Registered sex offender charged with murder in slaying of 5-year-old girl

ap ^ | 12/4/2001 15:18 | By Chris Roberts, Associated Press

[Question_Assumptions]

You are correct. I probably should have qualified that as "violent felonies" and such. In any event, the reason that you don't want capital punishment for child rape is that you need to have a worse punishment if they kill the child than if they don't, otherwise, they have nothing to lose by killing the victim to cover their tracks. You need a very bad punishment for child rapists and an even worse punishment for child rapists who kill their victims, hence my suggestion about wood chippers. I bet that would be a nifty deterrant.

I can understand why you are uncomfortable about torture but "torture" is a matter of degree. Is imprisonment a form of torture? Is a caning? Is playing _Achy Breaky Heart_ until their ears bleed? Is putting someone in a jail cell in the Andes with no heat torture? Where is the line?

[Cleburne]

Ah well he's been abused by society no doubt-or perhaps he was just looking for his true sexual identity. He's not to blame, he just needs some understanding, some probing into his mind to determine what makes him tick so we can correct it... < liberal blather off >

[proudofthesouth]

You took the words right out of my mouth.

[realpatriot71]

Sex offenders do NOT rehabilitate. Let one out and they hurt again, and again until stopped. Molestation should carry a life sentence.

[FryingPan101]

This story is more hideous than you can imagine. Police detectives assigned to the case cry when they speak of the beautiful little girl. He finger tips were cut off and her face mutilated, as were other parts of her body. Our community is devastated. The jerk was arrested 3 times for intoxication and thus violating terms of a plea bargain he made for molesting an eight year old girl in 1994. He served only two months for the intoxication and was given another 10 year probation....no mention of the sex crime on his record. He was then free to look for innocent children. He worked at Lowe's Home Improvement store. Our police department was all over this one. With the help of the FBI and America's Most Wanted, this was solved quickly. Walmart did everything right to include putting up a 50,000 dollar reward. It took three minutes for this creep to lure this little girl out of the store in spite of her family's constant warnings. We mourn. We want the police to turn this guy out in the street and let us handle it.

[Salman]

Castration seems like a real good step towards rehabilitation.

Poetic justice, but I disagree. He could still torture and kill. Only the death penalty will do.

[Teacher317]

''The arrest was based on the discovery of a palm print that matched his palm print,'' police Sgt. Al Velarde said Tuesday. ''It was on the girl's body.''

I hope they got the right guy, and I hope his come-uppance is rather ugly... but would someone please explain how a palm-print off of a leg can be a meaningful or positively identifying match? Fingerprints off of skin are all but impossible... are they going simply by size? Where is the database of palm prints? How did they use it to find that needle from inside the haystack? Just curious.

[nothingnew]

If we could only understand why he rapes and kills, perhaps we could understand why society is guilty.

"I'm depraved 'cause I'm deprived..." West Side Story.... Way back then....someone new.

FMCDH

[Teacher317]

Sounds like you know the most about the details around here. Could you explain the palm-print thing to me? (post #47)

[Dan from Michigan]

How in the blue hell can this asshole get let out after molesting an 8 year old?

[FITZ]

The killer's palm print was found on the little girl's body and he was found because his hand prints were on file because he was a convicted sex offender who only received 10 years probation but didn't go to prison.

The reason they needed to use the palm print is because this killer poured acid over the little girl's face and in her vagina to cover up traces of his DNA. Her legs were also broken apparently when he was forcifully raping her.

[FITZ]

He was never imprisoned in the first place for molesting the other children, he plea bargained his way into 10 years of probation.

[Dan from Michigan]

Castration seems like a real good step towards rehabilitation.

No disagreement there.

Then afterward put him with a few 6'5 300 lb cellmates named Spike, Bubba, and BigDog where he can get a fate worse than death. That's justice.

[Dan from Michigan]

That judge or DA or both should be tarred and feathered.

[Rustynailww]

anyone seen the movie "short eyes"?

[FITZ]

Yes and I would think they should be made to view the forensic pictures of this little girl who they let be killed in such a horrific fashion. The little girl used to walk to school with her little siblings who couldn't understand why she was no longer with them, the judges and lawyers who were so lenient should also be made to apologize to that entire family and explain to those kids why they let their sister be killed. There have been rumors going around that the killer is a relative or a relative of one of the girl's relatives. He looks like a normal guy but it took him only 3 minutes to get her to follow him out of that store so it's possible she knew him.

[csmusaret]

I used two live off of Westwind; where is Winchester?

[FITZ]

Lower valley almost by Zaragoza.

[Skywalk]

Morally, I might share your feelings. Legally speaking, I have to strongly disagree with your feelings on executing convicted child molesters.

Here's why:

In a murder case, greater scrutiny is given to evidence(we hope) and in the vast majority of cases, there is a body as proof that a murder occurred. Also, there's usually a motive involved that makes some sense, and sometimes a murder weapon. When one weights the checks in place, it's a pretty slim chance that an innocent man will be executed.

In contrast, children have been proven to be malleable in their testimony(see the McMartin case and related hysteria in the 80s) and many innocent people can be ruined for life. It's one thing to smear a reputation, another to execute an innocent man with no evidence but the word of a frightened child, out of their depth. Even several children's testimony put together isn't a guarantee of truthfulness, as, once again, the McMartin case in CA proved.

I agree on extra-long jail sentences, though. I would also point out that some laws regarding "sex offenses" do not treat a flasher, or exhibitionist or boy who slept with a girl two years younger any different than a man that raped a young child. Perhaps if you limit it to child RAPE cases(not just molestation, which is difficult to prove) then you'll sell me on that.

[Teacher317]

Ah, so it was DNA, then. The article makes it sound like the positive ID came from the imprint his palm left on her leg. Apologies for the confusion (Crummy journalism stinks). Where'd you get the info? Any better articles on the arrest that you can post?