> I also find the "open letter" tone here a bit annoying and petulant. If this guy admitted what he did, why publish this without mentioning his name, and with just general platitudes like this? No one is on the side of someone who does this.

Agreed. I find that open letters annoy me even when the author is completely in the right. I think the issue is that often the 'open letter' isn't really targeted at the ostensible addressee, but rather at the public.