Killer apologizes before he is sentenced to death

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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-family-linda-2125808-tran-plata



Friday, August 15, 2008



Killer apologizes before he is sentenced to death

2 gang members get maximum penalty for Irvine teen's torture murder.



By LARRY WELBORN

The Orange County Register



SANTA ANA ? A killer who tortured and strangled an Irvine teenager to force her to reveal where her family kept hidden valuables apologized to her family this morning moments before he was sentenced to death.



"I pray to Linda. I pray for her soul every day," said Ronald Tri Tran as he sat in handcuffs and shackles in a 10th floor courtroom. "I also pray that one day you and your family will be forgiving also. I'm so sorry."



Tran also apologized to his own relatives for "bringing shame to my family. I'm sorry to everyone involved. I was just so stupid."



Sunny Park and Janie Park, the father and sister of murder victim Linda Park, wept in the courtroom gallery as Tran spoke.



Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg then told Tran, 33, and co-defendant Noel Jesse Plata, also 33, that they should suffer the death penalty for the Nov. 9, 1995 torture slaying. Plata kept his eyes cast down during the 30-minute sentencing hearing and did not comment.



Froeberg handed down those maximum sentences after he listened to prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh read a poignant three-page letter from Dongsil Park, Linda's mother, who wrote that the emotional toll of losing her daughter in such a heinous fashion made it unbearable for her to be present.



In her letter, Dongsil Park wrote that the family sill lives in the Irvine home where her daughter was killed.



"I felt like Linda would run through the front door any day, and if we moved, she would not be able to find us," the letter reads. "We are still in a sense, although it is not possible, waiting for Linda to come back to us."



Linda Park was 18 when the two gang members found her alone inside her family's Irvine home. They hogtied her with twine, slashed her throat, and struck her in the face to coerce her into revealing where her family kept cash and jewelry.



After she led them to about $800 in cash and some family jewelry, the pair strangled her with the electrical cord from a heating pad, and left her in a pool of blood in the entertainment room.



Sunny Park testified during the penalty phase of the trial last year that he found his daughter's hogtied and battered body when he returned from work on Nov. 9, 1995. Through tear-streaked eyes, Sunny Park's told of an all-consuming grief that caused him to consider killing himself and his family to end their pain.



Plata and Tran were convicted in October 2007 of first-degree murder plus the special circumstances of murder during the commission of a robbery, a burglary and through torture. Plata had a prior conviction of murder, which also qualified him for the death penalty. The sentencing hearing was delayed several times.



Baytieh argued evidence that showed Tran and Plata tortured and killed Park, an Irvine Valley College student, to prevent her from identifying them.



There was little progress in the investigation of Linda Park's murder until 1999, when an informant told police he knew who the killers were. Later, forensic scientists found DNA evidence on the twine that was used to hogtie Linda Park that linked the defendants to the crime scene.



In affirming the jury's recommendation that Tran and Plata should get the death penalty, Froeberg asked "what manner of person, for the sum of $800" would torture and kill "a beautiful, innocent 18-year-old woman" and leave her body for her father to discover.



"No jailhouse religious conversion can sufficiently alter the character of such an evil, callous, wanton and malignant individual," Froeberg said, "There is no excuse, justification, nor mitigation for the devastation that the defendants have inflicted on the Park family."



<img src="http://images.ocregister.com/newsimages/2008/08/15/plataandtran.p0816.per8_.jpg" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.ocregister.com/newsimages/community/crime/2008/08/15_plataandtran3_large.jpg" alt="" />
 
The murderer gets to gently fall asleep with the injection.



Linda Park certainly didn't have a peaceful death.



I can't even imagine the family's pain. How tragic.
 
[quote author="Trooper" date=1218863517]It's not that peaceful, trust me on that one......</blockquote>


I find it funny we produce (in VERY large quantities) some of the most potent, evil, horrendous and deadily toxins for the battlefield. Yet somehow the lethal injection is relatively mild.





On a different note

I am saddened that such a vicious thing happened in Irvine. My only hope is that California carries out the sentence in a timely manner.

-bix
 
[quote author="Trooper" date=1218863517]It's not that peaceful, trust me on that one......</blockquote>
Really? I assumed it was like getting anesthesia.
 
Here's a link to <a href="http://people.howstuffworks.com/lethal-injection4.htm">How Lethal Injections Work.</a>



The drugs are administered, in this order:



Anesthetic - Sodium thiopental, which has the trademark name Pentothal, puts the inmate into a deep sleep. This drug is a barbiturate that induces general anesthesia when administered intravenously. It can reach effective clinical concentrations in the brain within 30 seconds, according to an Amnesty International report. For surgical operations, patients are given a dose of 100 to 150 milligrams over a period of 10 to 15 seconds. For executions, as many as 5 grams (5,000 mg) of Pentothal may be administered. This in itself is a lethal dose. It's believed by some that after this anesthetic is delivered, the inmate doesn't feel anything.



