The media is reporting the news about the local 17-year-old young man and high school student who is alleged to have murdered a 6-year-old girl. I am glad the prosecutor’s office moved quickly to charge him with both rape and murder. Unfortunately, if he is found guilty he will be another heinous criminal who will escape the death penalty because of the “law.”

Bad law should be changed.

The girl’s family has forgiven him, but there will be no closure for them if he is found guilty. The U.S. Constitution guarantees a “speedy and public trial,” but will we ever see “speedy”? Whether a rapist/murderer is a child or an adult, or any classification you can name — such as mentally handicapped, subnormal, medicated, drugged, polarized, traumatized or whatever — if they are crafty enough to rape, murder and conceal a body, they are crafty enough to get the death penalty.

The court is allowing the alleged murderer to hide under a coat when he is walking to court and in the court room. That needs to stop. His picture has been in various newspapers and plastered all over the Internet. Take away the coat, make him stand up or sit up straight like a man, and face the justice system.

I encourage everyone to contact your legislator to change bad law that allows a number of cold-blooded killers to have a lifetime retirement in one of our comfy prisons at taxpayer expense.

William Rieger
Bremerton