Supreme Court on Bus Searches

The Supreme Court’s June 27 decision that allows juries, during penalty phase deliberations, to consider the impact of a crime on relatives of the victim will, it seems to me, result in justice dispensed partly on the basis of the victim’s social status rather than on the crime itself. How does the murder of a much-loved person differ as a crime from the murder of a loner? Is one life to be protected less than another?

Example: Two identical crimes, premeditated murder with a gun in order to commit robbery and leave no witness. One victim a young happily married wife and mother of three. The other a young, single, lonely store clerk with no close friends or known relatives. The murderer of the mother receives the death penalty; the clerk’s murderer receives life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 12 years.

Equal justice under the law? I think not. The court, it would appear, codified what are the sentencing guidelines in parts of the South. The penalty for rape and murder depends on whether the victim was white or black.

JOHN M. FRETER

Yucca Valley