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Telegraph

Lucy Connolly's supporters should be wary of framing her as a martyr

SIR – Once again, Jonathan Sumption is the voice of reason ('The case of Lucy Connolly shouldn't distract the defenders of free speech', Comment, May 2 7). I find it impossible to have any sympathy for a person who, like Lucy Connolly, advocates violence – no matter the circumstances. Her supporters have a just cause but the wrong martyr. Peter Little Herne Bay, Kent SIR – In calling Lucy Connolly's punishment for inciting racial hatred 'an attack on freedom of thought', D S A Murray (Letters, May 27) has rather missed the point. If Mrs Connolly had kept the thought to herself, there would have been no punishment. Her crime was to disseminate it using social media. John Pini KC Stamford, Lincolnshire SIR – In dismissing Lucy Connolly's case as clear-cut, I believe Lord Sumption is wrong. Judges use nuance and context as tools for passing judgment. Furthermore, swearing and strong language are part of the way we communicate. I would suggest that what Mrs Connolly wrote was not intended to be taken literally; rather, she was expressing her anguished state of mind, having previously lost a child of her own, among other possible factors. The state has no business in withdrawing her freedom. Marcus Lawrence Hillingdon, Middlesex SIR – The system has not made an example of Lucy Connolly. It has made a martyr of her. P J Carroll London SW17 SIR – In his attempted justification of the lengthy prison sentence handed to Lucy Connolly as a result of her unwise tweet, Lord Sumption evades the principal point. It is not that she is a free-speech martyr. Rather, the problem is the disproportionate length of her sentence, compared with some of those handed to people who have committed actual physical violence. Furthermore, the system wishes to keep her locked up when others whose crimes are more serious are released on licence to preserve their family relationships. William Tarver Wokingham, Berkshire SIR – Few would disagree with Lord Sumption that Lucy Connolly committed a serious offence, albeit in a fit of anger. Who can doubt that there have been similar intemperate, perhaps naïve, tirades elsewhere, including online? It is just that the severity of her sentence seems disproportionate. Paul Meredith Sevenoaks, Kent