But I'm a Changed Person!: Lawlessness pt. 2

Another phenomenon that I notice every now and again is the notion that someone that has committed a crime feels that they are entitled to some leniency, or even a free pass on their offense, because since the time that they have committed their felony, they've "changed." Now, what I mean by this is that they've "turned their life around" as they say. Perhaps they've sobered up from whatever mind-altering substance that they were imbibing in at the time, or started doing charity work, or some other self-imposed penance for their sins against society. Somehow, they feel that these acts of righteous self-indulgence somehow absolves them from the wrongdoings of their past.

We've seen several of these types hit the news in recent years. Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who was executed in 2005 for the 1979 murders of Albert Owens, Yen-Yi Yang, Tsai-Shai Lin, and Yee-Chen Lin immediately comes to mind. Celebrities, politicians, and the ever-present NAACP lobbied hard for Governor Schwarzenegger to either stay the execution, or commute Williams' sentence to life without parole. The basis of this was not new evidence of Williams' innocence, but rather his efforts to end gang violence while on death row. Now, I will say this about Williams... his work to end gang violence was noble, and in my opinion, certainly laced with the best of intentions (Williams was in fact nominated for a Nobel Prize for his violence fighting crusade.) I'll also say this about Tookie's post-incarceration efforts: so fucking what??? His work does not change the fact that four innocent lives were prematurely ended because of ol' Tookie. He was given a fair trial, convicted of his crimes, and sentenced in accordance with California state law.

Now, the inspiration behind this rant came from, of all places, a bulletin that caught my eye on Myspace. It seems that someone that was on my list (http://www.myspace.com/dialias) was recently apprehended by the authorities. The exact bulletin is recreated below:

" I AM STILL INCARCERATED ON SOME BOGUS CHARGES AND NEED YOUR HELP. I CURRENTLY HAVE NO COURT DATE AND HERE IS SOMETHINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP. WRITE ME AT; (munging the private information) PLEASE PUT YOUR RETURN ADDRESS ON ENVELOPE OR I WILL NOT GET MY MAIL. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKE A COPY OF A LETTER EXPLAINING THAT I HELP TAKE CARE OF MY MOM WHO IS IN A WHEEL CHAIR AND HOME BOUND, ALSO MENTION MY WIFE IS GOING THROUGH TESTS TO GIVE HER KIDNEY TO HER DYING BROTHER. **** IF I HAVE MADE ANY IN PACT ON YOU IN ANYWAY PLEASE METION IT.*** YOU CAN MENTION THAT I RAISE MONEY FOR CANCER BENEFITS. CANCER RESEARCH, AND AM A ACTIVIST IN ENVIRONMENTAL, ANIMAL RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS,HOMELESS AWARNESS, PRISON AND DRUG REFORM.(GREENPEACE, ST.JUDE,PETA,AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL) SEND A COPY TO EACH PLACE BELOW...... ----------------------------------------------------------- (munging the private information) ------------------------------------- REPOST THIS MESSAGE AND YOUR LETTER TO FRIENDS ON MYSPACE. ASK THEM TO ADD THEIR NAME TO IT. I NEED SOMEBODY TO START A PETITION AT; PETITIONS.COM FOR MY RELEASE. I NEED SOMEBODY TO WRITE IN MYSPACE SECTION ABOUT ME WHO I AM AND WHY I SHOULD BE RELEASED. THE COUNTY SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH HARESSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION. WRITE ME AND I WILL TELL YOU THE FULL STORY. LIGHT A CANDLE FOR ME , BECAUSE I AM NOT ONLINE IT IS MY MOM WRITING THIS FOR ME. SEND MY WIFE RABBIT_BRE AND MOM (MY TOP FRIENDS) POSITIVE MESSAGES AND COMMENTS. ALSO THANK MY MOM FOR TYPING ALL OF THIS FOR ME. THANK YOU AND NOT SURE WHEN I CAN WRITE YOU BACK CAUSE RIGHT NOW I AM TRADING MY FOOD FOR PEN AND PAPER TO WRITE MY WIFE AND MOM.(SEEING I HAD NO MONEY ON ME WHEN I WAS ARRESTED) I HAVE NOT TALKED TO MY WIFE IN THE PAST WEEK 1/2. SEND THIS MESSAGE AS A BULLENTIN DAILY AND SEND TO RANDOM PERSON ON MY FRIENDS LIST UNTIL I AM RELEASED. THANK YOU AGAIN"

Wow... sounds tragic, doesn't it. But upon reading this, it occurred to me that something was missing. At no point during his inane plea for freedom did he say anything to the effect of "I'm innocent," or "I didn't do it."

Well... the story gets better. Further investigation into the issue shows that this person was picked up on some sort of property destruction charge. Here's another excerpt from a blog written by the defendant, which was posted to his mother's blog (www.myspace.com/aries230:)

" I HAVE NOT BEEN ONLINE FOR DAYS BECAUSE I WAS ARRESTED ON A B.S WARRANT OUT OF RENSSELAER COUNTY.I HAVE NOT TALKED TO MY MOM OR MY WIFE OR EVEN A LAWYER, MY WIFE AND I WERE STOPPED LAST FRIDAY MORNING AND HOPEFULLY SHE IS OK. SHE IS THE TOP FRIEND ON MY LIST AND PLEASE SEND HER COMMENTS I ALSO HOPE MY MOM (ARIES230) IS OK MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY SINCE I HAVE NOT BEEN AROUND TO CHECK UP ON HER...


LET THEM KNOW I AM NOT THE SAME CRAZY FOOL /PUNKROCKER THAT ACCIDENTLY BROKE A WINDOW WHEN I WAS DRUNK AND SHOULD NOT BE PAYING FOR OLD MISTAKES. I DID MY REHAB AND I STAYED OUT OF TROUBLE SO ALL CHARGES SHOULD BE DISMISSED.YOU CAN GIVE THEM ANY OF THE FOLLOWING INFO.

I USE MYSPACE TO FIND,
MISSING CHILDREN,
CRIMINALS,
TO GET TOUGHER LAWS FOR PEDOPHILES,
PASS ON ENVIRONMENTAL PETITIONS,
ANIMAL RIGHTS,
TO SAVE HISTORIAL LANDMARKS
, HELP PEOPLE FIND NATURAL REMEDIES
, RAISE MONEY FOR NON- PROFIT GROUPS..."


... and blah blah blah.


So, if I'm understanding correctly, this person gets drunk, trashes some property, and thinks he should skate because he helps to find missing kids and raises money for cancer research? Sorry bud, I don't think so.

You see, you don't get to set your own punishment as you see fit. This is why we have laws, as well as police to enforce them, and a judiciary to interpret them and pass proper sentence. Whether you think so or not, you've never paid for your crime... until now.

Incidentally, all of my feelings on this subject were confirmed when a very polite email to this gentleman's mother, kindly asking for clarification on how these charges were, in her son's words, "bogus," went unanswered. I guess she couldn't state in a way that would actually make sense.

So, all you lawless degenerates out there should take heed. Just because you give up your deviant and illegal ways, and exchange them for a life of trying to make up for it, it doesn't mean that you are absolved of all of your sins. The government, unlike the flaccid christian god, is callous and unforgiving... and it wants its rightly deserved pound of flesh.