Sentencing

* Re “Officer’s Killer Again Gets Death,” Dec. 5.

I was troubled by your account of actor Ed Asner’s effort to convince the court to withhold the death penalty for Kenneth Gay, the convicted murderer of Los Angeles Police Officer Paul Verna. Apparently, Asner has concluded that Gay’s skills as a jailhouse author justified some consideration from the court. I couldn’t disagree more. On that horrible day in 1983, my four-year-old son and I happened on the scene of Verna’s shooting. That experience will be with us forever: his motorcycle standing alone, the young woman trying to summon help, the Samaritan trying desperately to give him first aid despite five bullet wounds, the shock and frustration of his fellow officers. The court has decided well despite Asner’s misplaced sentiment. For the sake of closure for the Verna family and all the rest of us, may Gay’s stay on death row be a short one.

BOB WARNER

Sylmar