Gregory Dodd: `I Already Consider (Westley) Dead' -- Killer's Brother Won't Protest -- Execution Sentence To Be Reviewed Today
If and when the state of Washington gets ready to execute child-killer Westley Allan Dodd, it won't get any argument from his family, predicts Dodd's only brother, Gregory.
"I totally believe we could cope with him being executed and gone better than having him as a murderer sitting there in prison," Gregory Dodd, 29, said yesterday. He said his father, mother and sister concur.
"In a sense," he added, "I already consider my brother dead."
Gregory Dodd is a 10-year Navy veteran, husband and father of two little girls.
In appearance, Gregory is strikingly similar to his 30-year-old brother whose case moved into the state Supreme Court today: the same narrow eyes, steady gaze, dark eyebrows, thin face, closely cut mustache - and the same matter-of-fact way of discussing capital punishment.
"I am very much for the death penalty, brother or not," he said. "If someone has committed a crime that heinous, I see no reason to waste taxpayers' money on just having them sit in prison."
When Westley Dodd was arrested for killing three young boys in southwest Washington in 1989, Gregory Dodd, stationed in New Orleans, was shaken but not shocked.
"I had half a feeling something was going to happen where he would kill someone or get killed, or kill himself. He was always depressed."
After Dodd pleaded guilty, a Clark County Superior Court jury sentenced him to die for the murders of 4-year-old Lee Iseli of Portland and 10-year-old William Neer and 11-year-old Cole Neer of Vancouver.
The Supreme Court today heard arguments in its review of Dodd's death sentence. Although Dodd himself has said he should be executed, two of his former attorneys are arguing that he should not be, and have asked the court to conduct a full review of the case.
Gregory Dodd believes his brother has long had self-destructive tendencies, since their boyhood in the Tri-Cities.
What bothers Gregory Dodd most is not that his brother may face the hangman but the suggestion that Westley's upbringing is somehow to blame.
Court papers filed by attorneys trying to prevent the execution say Dodd came from a loveless home wracked by marital discord and marked by "inconsistent and abusive parenting."
Gregory Dodd disagrees. "We were not the Waltons - very few families are. But there was love there. I felt it; my sister felt it."
Although Dodd's parents divorced when Westley was 15, Gregory said the separation, though painful, was amicable.
Gregory Dodd said his mother and sister, who live in South King County and his father, in Southwest Washington, all dread the publicity the case has generated.
But Gregory said he decided to contact The Times this week because he hoped speaking up could "clear the family name."
Gregory said his greatest pain these days comes from seeing the guilt, shame and doubt Westley's actions have caused his mother.
"On Christmas Eve she broke down in tears," he said. "She looked at me and said, `Was I that bad of a mother?' "
Gregory Dodd believes the roots of his brother's violence and perversion may have come from childhood, but not from home.
He describes Westley as awkward and slightly pigeon-toed as a child, the object of teasing by other children and the target of bullies.
"I had to stand up for him in fights; even though I was his `little' brother, I was bigger than he was. I had to defend him and I think he resented that."
Gregory believes that in response to those attacks, Westley became withdrawn and angry. "It's like his mind is saying, `I've got to get back at kids.' "
For his part, Westley has denied being a subject of continual harassment. In a recent court brief, he said he could remember being teased by other children only twice. Westley also said he received little love at home, but does not blame that for the killings.
As has the rest of the family, Gregory Dodd has generally shunned attention since Westley's arrest. Stationed in Louisiana, he found it possible to duck interviews and keep emotional distance from the legal developments.
He seldom discussed his brother with anyone and remembers flaring with anger when a co-worker, after seeing Westley on a television talk show, confronted Gregory and asked, "Is that pervert your brother? You even look like him."
Gregory said he lunged for the man, but his commanding officer held him back.
Last month, Gregory received a transfer for himself and his family to Washington state, one he sought despite knowing it would put him in closer touch with his parents' pain and the publicity surrounding his brother's case.
"I wanted to come back," he said. "We'll have to live with this. I'm not going to hide my kids from their grandparents."