That is one of the things that makes our country great. I'm sure our forefathers meant it to protect people from being unjustly convicted before their time. Maybe I should say I agree to a point. A couple of lawyers were discussing John Evander Couey the other day. He is the man who confessed to burying 9 year old Jessica Lundsford alive, after kidnapping her from her home and repeatingly raping her. One lawyer said a person is innocent until proven guilty which only happens AFTER a jury foreman pronounces him guilty. In my opinion, that is wrong. One is guilty when one chooses to confess and give up the right to remain silent.
Couey was found guilty by a jury of his peers very quickly. They looked at the DNA evidence, didn't buy the defense's theory that he was retarded, despite the fact that he spent a great deal of time coloring on paper throught his trial. The penalty phase of his trial started today - and the death penalty is on the table. For many reasons, I no longer believe in the death penalty. I wish I did.
As long as one is alive, all you have to do is ask God for His forgiveness and you are saved. That is what we believe. That doesn't sit very well with me about Couey. I don't want him to get off that easy. He is the the worst of the worst. He confessed, detailed everything horrible thing he had did to her. He laid it all out - then he pleads not guilty. He didn't give Jess a chance and I don't want him to have a chance.That is what the human part of me says but the other part of me knows better.
All of this is so hard to comprehend. So difficult to understand and tough to live. This isn't about Couey or the next Couey. It is about God's Grace and our acceptance of that grace for each one of us. She who has her faith, has everything. Amen...
