed a New Jersey state trooper would have his art exhibited at USM, and the officers said that the exhibit painted an unfair picture of the inmate. Then the protesting became so bad that USM actually shut down the exhibit. This is uncalled for.

The paintings by inmate Thomas Manning are good and people should be allowed to see them. Just because he is a criminal and has done some wrong things doesn’t mean his art should not be seen. The exhibit may make it seem like Manning is a political prisoner but it is no big deal. His artwork should be shown!

Manning’s art doesn’t have anything to do with his criminal past. If the paintings were of killing or something else bad, I would understand about shutting down the exhibit. But it’s not. If officers have a problem with the image that the exhibit paints of Manning, then the exhibit can be fixed so that it doesn’t make him look like a political prisoner. Someone’s background has nothing to do with their artwork.

Ben Meservey