SHOULD THE SHOOTER BE CHARGED WITH MURDER FORTY YEARS LATER?

A rookie Philadelphia policeman was shot while on duty forty years ago. On November 27, 1966, Walter T. Barclay was shot by William J. Barnes, during an attempted burglary. Barclay was left a paraplegic. Barnes was sentenced to a 10 to 20 year term in the shooting. This week Walter T. Barclay died of his injuries. Now the Bucks County Coroner has ruled his death a homicide. The District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case to determine whether murder charges should be filed against Barnes. There is no statute of limitations on murder, and given all the pain and suffering that Officer Barclay went through for forty years, I favor the filing of murder charges. Officer Barclay deserves justice.