Good Riddance

Thursday, November 17, 2005

It was almost two years ago when an Amber Alert was posted for 11-year-old Carlie Brucia back in February 2004. A surveillance tape captured her abduction by one Joseph Smith; dragging her away by the arm.

Authorities searched in vain for the missing girl. Four days later her body -- naked from the waist down -- was discovered in a ditch like a discarded piece of trash.

Anyone who watched TV news at the time remembers that tape vividly as it was replayed ad nauseum in the following days. We all hoped she would be returned safely. Alas, that wasn't the case. Carlie was abducted, raped, murdered, and left to rot in the dirt.

Today a jury returned a guilty verdict, and again the tape has aired. Only this time we know what happens when Carlie and her abductor leave the frame.

When asked if she was satisfied with the verdict, Carlie's mother responded: "When he's dead. When he meets his maker."

Because the crime took place in this great state of Florida, Smith faces the death penalty. I've never been a strong advocate for capital punishment, but if that's what it takes to bring some sort of closure to a mother who just lost her daughter, I'm not going to stand in her way.