Polly Klaas Killer May Face Death

SAN JOSE, California: A jury recommended the death penalty for Richard Allen Davis, who has been described as a monster, in the murder of Polly Klaas. In true form, Davis smirked when the verdict was read. The jury ignored defense pleas that they act mercifully and consider Davis' troubled childhood. Davis, 42, admitted that he abducted Klaas from her bedroom during a slumber party in Petaluma, California, and later strangled her. He claimed he was doped up when he kidnapped her. "I guess I just wasn't meant to be on the streets," Davis said when he confessed to the murder. Marc Klaas, Polly's father, anticipated that Davis would be killed in prison. "This does not bring Polly back into our lives," he said. "It only gets one monster off the streets." Davis has just one chance remaining: the jury's verdict must now be reviewed by the judge, who has the authority to change a sentence of death to life without parole. Scot Woods