Do it for slain Whittier Officer Keith Boyer: Build more prisons, keep criminals locked up

Slain officer Keith Boyer is remembered during a vigil at the Whittier police station on Feb. 20.

Feb. 23, 2017 9:30 AM PT

To the editor: The shooting death of Whittier police Officer Keith Boyer allegedly by a career criminal was not just senseless and avoidable, but also utterly predictable. (“Police chief says Whittier officer’s slaying shows danger of criminal justice reform, but details are unclear,” Feb. 21)

By conceding the debate on how to best deal with repeat offenders like the former Pelican Bay inmate, by voting for overwhelmingly Democratic majorities in the Legislature and a Democratic governor, by supporting marijuana legalization, and by supporting early-release measures and generally not supporting law enforcement, Californians are getting what we should have expected.

We owe ourselves and Boyer more. Those whose jobs it is to prevent and prosecute crime will say that California should build and maintain whatever prisons are necessary to hold criminals for the complete term of their sentences. Decriminalization should be rolled back.

California’s Democratic leaders are not going to support tougher prison sentences or reversing decriminalization until they sense that voters will no longer accept soft-on-crime policies or politicians. Criminal rehabilitation is nice in concept, but not one of its proponents would likely have the courage to admit that blind devotion to it cost Boyle his life. We can only hope this tragedy is a turning point.

Guy R. Gruppie, Arcadia

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook