Letter: Lucero killing remains painful

I found myself in agreement with much of what was said in "More healing yet to do in Patchogue" [Opinion, Aug. 30] by Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter. The article addressed lingering issues related to the killing of Marcelo Lucero in 2008. But I sharply disagree with the reverend's implied disapproval of a lawsuit by Lucero's estate against the parents of the seven convicted criminals involved in his death.

The village does need healing. But more accountability needs to occur, too, and this lawsuit will help. One of the great unanswered questions is the role of the parents of the seven teenagers.

Not long before Lucero's death, one of those teens was involved in a home invasion that ended with the death of another person. Yet all of these teens were on the loose late at night creating terror in the streets. What steps their parents had taken to know what their children were doing and where they where the night of the Lucero killing is a valid course of inquiry, which only a legal proceeding at this point has a chance to answer.

Perhaps all of the parents involved took every step they could to supervise their children, maybe they did not. If they didn't, they too should be held accountable for their failures. That message may cause some other parents in the future to make sure they do know what their son or daughter is really up to when not at home.

John Bogack, Patchogue