Editorial: Finding justice for brutal murder

Just as opening arguments were set to get under way on Tuesday, Strohmeyer agreed to a plea bargain so he could avoid the possibility of a death sentence if convicted. In exchange for pleading guilty to all counts against him, Strohmeyer will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Words cannot adequately describe the brutality of Strohmeyer's murder of 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson. He raped and strangled her inside a Primm hotel-casino restroom. The killing shocked Las Vegans and everyone else across the nation who heard about the murder.

It's understandable that some people would at first react negatively to a plea bargain in a case where there seemed to be more than enough evidence to obtain a conviction and a death sentence. But if there's any certainty in our criminal justice system it is uncertainty.

Once a trial starts no one can predict what a judge and jury will decide. For instance, a majority of Americans believed there was overwhelming proof that O.J. Simpson killed his ex-wife, Nicole, and Ron Goldman. But the jury in that trial ignored damaging DNA testimony and other compelling evidence to acquit the former football star.

And who can forget the trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez, the brothers who shot their parents to death with a shotgun in 1989. In their first trial the juries deadlocked on the murder charges after the brothers claimed they killed their parents because of sexual and psychological abuse by their father. It took a second trial before a jury rejected this argument, convicting them in 1996 of murder. The defense attorney in that case was Leslie Abramson, who now represents Strohmeyer.

Those two notorious cases from Los Angeles cost taxpayers plenty, from the amount spent selecting a jury to the actual trial itself. In contrast, the Strohmeyer case here was handled expeditiously. Judge Myron Leavitt was able to get a jury seated in days, a process in Los Angeles that could have taken weeks in a similar, highly publicized trial. And the decision by District Attorney Stewart Bell to get a deal that erased a lengthy trial ended up saving taxpayers $1 million in trial costs, not to mention the seemingly endless appeals a conviction would have created.

There are some crimes that are so heinous there are no legal punishments that can equally redress the wrong committed. But even Yolanda Manuel, the mother of Sherrice Iverson, found Strohmeyer's plea acceptable. The bottom line is that Strohmeyer, who is 19, will never experience freedom again and never can harm another child. Our criminal justice system isn't perfect, but justice did prevail this time.

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