Court hears confession in killing of girl, 12

[madmusic]

'I'm still scared, panicked, and I started choking her,' Jeffrey R. Martin told police

Thursday, June 22, 2006
By Milan Simonich, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- In a flat, matter-of-fact tone, farmhand Jeffrey R. Martin told state police he strangled a 12-year-old girl after she threatened to accuse him of molestation.


His tape-recorded statement, played yesterday in a Greene County courtroom, reduced spectators to tears and persuaded a judge to hold Mr. Martin for trial in the slaying of Gabrielle Miranda Bechen.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06173/700245-85.stm

I'm afraid. I fear for these poor children. I fear this will become more common the more we try to repress the these crimes. On the other hand, any reading of graphic horror so many victims suffer calls for revenge.

A few days ago, there were posts stating the posters would shoot to kill the teen who raped a young child in broad daylight. That is a natural reaction. It doesn't give much thought to the poor child though. Would seeing the offender's head blown to bits improve her psychological recovery? If he bled to death while laying on top of her make her feel better?

The laws spreading across the county may be even more harmful. The rage and backlash, and even the moral panic, is justified. But like the above case, maybe they are putting children at more risk. Couey did not kill Jessica Lunsford out of some sadistic lust, but he killed to hide the evidence, just like the case above.

That scares me. Will child murders spike? Is the ostrization and punishment so severe than too many will think they have nothing to lose? Do we remember how we celebrated when Elizabeth Smart was found alive?

No one can be a survivor if murdered.

Why aren't victim's advocates concerned about this?

EDIT: sp