Another chance for LaSane

Justice may finally be served in Michael LaSane's long-running attempt to avoid the long prison stay he deserves for the strangulation of a Middletown teacher after a carjacking in 1996. Superior Court Judge James N. Citta tossed out defense motions for LaSane to be tried as a juvenile (he was 17 at the time of his fatal encounter with Kathleen Stanfield Weinstein), to dismiss kidnapping, carjacking and robbery charges because too much time has elapsed to bring them and to move the trial from Ocean County.

Citta indicated he has little patience for the LaSane motions, which is little wonder. LaSane is milking the system in hopes of a shorter term - a maximum 20 years in a reformatory, if convicted - that would see him out on the streets in less than 10 years after being credited for time already served. By being tried as an adult and convicted of all charges, he faces a life sentence plus 60 years, with no chance for parole before serving 60 years. That's more appropriate for this heinous crime, which gained national attention because of the 46-minute tape recording Weinstein secretly made of the pleas to her abductor to spare her life.

But before justice is finally served, LaSane must stand trial, which means Weinstein's family and friends must relive their loved one's agony again. As we've said numerous times in Press editorials, if LaSane had a shred of decency, he would avoid the trial by pleading guilty, spare this family further heartache and bring closure to this awful episode.