People v. Handley

Bronson, J.

(concurring). I agree that, under the decisions of our Supreme Court, the defendant *143must be granted a new trial. I am compelled to write separately, however, to underscore the terrible nature of the murder with which defendant is charged. The facts of this case present a killing that is exceedingly brutal, even in an agé of brutality. One can only guess at what may have motivated the killers to perpetrate such a savage crime.. While our system requires adherence to certain procedures in furtherance of fair trials for even the most cruel amongst us, society cannot, in the end, tolerate the sort of inhuman acts that occurred in the instant case.

It is a tribute to our system of justice and to our patience that this defendant, already once convicted of participating in these acts, is to be accorded a new trial in the quest for a fair determination of his guilt. And if that guilt is established in a trial free of reversible error, then our system must also insure his punishment.