Letter to the editor

I sat in court Friday and listened with a heavy heart and immense

sympathy to Pam Wiener’s anguished words of loss (“Abrams goes to

prison,” Saturday).

I do not pretend to know the depth of the hurt the Wieners and Sotos

must feel, for they have lost the most precious of all God’s gifts.

Pam Wiener’s anger and frustration over my brother not publicly

expressing remorse were also entirely appropriate and understandable.

However, I was deeply saddened by some of her remarks.

She essentially wants to hear rational words from a severely mentally

ill person. And when those words weren’t forthcoming, she chose to

condemn innocent people in our family who also have been hurt and have

suffered as a result of this tragedy.

Pam Wiener could not be more wrong about how our family feels. Our

public silence is not a sign of indifference but the result of prolonged

shock and a debilitating sense of helplessness.

Over the last 19 months, our family has prayed and offered countless

communions in memory of Brandon and Sierra, and for the hope that God

will comfort their families.

Now, at this critical juncture, may God help all of us who have been

left behind to deal courageously with what lies ahead.

JOSEPH ABRAMS

Costa Mesa

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Steven Allen Abrams, 39, was sentenced Friday to life

in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering Brandon Wiener,

3, and Sierra Soto, 4, by deliberately driving his 1967 Cadillac onto the

crowded playground at Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center in Costa

Mesa on May 3, 1999.