Facebook comments on Eagle stories: court sentencing, dead rabbits and tattoos

The comments section on the Eagle’s Facebook page is often filled with spirited debate. This week Eagle readers argued about jail sentences, housing developments, tattoos and elephants, and tried to solve the case of the mysterious dead rabbits.

Lively Facebook discussions this week

Readers on Facebook disagreed strongly over whether a judge made the right decision when he imposed probation on Zachary Lee Brown, who killed a pregnant woman and her child in a road rage incident.

Devin Martinez praised the victim’s family for the “Incredible grace and love shown…What an amazing example to follow.”

But Jon Swayze said, “His angry actions killed two people!....probation is wrong. Forgiveness by the family is good, but legally and morally (he) should be setting in prison!” Amy Walker suggested that if the roles had been reversed and Brown had lost his own family, “he would want more justice than a man on probation.”

Sheila Munoz reminded other readers that if Brown commits another crime he will still serve time. And Angela McDaneld said Brown will face another kind of punishment: “He will have to carry their deaths on his conscience for the rest of his life and everything he ever does will be colored by the lives he stole.”

Karen McCann Loyd pointed out that the deceased mother and daughter were not the only victims. “(The other victim) will most likely need years of rehabilitation to regain the ability to walk, talk, bath, feed himself, etc. He will carry the scars – physical and mental – for the rest of his life.”

Some readers were skeptical of developer Jay Russell’s plan to make an area on North Hoover Road into a haven for upscale housing.

Eric Stites worried about the quality of the soil and Dean Lucas said the area is under the glide path for Wichita Eisenhower National Airport. Jo Murdock teased Kansas residents for calling ponds and man-made sand pits lakes. Seven Johnson joked that “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still the West side.”

Jeremy Black wondered if the economy could support the new developments. Barbara Martinez criticized Russell for not developing more affordable housing. John White thinks the town should thank Russell because, “His footprint on our city will last forever.”

Readers tried to solve the mystery of the 22 dead rabbits that were found on east-side Wichita driveways. Some readers, such as Bradley Timmermeyer, worried that the person who did this could do something much worse. “BTK-in training,” wrote Chris Fox.

Billie O’Toole speculated that it stemmed from a grudge against one of the families. Lance Alexander joked about the Elmer Fudd chatter that filled the police scanners Wednesday morning.

Lori Atwood said she was tired of readers who made jokes about crimes and worried about what could have happened if there were children present.

Some readers questioned the motives of Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Richard Ranzau who wouldn’t talk to a Spanish-language TV reporter. Others said the attack on Ranzau was a ploy by liberals in the county to try to take out Ranzau politically. Nicholas Parsons thinks that, like the president, Ranzau should be allowed to pick and chose who he talks to.

Some readers did not think that the Eagle should cover Fred VanVleet’s new tattoo. Josh Broz wrote, “I'm a HUGE wichita state fan, I have been since 2005... this is not news.” And Angela de Rocha joked: “Hard-hitting news! Substantive and informative. Oh wait. Never mind.”

Briann Teter disagreed: “I think it’s nice that the news is doing a story other then bad news.” Jackie Talley said readers could avoid Shocker basketball stories and Norman Douglas said that the Internet allows the Eagle to cover stories that not everyone needs or wants to know.

Mamie Clark was inspired by the story: “I’m not a fan of tattoos, but that one is a beautiful work of art with a beautiful message!”

Pat Baker criticized the Eagle for its article about why people love elephants at the zoo: “The zoo is kidnapping elephants from the wild… A zoo, no matter how big, is not big enough for elephants to flourish and do well. They suffer from painful and debilitating health problems that cannot be addressed and eliminated and die much younger than they do in the wild.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Facebook comments on Eagle stories: court sentencing, dead rabbits and tattoos."