False promise of an execution

Re “Dead man waiting,” Column One, Nov. 17

For Joe Iberri to go through the last 27 years in pain, waiting for the law to deliver the “justice” it promised him, is inexcusable.

If his daughter’s murderer had been sentenced years ago to spend the rest of his life in prison without any possibility of parole, Iberri could have gone on with his life. Instead, he has spent it obsessed over a killer’s journey through the labyrinthine system that the U.S. Supreme Court has created in its attempt to make state killing meet constitutional muster.

Our hearts go out to Iberri. The false promises made by apologists for an expensive and ineffective killing system shame us all while adding insult to his injury.

Mike Farrell

Studio City

The writer is the president of Death Penalty Focus.