PARENTS OF TROOPER ANDREW J. SPERR (END OF WATCH: MARCH 1, 2006)

            Let us hear from the parents of slain New York Officer Andrew J. Sperr. They believed that their son could have been alive, if New York had not made the death penalty unconstitutional. That is one of many reasons why abolition of the death penalty is truly immoral.

Andy and Jean Sperr

Trooper Andrew J. Sperr

Cop killers deserve death penalty

The Associated Press story in the Dec. 29 Democrat and Chronicle (“Police fatalities jump 37% nationwide in 2010”) compels us to write again regarding the death penalty or lack thereof in New York state.

Since the murder of our son, New York State Trooper Andy “AJ” Sperr on March 1, 2006, several more have died in the line of duty in this state alone. We sincerely believe that Joe Longobardo, murdered in cold blood by “Bucky” Phillips, and Joe Corr, of West Hartford, a Utica suburb, who was ambushed on Feb. 28, 2006, might still be alive if a death penalty had been in place at the time. During testimony at Andy’s trial, Anthony Horton, who was convicted of his killing, was quoted as saying to his accomplice that he was going to “shoot the cop,” knowing that there was no death penalty in New York.

Maybe “AJ” would also still be alive. Several recent local shootings reinforce our conviction. Ask Rochester Police Officers Anthony DiPonzio, Daniel Brochu or Luca Martini.

Is it too simplistic for lawmakers (and death penalty opponents) to consider the following?

The use of a gun against a police officer deserves a lengthy mandatory jail sentence. (They’ve already told society where to go.)

The firing of a gun against a police officer deserves mandatory life imprisonment.

The killing of a police officer deserves the death penalty.

Street-wise criminals already are smart enough to hide any firearm in their possession when robbing a bank, knowing of the escalation of their crime to a much higher level if exposed. Similar legislation will save other police officers’ lives.

Opponents of the death penalty may make compelling arguments against abuses and errors of the past, but modern technology, including DNA, etc., will go a long way to avoid the errors of the past. We sincerely believe in the jury and criminal justice system.

State legislators should tell Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to give law enforcement officers the protection they deserve from cop killers.

Jean and Andy Sperr are the parents of State Trooper Andy “AJ” Sperr, a Greece native who was killed in a chance encounter with a bank robber.

http://rocnow.com/article/essays/2011101080307

http://www.cncpunishment.com/forums/showthread.php?5181-Cop-killers-deserve-death-penalty

COMMENTS AND CONDOLENCES:

We, the Victims’ Families For the Death Penalty, offer you two our heartfelt condolences. We know your pain and we agree with you both wholeheartedly. One of our favorite judges, the Lord Chief Justice Rayner Goddard once said in a speech in the House of Lords on 10 July 1956, he defended the death penalty by recalling the case when a bandit caught after a chase in London fired low at a young constable. “He fired low because he knew what the consequences would be if he murdered the policeman. When he was arrested his first question was, ‘Is the copper dead?’ That is what he was afraid of…These instances make me say with all the earnestness I can command: do not gamble with the lives of the police.”

Please go to the other blog post to learn about Officer Andrew J. Sperr.