Reactions to the verdict

"I do feel it [the sentence] is appropriate, given the circumstances under which the murders took place. Mr. Sampson should pay for those crimes. There's nothing we can do to bring those victims back, but we need to let people know that we're not going to tolerate this behavior.''
James Vallee

state representative and chairman of the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee

"While we recoil at his crimes, we cannot accept the use of the death penalty as a means of punishing those crimes. Execution is about revenge, not justice.''
David M. Ehrmann
chairman and president of the Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty

"We are saddened by the unfortunate decision of the jury in the case of Gary Sampson in favor of the death penalty. The means of death and the surrounding circumstances will differ. Yet, the lethal injection of Gary Sampson in reaction to his murders will continue a cycle of killing that is simply wrong.''
Gerald D. D'Avolio
executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference

"What is particularly troubling is that the decision to bring the death penalty back to Massachusetts was not made by the people of Massachusetts through their elected officials. Rather, it was made by a handful of federal officials who have sought to impose the death penalty in states like Massachusetts that have historically declined to impose this punishment.''
Carol Rose
executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

"[Attorney General John D.] Ashcroft targeted the state because it opposed the death penalty. The only reason the federal government pursued the case was to seek the death penalty. I'm sure Mr. Ashcroft feels vindicated, regrettably.''
Joshua Rubenstein
Northeast regional director of Amnesty International USA

"It's a just punishment that he deserves, and I believe the jury did the right thing. There comes a point in time when the crimes are so vicious and vile that it calls out for justice.''
Kevin Donovan
chairman of the Abington Board of Selectmen, who knew Sampson when he lived there with his family

"I respect the verdict, but I disagree with it. These are terrible crimes; the victims have suffered terribly. Those are very difficult circumstances for any jury to look beyond.''
David Ruhnke
Sampson defense lawyer

Compiled by Jared Stearns, Suzanne Sataline, and the Associated Press.