Life, death and the D.C. sniper

Re “D.C. sniper set to die Tuesday by injection,” Nov. 9

In filing an appeal, Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad’s lawyers complained that the case had moved too quickly.

Muhammad was arrested on Oct. 24, 2002, and was executed on Nov. 10, 2009. That’s seven years and 17 days.

By comparison, when Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was murdered in 1933, it took just 14 days from the mayor’s death on March 6 for authorities to sentence and execute his killer.

I can personally testify that for ordinary citizens, and in comparison to today, street crime in 1933 was near zero. That was a wildly different world. Any connection?

John Hamaker

Laguna Niguel

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Phew! Now I can unlock my doors and windows and cancel my home security service. Now that this maniac has been executed, all will be safe in the world and we can go back to picking flowers and driving without a seat belt.

Sure, I was duped -- when Timothy McVeigh was killed -- into believing that evil had been eradicated. But I am convinced that this time -- seriously -- criminals will be cowering in fear from a possible death sentence.

It’s just too bad that it couldn’t have happened before the Ft. Hood massacre.

Todd Koerner

Hermosa Beach