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Main Page Slain PO's wife: The ultimate justice for cop killers
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: kwflatbed

Dionne Niemi

THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Copyright 2005 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
All Rights Reserved

I awoke Friday to my clock radio telling me that another police officer, Andy Stevens of the California Highway Patrol, was killed in the line of duty. It brought back the sound of my doorbell ringing at 1 a.m., just over three and a half months ago. As I looked through the glass panes of my front door, I saw three close friends -- still in their uniforms -- waiting to tell me something no police wife ever thinks she will hear.

My heart was shattered that day, and even though police caught my husband's killer, who may get the death penalty if convicted, I don't think anything can make this right. What form of justice could change the fact that my 7-year-old daughter will never see her daddy again? What could possibly make it easier for my mother-in-law to bury her firstborn son? Of course, the answer is "nothing," but it doesn't mean that nothing short of the ultimate penalty should be given to cop killers, or that they should be viewed the same as people who murder civilians. My position is not that an individual officer's life is more valuable than a civilian's; it has more to do with the role of law enforcement in society overall.

Police officers do what most of us couldn't imagine -- they stand between those who obey our laws and those who don't. It is often dangerous and ugly, but officers do it anyway, for the good of society. Being a cop isn't just what people do for a living; it's who they are. If we didn't have them, all the laws in the world would be meaningless.

Handing down the ultimate penalty to someone who has nothing but contempt and hatred for the main stabilizing factor in a society should not be viewed as evil or hypocritical -- it's just self-preservation. I know not everyone supports the death penalty, and that is their right. However, giving the death penalty to cop killers is simply an example of a decent society standing in solidarity against the forces who would love to see it collapse.

My husband was born for this job, and he loved it every single day of the three years he wore that uniform. Even as I write this, through a waterfall of tears, it's hard to have regrets about him living his dream. Sometimes those regrets come a little easier when I watch my daughter cling to a teddy bear made from her daddy's uniform shirt, but that's the personal side of this issue.

Whether to assign the death penalty in the case of a cop killing should not be decided on the basis of how many children he left behind or how much the crime impacted the officer's family. An unmarried officer with little or no family to speak of is equally important to the fabric of our law-enforcement community as an officer with many children and tons of close relatives. The loss is the same; it affects us all, and it should be equally condemned by us all.

Posted by: 94c

amen

Posted by: frapmpd24

That was put very eloquently. Maybe our legislators should listen to police survivors like this wife and understand the impact of their decision to vote down the death penalty time and time again.

Posted by: RPD931

Quote:

Originally Posted by frapmpd24

That was put very eloquently. Maybe our legislators should listen to police survivors like this wife and understand the impact of their decision to vote down the death penalty time and time again.

Very good point!

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by frapmpd24

That was put very eloquently. Maybe our legislators should listen to police survivors like this wife and understand the impact of their decision to vote down the death penalty time and time again.

Better yet, how about we start voting out of office the legislators that refuse to abide by the will of the voters?

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