Now It's The Jury's Turn To Decide Altersberger's Fate

The next to the last chapter in a tragic story was completed Friday, when Joshua Lee Altersberger pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the death of State Trooper Nicholas Sottile. The story won't be complete, however, until a jury decides if the death penalty awaits Altersberger.

State prosecutors have stood steadfast in their desire to seek the death penalty, and we support their efforts. This is exactly the kind of crime the death penalty was intended for.

Few of us living here in January 2007 will ever forget that tragic afternoon when Sottile was murdered. The well-respected trooper was making what he thought was a routine traffic stop when a punk with a gun and murderous intentions decided it would be fun to gun him down. Although mortally wounded, Sottile was able to radio dispatch to tell of the attack.

A somber memorial sits off U.S. 27 near Lake Place to remind all of us what happened there that day. It's impossible to drive by it without thinking of Sottile and his senseless murder. He was only doing his job and someone got his kicks out of snuffing out his life.

Any murder is tragic and the community mourns such losses. When a law enforcement official is murdered, it shakes us even deeper. That's because we entrust these men and women to protect us, and in turn we want no harm to come to them. Anyone who does harm to them is a threat to everyone.

We hope jurors in the Bartow courtroom carefully listen to the facts and make the right decision. It's time to end this portion of the story, for the sake of the Sottile family and friends, and the rest of the large community who honors the service he provided them.

Altersberger sealed his fate when he decided to end Sottile's life. Now it's the jury's opportunity to do the same to him.