And — let’s get real here — will we pay our good money to feed, clothe and comfort him in a clean bed, as we have been doing for the past quarter of a century, until he eventually dies, and, until then, furnish him clean water, fresh air and allow him to keep his body fit, exercising in the prison yard? This will take the just out of justice.

Clemency is like putting a bandage over an infected, oozing sore. It can only go on to infect the rest of the body, and here the concern is the body politic.

The criminals say, “Let’s do our thing in America. If we’re caught, they’ll go easy on us, even if it’s some merciless, heinous killing. We’ll just say we’re sorry!�

Refusing the clemency plea is the realistic, brave thing to do.

— Jimm Giles, Oxnard