I was alerted to this story by reading Sarah's wonderful blog called
Preaching to the Choir. Miguel Roman has been behind bars since 1988 for killing 17-year-old Carmen Lopez. The only problem is, recent DNA testing pointed to another man.
The Innocence Project reports the following:
Prosecutors in Connecticut arrested a 51-year-old man on Friday in connection with the 1988 murder of a 17-year-old girl after DNA testing of evidence from the crime scene pointed to his involvement.
One of the points Sarah makes, about which I agree totally is that further delays in releasing Mr. Roman are unacceptable. The Innocence Project is working on the case, but supposedly additional DNA testing is to be done prior to any decisions about his release.
This would then bring up the question
we discussed before of proper compensation. Not only monetary assistance would be required, but all the other kinds of help one would need to re-enter society after languishing in prison for decades. To right that wrong is not a simple matter.
The man arrested for the crime is Pedro Miranda. He is also accused of killing Mayra Cruz, a 13-year-old who went missing 21 years ago while walking to school. According to the
story in the Hartford Courant, the girl's mother has waited all these years for this arrest.
"I prayed all the time that something would happen before I die. I never gave up hope," Cruz said Sunday night.
Last week her prayers were answered when detectives from Connecticut knocked on the door of her Springfield home and told her they were about to arrest Pedro Miranda, 51, a man who had lived in the same Collins Street apartment building as the Cruz family, in the death of her daughter.
"Mayra was a nice, quiet girl and that's why God did this for her because she couldn't rest in peace," Norma Cruz said.
Here's that fascinating vengeance factor again, that "rest in peace" idea. I realize I have no idea what it must feel like to lose a child to violence, but I always find this attitude amazing. What do you think? If the mother is convinced that the deceased daughter can only "rest in peace" if the killer is brought to justice, then perhaps the mother benefits from it. Perhaps she, the mother really gets some kind of closure and peace. What do you think?
And what do you think about Pedro? It sounds like he did rapes and kidnappings and murders his entire life long; often young teens were his victims. What's to be done with him? Do you think he's more of a sex offender or a murderer? I know he's accused of both, but do you think there's a difference between the two? Should the sex offender who murders be treated differently than the violent murderer who isn't driven by lust?
What do you think? Please leave us your opinion.