Tuesday’s front page story in The Press (Torture ordeal) provoked an anger that I’ve rarely seen in myself. The two gurning faces of the scum that subjected a young disabled woman to a horrific, sustained attack brought tears to my eyes and made my blood boil.

As a hearing-impaired young adult, I was shocked that this kind of behaviour still exists in a modern, 21st-century western society. Perhaps I’m too naive.

Why have we not progressed beyond this? Why do attacks like this still occur? It would be easy to blame one person, one school, one group, one government, but the truth is: we as a society must collectively take the blame for crimes like this.

Too many of us ignore wrongful behaviour until it’s too late; too many of us embrace the television culture that glorifies the underclass. It’s time for us to make an effort to recover our morality.

Now I’m probably being too idealistic, but I remain deeply saddened and my heart goes out to the young woman, who will probably be scarred for life. But I hope she realises that not everyone thinks of her disability in the way that those scum did, and I hope she’ll succeed in whatever she wants to.

As for those who are now being sent to prison, morality teaches me to forgive – but this is one occasion where my morality will fail me.

Neil Barnes, Micklegate, York.