The death penalty in California; House Republicans and the payroll tax cut; the Occupy L.A. protesters

Death, and quickly

Re “Death penalty on its last mile?,” Dec. 24

The California Supreme Court’s chief justice, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, laments the ineffectiveness of the death penalty, but the solution is clearly within the judiciary’s grasp. The problem is the endless appeals allowed.

There should be limits on appeals, and the courts need to act on an appeal at all levels within one year.

A five-by-five rule seems in order: The inmate gets five appeals over five years, and that’s it. Can’t be done, you say? Texas’ death row is quite productive. California has an overabundance of attorneys; put some of them to work handling these cases.

The judicial branch should step up to the plate and do its job. The death penalty is ineffective only because we let it be.

David R. Gillespie

Bonita, Calif.

In 1986, California voters recalled Democrat-appointed Chief Justice Rose Bird over her opposition to the death penalty. The recall election was supported by the insurance industry, which wanted an end to her pro-consumer rulings.

Still, the death penalty ruse worked and a sitting chief justice was removed from office for the first time in California history.

Now, all these years later, we have a Republican-appointed female chief justice publicly admitting that the death penalty in California is not effective.

Although Bird passed away in 1999 at age 63, it is nice to see her progressive policy vindicated in the court of maturing public opinion.

Ron Ellsworth

La Mesa

If Californians knew that Tex Watson, who was convicted of murdering Sharon Tate and six other innocent people in 1969 and sentenced to death, was allowed to have conjugal visits that produced four children, they might not be inclined to abolish the death penalty.

Instead of finding ways to undermine the death penalty, why not find ways to streamline the process so that it doesn’t take decades to carry out the sentence?

Marcus C. Kourtjian

Northridge

Who’s running the House?

Re “Payroll-tax fallout may test Boehner’s control over party,” Dec. 24

The House GOP nearly succeeded in allowing the payroll tax reduction to lapse, just as it nearly shut down the federal government several months ago. This caps the year with yet another act of destructive behavior.

Congress’ instability is alarming. Tea party members have radicalized the entire Republican membership in the House.

When Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) ended the crises by announcing that Republicans would go along with the two-month payroll tax break extension, he said, “It’s not always easy to do the right thing.” He is right.

The true test of Boehner’s leadership will be his willingness to help rational Republicans take back their party before the tea party can commit any further destructive acts.

William J. Goldman

Palos Verdes Estates

The narrative of next year’s election has now been etched into drying cement.

Republicans support tax cuts for the wealthy and tax hikes for everyone else. Democrats support tax hikes for the wealthy and tax cuts for everyone else.

Howard P. Cohen

North Hills

Re “Housing sector to pay for tax cut,” Business, Dec. 24

As you report, President Obama gets a payroll tax cut “win” while the already decimated housing sector picks up the tab.

The tax cut — really just an extension of existing policy — lasts just two months, but the housing fees will be levied for 10 years. By your own account, these fees will “complicate efforts to overhaul the nation’s wounded housing finance sector.”

With more “wins” like this by our prescient president, why hold an election?

Ken Artingstall

Glendale

Occupy lessons

Re “Lesson in free speech is $355,” Dec. 22

Imagine a class filled with those involved in the Occupy L.A. events: The arrestees, the mayor, the city attorney, the police chief, the officials who approved the raid and those officers who overtightened wrist ties, kept detainees in buses for hours with no access to bathrooms or medical attention and abandoned the usual “cite and release” practice for trespass offenses.

The class could study whether the right of assembly means exclusive, indefinite occupation of a particular city property, whether the city’s obligation to respect due process and all basic rights disappears when it decides to dislodge people, and how it is that a few can use city property for profit (such as a football stadium) while others get punitive mistreatment.

Joseph Maizlish

Los Angeles

Music to his ears

Re “These halls are alive,” Dec. 25

It was great to see an article front and center on musicians playing to the elderly and sick, and I was especially happy to see that they do it year-round.

I volunteer for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Music for Healing program; for years I’ve played guitar and sung for patients, staff and visitors during the year and on Christmas and New Year’s. I’m not a professional music therapist, but I can tell you that the therapeutic benefits of music are indisputable.

I’ve played for patients who were begging for morphine before I came in but stopped doing so after one song. The doctors are always amazed.

On the other hand, sometimes they ask for morphine after I play. Maybe it’s time to practice more.

Rick Penn-Kraus

Los Angeles

A Joe fan

Re “Arizona’s Joe,” letter to the editor, Dec. 27

That the federal government under Obama should attack a local sheriff in Arizona for enforcing our immigration laws, which have the overwhelming support of the American people and which the federal government itself is supposed to enforce, says something about what our country is becoming.

It is becoming a non-representative democracy in which a patriotic people have their wishes overridden by denationalized elites, especially with regard to issues of our national identity.

Raymond R. Toal

Mission Viejo

Police action

Re “Panel upholds shooting by LAPD officer,” Dec. 24

Hooray for some semblance of sanity. I expect that folks who have neither police experience nor friends or relatives with police experience will never understand or tolerate certain actions that officers must take.

As for me, I understand what a police officer is often confronted with when his own safety is jeopardized.

I believe that a suspect who fails to follow an officer’s demand to stop and not resist forfeits his rights. Whatever happens is the suspect’s fault, and the police officer should not be held accountable for the suspect’s injury or death.

George W. Zeissner

Fountain Valley

Buying coins

Re “Dollar coins in his realm,” Dec. 23

Thanks to Rong-Gong Lin II for speaking up for $1 coins.

What the public doesn’t realize is that using these coins instead of paper money can save the U.S. Treasury billions of dollars. A dollar bill lasts just a few years, and the U.S. Mint must destroy worn-out bills and print more to replace them. On average, coins last 25 years.

At a job I had a few years back, I would get quite a few presidential coins, Sacagawea dollars and even some Susan B. Anthony coins. Sometimes customers wouldn’t know who these people were, providing an opportunity for a quick history lesson.

James LeVasseur

Santa Barbara