Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 13, 2006 16:11:25 GMT -5
Two Seattle shooting victims oppose death penalty for shooter
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- The last of five women who were wounded in a deadly shooting spree at the Jewish Federation office is out of the hospital, and she and another victim say a man charged in the attack should not face the death penalty.
"Killing him would be a shame," Layla Bush, 23, the youngest of the victims, said Tuesday as she prepared for her release from Harborview Medical Center. "I think it would be too easy for him."
Bush and Carol Goldman, 35, who was discharged from the hospital Aug. 4, said Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, should instead face life in prison without parole if he is convicted of aggravated murder and eight other charges in the attack July 28.
They and three others survived gunshot wounds but Pamela Waechter, 58, the federation's director of annual giving, died at the scene.
"I keep thinking death would be too easy for him," Goldman said.
Haq should have to "sit and focus on what he's done in his life," she said, but added, "I'll be fine with what the prosecutors decide."
King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has until Nov. 17 to decide whether to seek the death penalty.
Bush narrowly escaped death when a bullet passed within half an inch of her heart and damaged her liver, stomach, pancreas and left kidney.
One slug remains in her lower back and probably will remain there because removing it would likely cause more damage, said Dr. Valerie S. Bodeau, a rehabilitation specialist at Harborview.
She and Goldman face extensive rehabilitation and need a walker to get around. Like two of the other victims, they are not Jewish but were employed at the federation and said they looked forward to returning to their jobs.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- The last of five women who were wounded in a deadly shooting spree at the Jewish Federation office is out of the hospital, and she and another victim say a man charged in the attack should not face the death penalty.
"Killing him would be a shame," Layla Bush, 23, the youngest of the victims, said Tuesday as she prepared for her release from Harborview Medical Center. "I think it would be too easy for him."
Bush and Carol Goldman, 35, who was discharged from the hospital Aug. 4, said Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, should instead face life in prison without parole if he is convicted of aggravated murder and eight other charges in the attack July 28.
They and three others survived gunshot wounds but Pamela Waechter, 58, the federation's director of annual giving, died at the scene.
"I keep thinking death would be too easy for him," Goldman said.
Haq should have to "sit and focus on what he's done in his life," she said, but added, "I'll be fine with what the prosecutors decide."
King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has until Nov. 17 to decide whether to seek the death penalty.
Bush narrowly escaped death when a bullet passed within half an inch of her heart and damaged her liver, stomach, pancreas and left kidney.
One slug remains in her lower back and probably will remain there because removing it would likely cause more damage, said Dr. Valerie S. Bodeau, a rehabilitation specialist at Harborview.
She and Goldman face extensive rehabilitation and need a walker to get around. Like two of the other victims, they are not Jewish but were employed at the federation and said they looked forward to returning to their jobs.