I watched the verdict with mixed emotions. I was disgusted by the allegations that a mom
could actually kill her own child. But, I
was more disgusted with the circus atmosphere that took over cable news as
various “talking head” lawyers belittled the process and told us what the
evidence meant. This created a feeding
frenzy in the public. Obviously, the
girl was a slut who killed her daughter in cold blood. Or so, the public was led to believe as more
and more “details” emerged about her behavior and her family dynamics. And charlatans like Nancy Grace drew paychecks
from CNN by calling the accused “Top Mom”. Where, I wondered, was the rush to
remind people in America you are “innocent until proven guilty”? Yeah, we say that and a whole lot of other
cute clichés like “justice for all” and “one nation, under God”, then we go out
and ignore the very definition of those terms.
As the verdict was preparing to be read here’s what I saw: a scared young woman who was totally and
completely alone, who had absolutely no control over her life. I know that feeling; I’ve been there; and, I don’t
wish that on anyone. Ironically, the
morning the verdict was to be rendered I read a portion of Chapter 23 in the
Gospel of Matthew. In the passage, Jesus
is skewering the hypocrisy of the “law abiding” citizens of the day (the
Pharisees and Sadducees) for being frauds.
In the Modern Language Bible it says:
“You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel
and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s law, things like fairness and
compassion and commitment – the absolute basics! – you carelessly take it or
leave it…the basics are required.”
We have so distorted the meaning of justice in this country
that we somehow feel justified protesting in front of a courthouse because a
jury decided to find a young mother not guilty of capital murder rather than
executing her. And the people who are
protesting don’t know unequivocally that she did it. None of us do. Ultimately, only the perpetrator and God
know.
How, I ask, is “justice served” by killing this woman? Perhaps the most profound thing I heard
throughout this entire sordid episode was when her attorney, after the verdict
said:
“We have to stop thinking killing is a legitimate punishment for
killing.”Justice, dear readers, requires wholeness and restoration and forgiveness. Our prisons are full, our court dockets clogged with millions of people who are being subjected to a justice system that is quick to emphasize guilt and punishment and dismally poor when it comes to dispensing Godly justice.
The sad fact is, as much as we hate to admit it; we are all
similar to Casey Anthony. I don’t mean
we all ignore a missing child for 31 days or we become pathologic with our
lies. But all of us do wrong things from
time to time. Even Mother Teresa took
contributions from notorious drug lords rationalizing that while the money may
be dirty; God’s use for it was clean.
Here’s my hope. That we
lose interest in other people’s misfortunes.
We allow the judicial system to work the way it’s supposed to work. And, we demand the police and prosecutors act
within the law and ethically. We ignore
these loudmouths on the tube who profess to know so much. Finally, we remember God has the final
say. And how we judge others is how we
will be judged.
I stood in a courtroom two and a half years ago and heard a
Commonwealth Attorney make false statements about me and a judge ignore my remorse. I take no joy in anyone’s misfortune. I learned that day that all of us could find
ourselves in a situation that goes horribly awry. And the last thing we want - or need - are
people passing judgment on our behavior when they haven’t walked a day in our
shoes.
It’s time, Jesus said, to get back to the basics. That’s true justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment