I was visiting the Valley when the tragic deaths of Amanda

Baldwin, Salome Holly and their mother, Anouchka Baldwin, occurred. I

tried to put myself in the shoes of the lone survivor. That young woman is

a fighter. I admire her courage and strength.

I have wondered, though, what she feels is justice enough for the man

who so brutally murdered her family. I could not find an answer to that

question. No punishment would bring the victims back, and no amount of

grief felt by him would compare to the pain felt by the loss suffered by the

survivors.

The question that has to be answered by the justice system is,

should he be held in prison feeling as though he was given another chance at life,

or should he be put to death for the horrific crimes he committed?

Many people feel that the death penalty is cruel. I, in turn, ask them what

would be the appropriate punishment for Dayva Cross? This man killed

three women, while holding a fourth captive. She found the strength to

escape from his evil reign of terror. He sealed the fate of his victims, therefore,

he should have no option on his own fate.

I strongly believe in an eye for an eye, however, it would be cruel for

him to be killed in the manner he killed his victims. Nobody should be

killed that way. This man should not be able to live as any kind of citizen,

whether it be incarceration or free. He is not in any way an asset to society. I do

not feel safe in this world knowing that people like him walk among us.

Carlee Gorman

Ephrata, Wash.