Richard Ramirez Dead at 53...

[kensei]

..and not a moment too soon.

I'm tempted to say "Amen!" But upon reflection, no, it is too soon. Because he escaped his sentence. I've been bringing up Ramirez for years as the ultimate example of the failings of the death penalty in America. This Satanic monster was caught in 1985 at the young age of 25. It took until 1989 to organize his trial and conviction for 13 murders and I don't even recall how many rapes and burglaries and you can be sure that those numbers don't represent his true total. He was sentenced to death. As he was led out of the courtroom then, he defiantly said to the cameras, "Who cares? Death was always part of the bargain." Good, everyone thought. Great work. And then he sat there. And sat there. And sat there. For twenty-four years. You can't seriously expect me to believe that the appeals process takes that (blanking) long. This was literally a Satanic serial killer. He would hold a gun to womens' heads after murdering their husbands in front of them and then raping them and demand to know where the rest of their valuables were. If they said, "That's all of it, I swear to God!" he would demand "NO! SWEAR TO SATAN!" That's who just outlived his sentence. I'm glad he's dead, but I don't feel a sense of justice. I mean, twenty-four years? Really?

The one person I'm glad for is his wife, Doreen. Yes everyone, The Night Stalker got married in prison to one of his adoring fans. If anyone knows differently please correct me, but the last I knew they were still married and she was declaring that when the day of his execution finally came she would commit suicide. At the very least now, she should be able to grieve without joining him in death.

I also remember reading that there was a teenage girl Ramirez tried to batter and strangle to death who just would not die, and that her resilience actually freaked him out a bit. She ended up marrying the son of one of the detectives who caught Ramirez. I hope their marriage is still going strong (though what a twisted thing to have bring them together!), and I offer a prayer for all the many, many people whose lives this monster effected. Good riddance to him.

[Barnaby]

Any one know cause of death? I just see "natural causes."

[Magpie]

..and not a moment too soon.