Michael Dally

Re “Dally Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder,” April 7.

Thank God. I had nightmares of seeing Michael Dally out on the golf course with O.J. Simpson.

EILEEN CASPER

Camarillo

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Re “Dally’s Despicable Nature Was a Deciding Factor, Analysts Say,” April 7.

If you’re found guilty of a crime because you left behind a mountain of evidence, you can appear meek and used and get life without parole. If, however, you get linked to a crime with hearsay and circumstance and you appear to have “a haughty, unrepentant, seedy nature on your face,” it’s death for you, pal.

Prosecutors would rather have cases with a “bad” defendant than strong evidence, says prosecutor-turned-public-defender Kevin DeNoce after the Michael Dally verdict was handed down. A few of the quotes attributed to DeNoce:

“With little hard evidence, jurors convicted Michael Dally . . . partly because he is such a despicable guy,” and, “The jury relied more on the character of the defendant than the evidence.”

We have yet to hear from the jurors themselves, and maybe Mr. DeNoce’s remarks were just presentencing spin on behalf of Dally’s defense team. But if you couple them with remarks by a juror in the Diana Haun trial suggesting that Dally deserves the death penalty because she thought he was “a slimy, manipulative character,” all of a sudden going to court in Ventura County just became a little more frightening.

BRUCE ROLAND

Ojai