Letters to the Editor: Seeking capital punishment in CEO’s death exposes inequities in the justice system

To the editor: U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi has decided that to follow Trump’s purported policy to keep Americans safe, she will ask federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of a wealthy health insurance executive (“Prosecutors directed to seek death penalty against Luigi Mangione in CEO’s killing,” April 1). Apparently the life of one rich man trumps the deaths of scores of children murdered in hundreds of school shootings in America since Columbine. If only those children had been born wealthy, then their deaths might have motivated Congress and the Department of “Justice” to act accordingly, rather than offering their thoughts and prayers. Do you feel safer?

Kent Grigsby, Riverside

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To the editor: Ordinarily, people would say that what’s holding up the release of Lyle and Erik Menendez is the fact that they murdered their own parents in a premeditated and violent way. But the Menendez brothers are unique among killers in that they had the chance to win the public’s hearts by looking young and vulnerable at their televised trial, as they tearfully testified that their parents abused them. Consequently, their first trial ended with a hung jury. Mangione is in a similar position. Are his defenders crusading over the injustice that allegedly provoked the alleged murder — the profiteering healthcare industry — or merely swooning over a cute guy?

Kevin Dawson, Burbank

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