Sanchez Slaying

The comments of Judge William D. Mudd in your March 23 article relating to the Marco Sanchez killing warrant public rebuke (“Traffic-Spat Killer Draws 10-Year Term).

It is simply astonishing that anyone, least of all a Superior Court judge, should blame a murder victim for his own murder just because he happened to be where he was when killed. Judge Mudd’s comments make it clear he believed that, if Sanchez had been prosecuted for his traffic violations he would not have been driving a car on the day of the murder, and therefore, would not have been killed. I suppose it follows, as well, that, if Sanchez had not been born, for that reason too, he would not have been murdered.

What is even more appalling is that the judge, as you reported, “believed Sanchez contributed to the events leading up to the shooting” because of the “violent harassment of Barton’s daughter.” How in the world can anyone imply that such events constituted an invitation to one’s execution?

Barton shot in the back a man trying to escape, after tracking the victim down with a loaded gun, based on the complaint of Barton’s daughter. How this was not murder is beyond me. Why the court did not impose the maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter is obvious.

JOSE A. GONZALES, Lakeside