Sunday, December 6, 2009

Life should mean Life: Oppose Parole of Barbara Rossi's Killer

Murderer of Barbara Rossi should serve full life sentence

By: Keith H. Seymour

During the Fall of 1984, one of the most heinous crimes ever a committed in Columbia, South Carolina was committed. A young lady who was a senior at the University of South Carolina, and who had a promising career as a nurse was kidnapped. What made this particular kidnapping so unique was that there was no apparent reason for it, other than victimizing an innocent woman for the sake of it. What also made this kidnapping so unique was the fact that the young lady was kidnapped in “broad daylight,” while walking to her car at a local mall. The end result of this kidnapping was that the young lady was raped and subsequently murdered. The young lady;s name was Barbara Rossi, known to her family and friends as “Bobbi.” The name of the killer, who is now up for parole is Marcellus Pierce. Mr. Pierce was found guilty of the crime, and was sentenced to life in prison., with the possibility of parole. At the time, this was the second highest sentence for such a capital crime at that time.

I did not know Ms. Rossi, however, two of my sisters did since they played on the soccer team that her father's business sponsored. However, the one thing that everyone in Columbia, and much of South Carolina had in common, whether or not they were acquainted with the family, was the arrogance of Mr. Pierce. The fact that he committed this crime in a very public place, during broad daylight alone, is enough to boggle the mind. In addition to which, here was a woman whose goal was to protect and save lives, that had her life taken, and her killers are now once again up for parole. Mr. Rossi has since passed on, but his Bobbi's mother is still alive, and the fact that she must be subjected to making sure her daughter's killers are kept off the streets, is no less than mind boggling.

This brings me to my main point of this article. There is a petition circulating to oppose the parole of Marcellus Pierce, that will be presented at his parole hearing on January 6, 2010. The signatures should not only come from people who knew Ms. Rossi or are acquainted with her family, but every law abiding citizen, who wishes to keep our communities safe. I apologize for offending anyone, but if you take an innocent life and are sent to jail for the rest of your life, that is where you should spend the rest of your life. Unlike their victims, these murderers still possess life. Someone sentenced to life in prison has had their freedom taken away, a choice they made when they committed the crime. Barbara Rossi did not make the choice to be murdered. So where is the justice in freeing her killer. If you know, please contact me. As one person who agrees that Barbara Rossi's killer should never be set free, put it: letting Barbara Rossi's killers out because they served a certain amount of time, is like rewarding Attila the Hun with Spring break, because he took a day off from killing people.
If this man gets out, it could be the daughter, wife, sister, etc, of someone reading this or hearing about this article.

Anyone wishing to assist in this cause, may e-mail me at seymour892000@yahoo.com, and I will be happy to send them a copy of the petition to sign and circulate. They should feel free to make as many copies as possible. Petitions may be sent to:

Vince DiMaria
1660 Belmont Dr.
Columbia,SC 29206 or faxed to 803-782-4470