The Seattle Times has posted a question on its Facebook account asking the judicious masses if Christopher Monfort, who police suspect murdered Officer Timothy Brenton, should face the death penalty:

Um, not to seem soft on crime, but the "suspect" hasn't even been to an arraignment hearing—let alone begun a trial or, you know, been convicted guilty—and the Seattle Times is running a poll on sentencing him to death? Jeez, you guys. Get a grip. Now, for the record, I've been rabid about this case from the beginning. Whoever killed officer Brenton and shot at officer Britt Sweeney is human scum who deserves to be punished severely. And I'm not a fan of the death penalty—it's expensive, it's state-sanctioned murder, there are mistakes—but it's the law on the books and maybe it's what will happen in this case. However, we have a practice in the United States where we find that someone is innocent until proven guilty—because witch hunts are considered gauche. And because sometimes people are found not-guilty (granted, this guy appears guilty based on what we've heard from the police). But we don't sentence them to death before the trial begins. And we most certainly don't let the court of public opinion—the juvenile, petty court of Facebook, no less—send someone to the gallows. Even King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, who called this crime "the worst of the worst," says there could be mitigating factors to consider before considering the death penalty.

UPDATE: The Seattle Times has removed the post from its Facebook page. I wonder why.