The Killing of Polly Klaas

On the day that his daughter's murderer was to be sentenced, Marc Klaas told the jury that if it did not sentence Davis to death it "would allow evil to triumph over good."  Then he turned to the defendant and said, "Mr. Davis, when you get to where you're going, say hello to Hitler, to Dahmer, and to Bundy.  Good riddance, and the sooner you get there the better we'll all be."

Richard Allen Davis was allowed to address the court.  He again asserted that he had not sexually abused his victim but the way he made this claim shocked the courtroom.  "The main reason I know I did not attempt any lewd act that night was because of a statement the young girl made to me while walking up the embankment," he recalled.  " 'Just don't do me like my Dad.' "

A gasp went up.  Marc Klaas shrieked, "Burn in hell, Davis!"  Then guards hustled the grieving father out of the courtroom while several spectators burst into tears.

Judge Thomas Hastings

The jury recommended that Davis be sentenced to death.  Judge Thomas Hastings said that Davis' recent, repulsive statement against his victim's father made it "very easy" to pronounce the death sentence.  And that's exactly what the judge did.

Marc Klaas clenched his fist and pumped it into the air when the sentence was handed down.  He was pleased.  "We're grateful for the verdict we got," he crowed, "because this is the verdict that is deserved.  Richard Allen Davis deserves to die for what he did to my child."

Klaas later said he looked forward to watching Davis die.  "The last thing Polly saw before she died was Richard Allen Davis' eyes," he remarked.  "The last thing Richard Allen Davis will see is my eyes, I hope."