Editorial for September 6, 2007 edition:


A second shot at justice

Justice delayed is justice denied, but tragically, for Philadelphia Police Officer Walter Barclay, that axiom makes no difference.
Officer Barclay was shot and paralyzed in 1966 while responding to a burglary in East Oak Lane. The shooter, William Barnes, served a measly 15 years in prison for the attack but then was fortunate enough to enjoy life as a free man.
Now that the medical examiner in Bucks County, where Officer Barclay lived, has ruled that complications from the attack contributed to the officer’s death last month at age 64, Barnes has to face the music, thanks to Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, whose office has charged Barnes with murder.
Barnes, now 71, was no choirboy in his younger years, having spent much of his life in prison for robbery, burglary and a prison stabbing. His stints of community service after he left the slammer do not negate his dastardly behavior, however.
"I applaud people who turn their lives around. It doesn’t mean I forgive them," Ms. Abraham said Tuesday.
The district attorney, who was dubbed "one tough cookie" many moons ago by the late law-and-order Mayor Frank L. Rizzo, has it exactly right.
When it comes to vicious, violent crime, society should neither forgive nor forget the perpetrators. That’s one of the reasons murder suspects are not protected by a statute of limitations — that is, they can be tried for their deadly sins up ’til the day they die.
Taking the life out of a rookie policeman is about as heinous as it gets. Just ask the many cops that live in the Great Northeast.
Even though Ms. Abraham will be leaving office after her current term ends, Philadelphia’s top prosecutor has a duty to protect the public by seeking the maximum sentence for Barnes.
Once a killer, always a killer. Let’s be done with him. ••

Respond to this editorial . . .

Letters to the Editor . . .