Saline solution flushes the intravenous line.



Paralyzing agent - Pancuronium bromide, also known as Pavulon, is a muscle relaxant that is given in a dose that stops breathing by paralyzing the diaphragm and lungs. Conventionally, this drug takes effect in one to three minutes after being injected. In many states, this drug is given in doses of up to 100 milligrams, a much higher dose than is used in surgical operations -- usually 40 to 100 micrograms per one kilogram of body weight. Other chemicals that can be used as a paralyzing agent include tubocurarine chloride and succinylcholine chloride.



Saline solution flushes the intravenous line.



Toxic agent (not used by all states) - Potassium chloride is given at a lethal dose in order to interrupt the electrical signaling essential to heart functions. This induces cardiac arrest.



Within a minute or two after the last drug is administered, a physician or medical technician declares the inmate dead. The amount of time between when the prisoner leaves the holding cell and when he or she is declared dead may be just 30 minutes. Death usually occurs anywhere from five to 18 minutes after the execution order is given.
 
There is no proof, that just because an inmate is paralyzed, he doesn't feel pain from the chemical/poison. It only means he can't do anything about it.



Google "Angel Diaz" lethal injection Florida.
 
While I am theoretically ambivalent about the death penalty and leaning more towards the pro-death penalty side, I am against it from a practical aspect. I once read it costs about $20mil in appeals before a death row inmate is executed. At $50,000 per year, it is much less expensive to house them. I would just as soon change all their sentences to life imprisonment without possibility of parole until such time the price of execution is the same as the price of a bullet.
 
<em>Am I misreading your opinion? </em>



Skekker, you most definitely are ! I am pro-death penalty and <em>I want it to hurt.</em>



The guy in Florida that I mentioned lived an agonizing 30 mins after chemical injection. Oh well.
 
[quote author="Trooper" date=1218887617]<em>Am I misreading your opinion? </em>



Skekker, you most definitely are ! I am pro-death penalty and <em>I want it to hurt.</em>



The guy in Florida that I mentioned lived an agonizing 30 mins after chemical injection. Oh well.</blockquote>


You will have to forgive the Skekster, while he is a sharp guy, he has been known to be a bit slow to catch on to some things. It took him an hour and a half to post T.M.I. while two other much longer posts were posted. He is probably building that shoe cabinet right now, and cursing me in vain as I type this. I got your point with the first .jpg you posted, and I am on the same team as you guys.



I have friends that know this family, and they even attended her funeral. The Korean community was really shocked by this, almost as much, if not more, than the Scummy Hills murder. I am appalled that the time between when this happened and now, that this girl could have attended college, got her masters, a law degree, flipped a few houses, and be sitting on huge pile of cash as she rented had she had the opportunity to become an IHB reader. This murder was coldblooded, ruthless, and totally and completely unnecessary. Now, they get to sit on death row exhausting the system will their countless appeals. I don't agree with this, and I in no way encourage it, but if the revenge tactics that I had heard about actually happened, then the trial never would have happened and it would have been anything but painless. Maybe it was a good thing, maybe not so much, but things like that happen. Maybe I am just bitter my tax dollars will house and feed these ruthless animals for way too long.
 
The guy doesn't deserve to see sunshine, hear a bird chirping, feel a cool breeze, laugh at a joke, enjoy a good meal, or even breathe. I would rather spend the tax dollars to end his miserable life once and for all.



If there is a God, let him get his judgment day.
 
[quote author="skek" date=1218871812]If you've ever had surgery under deep anesthetic, you know that the recipient is not conscious and feels no pain. I had surgery once and they could have amputated my limbs with a dull butter knife and I wouldn't have felt a thing. I suspect the condemned is fine.



The tragedy of this story is that Linda Park was beaten, tortured and murdered in 1995. Her killers lived in freedom until 1999. They then lived a comfortable taxpayer subsidized existence in jail through the verdict in 2008. Now, they will likely live a comfortable existence on death row for another 10, 15 or 20 years while their appeals are exhausted. Then they get to have an indulgent "last meal" and peacefully go to sleep, never to wake.



If you were Linda or her family, which end would you prefer? The only thing cruel and unusual is how the death row system is rigged to give convicted murderers every opportunity to escape on a technicality or die in a humane manner that was never offered to their victims.



Don't be fooled by advocates who claim specific methods of execution are cruel and unusual, or inhumane. Having lost the debate over the death penalty generally, they are now looking for sympathetic judges and politicians who will outlaw specific procedures one by one until there are none left.



