© 2008 Michael Leon
A man charged with 12 felonies for "allegedly kidnapping ... two men, stripping them, chaining them up in his home, beating them and sexually assaulting them several times" (Wisconsin State Journal, July 15) outside Wisconsin Rapids is described by a former coworker interviewed by mal contends as "friendly, with a good sense of humor."

Edward Lanphear is also being investigated for possible links to the murder of UW-Madison student, Brittany Zimmermann, the Wisconsin State Journal reports, though police say at this time that there is no direct connection other than the facts that Lanphear and Zimmermann are both from Wood County, and that Lanphear had a newspaper article about the Zimmermann case at his residence.

Dane County's response to the lawsuit filed by the parents of the murdered UW-Madison student, Brittany Zimmermann, is mystifying: the U.S. Constitution "does not require municipalities to rescue persons in distress."

The suit will likely get tossed, but so what?

A young woman was killed, and Dane County failed her.

Settle the suit, and help put this tragedy behind the grieving family. There may not be a constitutional right mandating that our community protects our citizens, but there is an uncontroversial public policy imperative.

Ed Treleven in the Wisconsin State Journal reports: