LETTER- In defense of Sharron Diane Crawford Smith  Since a
commonwealth's attorney and a judge in Staunton are continuing
to investigate a dead case ["Bound by blood: Were cop and killer
father and child?" April 23.], I would like to offer a defense
of Sharron Diane Crawford Smith.  This is also a defense for the
various police officers who investigated the double murder 40
years ago and may have come as close to the truth as anyone who
"investigated" during 2008.  The private investigator hired by
the family of one of the victims again looked at old evidence
and came to a different conclusion.  Sharron Smith continued to
deny she had committed these murders until late in the year.
Without her confession, there is not much real evidence of her
guilt.  In court, I would strenuously object to the admission of
her confession. The family members of one of the victims
continued to pressure a sick and dying woman, confined to a
nursing home, until she confessed. Was she even capable of
making a rational confession