Anger Over Police Slayings

Here are some Letters to the Editor from today's Philadelphia Daily News:

Yet another officer is killed doing his job. A job that he does in a community that, due to a handful of bad officers unworthy of the uniform, has no love or respect for him or the department he works for.
The answer is simple. Create a new law that can't be dealt down by the D.A. or a high-priced lawyer. Make the judges accountable for the acts of criminals they sentence, take away the sovereign immunity that lets them give breaks to career criminals.
Increase the mandatory time for using a weapon against an officer to 40 years, no parole, and apply it to all open cases. Seek the death penalty in all killings of cops. Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, retrain your officers in all facets of policing and make sure they wear their vests at all times.
James Brawner, Philadelphia

There's no justification for the killing of the very people who put their life on the line to protect us every day.
These low-down good-for-nothings should be put away forever. To shoot down Officer Pawlowski shows the mind of a mad, cold-blooded, good-for-nothing criminal who if I had my way would never see daylight. The law should never let these career criminals on the street. Let them rot in jail.
Louis Dillard, Philadelphia

Once again, I'm ashamed to live in this city with these people who continually kill and have no regard for anyone.
As a mother who raised five children, two of them boys, I didn't go through this with my sons. They never went to prison or carried a gun. I'm so tired of the bleeding hearts who say they had a hard life - give me a break.
And when these people go to court, the judges are a disgrace to continually let them go free. Here is my solution: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan. No jail, straight to the military. The soldiers who've done four and five tours can come home.
Set up court for these killers and get a real judge who will do his job. Have someone from the military right in the court and off they go - no training because they already know how to take a life. I bet there will be weeping and wailing in the court just like the families of these police officers had to do. The families of the killers should leave town - if I had this on my conscience, I would. This city is going to hell in a handbasket.
Harriet B. Brown, Philadelphia
Another young officer has been slain in a city whose mayor and D.A. want gun roundups while repeat violent offenders walk the streets. A city whose police chief believes the Second Amendment should be abolished, and says that no citizens of Philadelphia should be allowed to carry a gun.
Yet nobody seems to understand why these killings happen. This isn't just stupidity on the part of our elected officials and citizens - it's a case of willful ignorance.
Stuart Caesar, Philadelphia

When are victims of crimes going to get their "rights"? Liberal judges who let out thugs like Rasheed Scruggs give them more rights than I have Victoria's Secret underwear. Let's go back to the '70s mentality when cops were able to do their jobs without their hands constantly being tied with all this politically correct nonsense.
These judges that let these parasites with a laundry list of priors out on the street time after time need to start being held accountable.
Likewise with the parole board who let hardened criminals with weapons offenses out. No parole for them at all. They all need to stop dissing these officers who constantly put their life on the line in Killadelphia.
Officer Pawlowski is from my parish of St. Anselm. Hearts are heavy and prayers plentiful. All that's left of this tragic reality is prayer for the Pawlowski family and for Kim, his wife, so she can bear this new member of the family to carry on in John's name.
Diane McDowell