I am a neighbor of murder victim, Mr. Ralph Santos. Ralph has
lived across from us for about 3.5 years. He never caused any
troubles or problems in our neighborhood for the duration of those
years. On the contrary, I remember him always pleasant, smiling and
always working in his garden. His love for his family were
emphasized through his words and his actions. I would trust this
man as I knew him in those three years.
Dear Editor,
I am a neighbor of murder victim, Mr. Ralph Santos. Ralph has lived across from us for about 3.5 years. He never caused any troubles or problems in our neighborhood for the duration of those years. On the contrary, I remember him always pleasant, smiling and always working in his garden. His love for his family were emphasized through his words and his actions. I would trust this man as I knew him in those three years.
This murder was a tragedy and as much as it hurt to lose our neighbor we all knew as “Grandpa,” it was equally sad to watch the family suffer from this tragedy from the time that he was reported missing to when his body was discovered and now dealing with the frustrations of not receiving the justice Ralph deserves.
On a larger scale, as a part of this community, it concerns me that such murders in a small town take place and our court system is clearly not capable of rightfully convicting these people despite the hard evidence presented. I totally and completely disagree with this plea bargain brought forth by the District Attorney’s office. I am appalled to hear about many other such murder cases that did not just fully get tried in court. This is not acceptable.
Just because the victims are dead does not mean their rights no longer apply. It must be expected that the DA office do their job and cooperate and listen to the family’s wishes as they are the voice of the deceased. It also upsets me that our local papers are very discriminatory when writing their stories on some of these murders. Ralph Santos did not ask to be deceived, choked and stabbed with a screwdriver. Bottom line is a murder is a murder and the law clearly states no one shall kill. Period!
Guadalupe Downing, Hollister
