This column has some God in it, be warned. It begins with Mel Gibson, but it won't stay with him for long, because this column is about the two babies in our community who died recently. Kylla Pahl, 13 months old, burned to death two weeks ago in her Coeur d'Alene home after a candle ignited a floral arrangement. She was alone in the home at the time. And Devin Miller, 20 months old, died Sunday in Spokane. His injuries were consistent with shaken-baby syndrome. His foster father has been charged with second-degree murder. Gibson's drunken, anti-Semitic rant was a case of "in vino veritas." This Latin saying means "in wine, truth." I don't have the excuse of too much wine for this harsh opinion that feels like truth to me: Kylla and Devin are better off dead, because after their rocky beginnings, what chances did they have for healthy lives?

For the rest of colleague Rebecca Nappi's column today, "Babies deaths revealed painful lives," click here.

DFO: As much as I admire Becky, I don't agree with her original position: that Kylla and Devin are better off dead. (Becky came around later.) God's grace, I believe, can overcome any horrible beginning or circumstance. As long as there's life, there's a chance.

Question: Do you believe Kylla, Devin are better off dead?

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