Feb. 21
USA:
Purge vengeance from civilized society
In response to the Feb. 11 letters to the editor from Mela ine M. Wesby
and Irmgard Mokos ("Death-penalty foes don't consider killers' victims"):
"Vengeance" and "extraction" are not the answers to our social problems. I
lost my older brother as a teenager, and after 30 years I still wonder
what life would be like if he had not been killed by a drunken driver.
Although his death was very painful, not once did I hear from my parents
that they wished the perpetrator dead. Rather, from the very beginning, I
heard nothing other than forgiveness.
Asking the state to murder someone as punishment for a crime won't change
the fact that the crime was committed - and it won't bring back the victim
or victims of the original crime.
Vengeance is not a just thing; Christ was adamant in his teaching about
that.
Vengeance breeds hatred; hatred breeds intolerance; intolerance breeds
crime; and crime breeds vengeance. This is a vicious circle that a
civilized society such as ours must seek to overcome.
Once we as a society can hold human life as sacred - all human life as
sacred - we can then begin the journey to a peaceful world and peaceful
coexistence.
Gerard Kreutzer, Parma
(source: Letter to the Editor, Cleveland Plain Dealer)
OHIO:
Case closed----Despite continuing questions, Portage officials reject a
second look into the Trimble episode
Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander's suggestion for an independent
investigation into the shooting death of Sarah Positano has been quickly,
firmly and unfortunately rejected by Portage County officials. Victor
Vigluicci, county prosecutor, and David Blough, Brimfield Township police
chief, see little chance that anything would be gained.
In terms of finding out more about who shot Positano, they are right.
James Trimble is on death row for killing the 22-year-old Kent State
University student, his third victim in a shooting rampage last year that
began on Jan. 21.
There is no question Trimble pulled the trigger.
Alexander is rightly concerned about putting questions surrounding
Positano's death to rest. Trimble insisted from the beginning that a
police sniper was in the apartment just after negotiations that could have
freed Positano were concluded, a muzzle flash triggering the accidental
discharge of Trimble's handgun. A complete explanation for all the bullet
holes and fragments in the apartment has never been presented. To his
credit, Portage Sheriff Duane Kaley was initially open to an outside
investigation.
Alexander's question stands: Why not clear the air? Even the remote chance
that an officer decided to enter the apartment on his own should trigger a
thorough review of how effectively a force drawn from the entire region
worked together.
A small army eventually mobilized in response to Trimble's rampage. Metro
SWAT, which handled the hostage scene, had 28 officers from various
departments on hand. Brimfield police, the Portage County sheriff, the
Ohio Highway Patrol, Kent and Tallmadge police and, after Positano was
shot, the Summit County SWAT team were also involved.
An independent investigation would not be an academic exercise, as
Vigluicci and Blough contend, but would provide valuable lessons for the
future.
Beyond resolving the circumstances surrounding Positano's death lies an
important opportunity for a thorough review of police procedures and
practices during extreme circumstances, an armed killer on the loose,
exchanging fire, taking a hostage.
Notification of the surrounding neighbors, for example, presented a
problem. They learned from fellow neighbors and never received police
protection. Trimble, meanwhile, eluded police for hours.
No one would wish that such horrifying circumstances would repeat
themselves in the near future. But it is not too much to expect that those
involved in responding to protect the public take every opportunity to
learn from the past.
(source: Editorial, Akron Beacon Journal)
CONNECTICUT:
Death Penalty Issues Are Lecture's Topic
An Ohio Northern University law professor will discuss the global state of
the death penalty during a lecture at Trinity College March 2.
Victor Streib will discuss how the death penalty system is affected by
discrimination, poverty and human error at 5 p.m. at Mather Hall on the
campus in Hartford.
The lecture is the 1st memorial lecture named for Fred Pfeil, a Trinity
English professor who died in December of cancer. Pfeil, a human rights
activist, was 56.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call
860-297-2029.
(source: The Hartford Courant)
LOUISIANA:
Man cleared in 2001 Bossier Parish slaying
A convicted killer will continue to spend the rest of his life in prison
after being cleared on Monday of an unrelated 1st-degree murder allegation
that could have led to a death sentence.
A 7-man, 5-woman Bossier Parish jury deliberated about an hour before
finding Gerod Brewer not guilty of the death of an elderly woman,
officials said.
"I'm disappointed, but I'm never going to criticize a jury's verdict,"
Bossier District Attorney Schuyler Marvin said. "We will move on to the
next case."
Prosecutors accused the Texarkana, Texas, man of killing 75-year-old Mary
Little, then robbing her in June 2001. She was found beaten to death
inside of her Plain Dealing home, about 3 weeks before Brewer murdered
Robert Morris Sr. in Caddo Parish.
In 2003, a Caddo jury convicted Brewer and sentenced him to life in prison
for the death of Morris. Bossier Parish prosecutors were seeking the death
penalty in this case.
"This was a miscarriage of justice," defense attorney Daryl Gold said.
"They wanted to kill an innocent man with absolutely zero evidence."
Richard Grady and Lashonda Hill, who both were indicted in the case,
testified Monday on behalf of the prosecution before District Judge John
Robinson.
Grady pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of armed robbery and is awaiting
sentencing, and Hill received immunity.
"They gave her immunity to testify and she had already given about five or
6 inconsistent statements," Gold said. "Then the other guy was indicted
through DNA."
Brewer will be returned to Louisiana Department of Corrections to serve
his life term.
This is 1st capital murder trial held in Bossier Parish since Marvin took
office in 2003.
(source: The Shreveport Times)
