Sir: Alexander Walker's cornmentsl: the article, 'Who Killed David Manus'
are predictable but not rejl'. ly relevant to what I actually wrot.er He states there is some confusion 0%74 whether Palmer, the murderer McManus, saw the film ClochW°';„ Orange or only heard about it fro"'
friends. Now this may be, but all I was concerned to emphasise was that it was the considered opinion of both defending and prosecuting counsels that some relation did exist. The precise nature of that relation, whether Palmer was influenced directly or indirectly by the film, it was not my purpose to enquire into, but that there was some sort of link does seem clear. To deny this is to dismiss the testimony of legal minds more conversant with the facts of the case than either Alexander Walker or I.
As to his other comments I propose to ignore his scholastic preoccupation With dates and other trivia. But his Puritan concern with the doctrine of human responsibility, I do find this frankly surprising and am curious to know why Mr Walker, presumably a progressive, should choose to defend his position by promulgating such an cantique piece of theology. (To quote irom his letter: " Mr Spring reters to a couple of other fathers in an Aylesbury court case putting the blame for the delinquents' behaviour on the film. It ac, arcely needs me to point out what a nandy scapegoat this is . Now under normal circumstances I would agree with Alexander Walker's argUment that crime is not the fault of sQcletY or the environment, but responsibility must lodge with the individual. (Or: in the case of juveniles be Shared with the parents.) But I was under the impression that this view was now outmoded and therefore in Valysing the McManus affair I did so reference to liberal values and ap.Pned the argument that society was to bollarne. (In any case this seemed to be
e message' of the film, in so far as it
Was possible to discern any message at all in such an assorted array of sex and violence. But unless I am mistaken I did think Kubrick wassuggest ing the fault for the hero landing LIP in prison must be laid on society and not on the droog himself.) Assuming this principle to hold also in respect to Palmer, I applied the sar.rie criteria in analysing his siturion, and came up with a surprising 4in.ding• Namely that in Palmer's case it true that 'the system ' is responsible both for his fate and for 't*Iclkilanus's death. But by 'the syskernn I do not mean simple capitalism, rather the cultural values and institutions of contemporary ' per-4 Missive ' and liberal England.
William Spring
*2426 George Street. Oxford.
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