Trooper, I respect your opinions, even when we disagree. Frankly, this one surprises me -- not because it isn't valid. I understand that reasonable minds can disagree on the appropriateness of the death penalty. But, given what you do and what you've seen, I would have guessed you'd have a different view. Am I misreading your opinion?</blockquote>


No offense Skek, but I think you over engaged in hyperbole or are terribly misinformed. As far as I'm concerned, these guys have demonstrated such base behavior to not even qualify as human. If the judge could sentence them to the behavior they inflicted on Linda, I would be ok with that. But to think that the County jail is a "a comfortable taxpayer subsidized existence," tells me that you have not had any contact with the system, <a href="http://www.ocweekly.com/news/news/another-witness-weighs-in-on-the-jailhouse-beating-of-ex-kiss-guitarist-mark-leslie-norton/28993/">or read much</a>. And the state prisons are worse.



Now if you were to say, "and these guys will spend the next 20 years pursuing their appeals while having no privacy (not even to use the restroom), will have every hour of their lives scheduled, mail read, visits restricted, be subject to invasive body searches, and not be able to get medical or dental care when needed, and yet they deserve so much more pain in their miserable lives," then you and I would be on the same page.



I would also suggest that if you think a death sentence can be overturned on mere technicality, <a href="http://www.russellhabeas.com/ca_habeas_foreward.htm">then you haven't been paying much attention since 1996.</a>



But to make jail or prison sound more cushy than it really is, to me, doesn't serve any purpose. I have very mixed feelings on the death penalty, because when you are aware of what prison is like, death strikes me as an easy way out versus rotting in prison.



Oh, and if any of you are curious, California does have its own version of "disciplinary loaf." Go <a href="http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Divisions_Boards/CSA/FSO/Docs/2005_Adult_Title_15_Regulations_FINAL.pdf">here</a>, and either do a search for "loaf" or go to the bottom of page 49. The recipe is at the top of page 50.
 
This murderer should feel what Linda felt that day, and he should feel the pain that her parents, family and friends feel every day of their lives.



They will have this pain forever.



My heart goes out to Linda's family and friends.
 
[quote author="skek" date=1219101941]but I stand by my point that compared to Linda Park, they are living a comfortable taxpayer subsidized existence.</blockquote>


And if that is what you said, you would be absolutely right. But that's not what you said. It may be what you meant to say, but if you re-read your quote, that is not what you said.



[quote author="skek" date=1219101941]And really, citing OC Weekly? I enjoy their concert reviews, but c'mon, like they don't have an agenda.</blockquote>


Ok, fine, <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/columns/article_2016382.php">how about OC's favorite libertarian?</a> And are you really sure you want to come out as saying <a href="http://www.ocweekly.com/news/moxley-confidential/moxley-confidential-senator-dick-ackerman-does-the-right-thing-in-the-case-of-james-ochoa/29106/">Scott Moxley has an "agenda" you find distasteful?</a>



As for "and yes, there are stories about poor medical care here or there," are you not aware that in the State of California "it is an uncontested fact that, on average, an inmate in one of California's prisons needlessly dies every six to seven days due to <em>constitutional</em> deficiencies in the [state prison]'s medical delivery system"? (emphasis added.) Sure, you can say that that was <a href="http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/judges.nsf/33fd9c0607be66f188256d480060b74b/6a40bd3717d75d748825708f006d3561/$FILE/FF&CL;.pdf">crazy liberal Judge Hederson's ruling</a>, but don't forget that the State did not appeal the order appointing a receiver, which it could have done.



If you want to put forth the opinion that whatever happens behind the walls of a prison is fair game for prisoners, that's fine - it's your opinion. But it's a different game entirely when one misstates the facts. You don't really think that the objective facts of prison existence would cause California voters to be more sympathetic to prisoners, do you? I don't, which is why I don't understand the need or desire to misrepresent the facts.
 
Ok, ok... I propose a field trip to a prison with me, skekorama and EvaL. I'm not being snarky, I would actually like to see prison life since I have never seen it, and hopefully never will. I would also like a unbiased tour that I know only you two could provide. As you can tell from my few and far between political posts, I am very open minded, and really think for myself rather than let any party influence my decisions. This way we could all get a idea of what it is like, and I can report a hopefully unbiased report, even though I think the douchebags that killed Linda deserve a very miserable life and equally painful death, I promise to be open minded. Personally, I think we should just make them swim around Lake Elsinore every day until... Anyway, can you, will you, and will we be able to see, ask, and find out what real prison life is like? If not, then we don't need to waste our time, since it could be better spent posting recipes and foreclosures here on IHB.



I will drive Skeksters car, or EvaL's since it saves gas, as I would hate to punish you by my rough riding and somewhat gas guzzling bimmer. :-P BTW, I love how we can disagree, but come together for things like this.
 
I have a family member who was in prison. We used to call it the country club. There were pool tables, ping pong tables, and cable tv. He spent a majority of his time lifting weights, exercising or in a classroom setting.



I used to joke with him that I wanted to switch my day with him. I could have used a day of TV and exercising.
 
My only point was that jail and prison could not accurately be described as "cushy" or "comfortable." If that puts me to the left of Rep. Barbara Lee, so be it.



<a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=prison&x=0&y=0">Here's more info.</a>
 
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