It's hard to NOT be aware of the story out of Shiner, Texas, however. A farmer supposedly caught a man molesting his 4-year-old daughter. In his apparent rage/attempt to stop the alleged molestation, he beat the man to death.
Without question, this story has received far more coverage than the murders of Gary Blanton and Jerry Ray, even though there were five children in total who lost their fathers in a particularly cold-blooded manner. And most of the stories discussing Gary and Jerry seemed to almost condone the killings, in the information that was released and what was not. Very little press coverage was devoted to the families of the victims. The local news station declined to air a brief piece on where people could send donations to the Blanton family for funeral and burial costs.
The rancher from Texas, however, has become a country-wide hero in a matter of days. Even so-called "Christian" blogs and forums have heralded the murder and declared it some sort of "victory for children." The murdered man is being referred to as a pedophile, a child molester, and even a child rapist - not just by the public, but in articles across the country. No one seems to care that a medical evaluation of the 4-year-old alleged victim revealed no sign whatsoever of a sexual or physical assault. It was noted that she was distraught emotionally - which likely was at least partly due to her witnessing a brutal murder at the hand of her father.
I will be the first to admit that if I saw someone harming a person I love, I would seek to put a stop to it immediately and effectively. I would be an emotionally-charged, adrenaline-fueled superhuman and I am sure my capacity for logic would be compromised at least initially. If this story is true, I certainly don't blame the farmer for his reaction. I don't condone murder, but I overwhelmingly support and understand the desire and need to protect a loved one.
"If this story is true" seems to be of little interest to virtually anyone, and that is what I find disturbing on so many levels. There is no evidence that any molestation or attempted molestation actually took place, but the murdered man - who obviously cannot defend himself - has already been found guilty. The farmer is already a hero. Not one of the people loudly protesting their support seems to realize that their blind acceptance of the farmer's story makes them fair game. Oh, sorry officer, I didn't mean to kill my neighbor/mailman/pastor/brother-in-law/son/father but they were molesting this child over here. I promise it won't happen again.
If a nondescript ranch hand from a small town in Texas with no criminal history can launch from unknown to evil villain overnight, who of us is safe? If we do not DEMAND that the justice system prove the murdered man's guilt, who will demand that for us or our families?
If this is the wave of the future I suggest we label EVERY ignorant political bigot as a child molester and let the vigilantes show them how the real world works because they obviously are clueless!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it would appear that the future is NOW.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your article Shana, and I agree, there's something seriously wrong and turning thermal runaway.
ReplyDeleteYou are missing a major point. The Sheriff's department discovered the dead man with his pants around his ankles.
ReplyDeleteIf the little girl was not penetrated all the better for her but the intent of the pervert was clear.
The rancher was just in his actions. The pervert was not murdered... he was killed. Big difference.
No amount of prevention can prevent someone bent on doing violence on society. We need to stop making excuses for their behavior.
You really fail to see the precedent this sets?
DeleteI don't think you read any of this actual entry, just the title. I don't disagree with the rancher's actions IF his story is true. I would be the same way if I saw a loved one being harmed or violated.
My problem is that the alleged "pervert" is dead, and cannot tell his side of the story. And the general public was heralding the act long before any of the additional details came out.
I read your whole piece carefully and attempted to understand your point of view.
DeleteThat said, the Sheriff found the pervert with his pants around his ankles and the girls underpants were torn off. Nuf said. The pervs intent was clear.. dead or alive.
Why do you feel that you need to hear the perv's side of the story? He already told it loud and clear.
Well, in America there's supposed to be this thing called a fair trial. The murder victim never got that chance.
DeleteAs I said, if the story is true, I won't argue. But we'll never know because he's dead - and using an unprovable child rape claim as a murder defense creates a disturbing precedent.
Let's say this was your father, brother, husband(I don't know your gender) or friend. Let's say he was brutally murdered and the murderer claimed he did it because he was supposedly molesting a child. You would really accept that as an excuse based on only a witness' testimony? What if it were YOU? Wouldn't you want you or a loved one get at least the opportunity to clear their name?
You are attempting to argue a hypothetical... which is impossible.
Deletelet's review a few facts that have been reported:
1) Dad catches perv with pants around ankles and daughter's panties on the ground.
2) Perv is on top of little daughter attempting to penetrate little girl while she screams.
3) Dad pulls the perv off the little girl and punches perv's lights out.
4) Dad calls 911 for medical assistance for perv.
5) Perv dies of blunt force trauma to the brain before EMTs could get there.
- case closed -
No evidence of malice by the dad towards the perv existed. The perv was a horse groomer hired by the dad.
Ignorance of the due process of law is not acceptable as a means to rallying around a crazy hell bent fool. of course this isn't the way of the christian. jesus embraced sinners and all people,oh,well sunday christians struck again. judge not that ye be judged. some laws are designed to hurt not help and this is one created by satan himself. the antichrist is here!! Who are we to persecute and label people. only a devil would kill in a situation like this. Pray for forgiveness for murder. King David was a man after God's own heart.Stop being superficial christians and vigilantes. The father might be a sex offender himself. who knows about him. Look at Sandosky.
DeleteThis is a disturbing case any way its approached. I believe Shana's point is that before the details of the case were even put out to the public revealing that the death was not the intention of the father; http://on-murders.blogspot.com/2012/06/grandfather-says-death-accident.html nary a few in our society stopped to think about the fact that here in America you can not take a LIFE unless a LIFE is threatened. At least that's how I thought we do things here. ...And for a good reason, if we justified taking life because people disgust us and don't deserve (in our opinion, no matter how many are in agreement) to be treated as human beings since they don't act like one, then....what?
ReplyDeleteI too can imagine doing something similar put in the father's shoes....I tend to be a 'helicopter mom' as it is...dear God who wouldn't be crazed to find their child in that situation with an assailant. None the less, I would expect to have to be held accountable for taking a life if the revolting, demented act did not include some form of intent to murder the victim. Again, in America we are not permitted to be judge and jury, we have Courts of law. We are expected to be civilized, not monsters met with monsters. Not an eye for an eye...it may feel good, but there's reasons why do not operate as such. ....Too many people were/are in that mind set. And that fact is as disturbing as the heinous act the man was caught committing.
Thank you, you said exactly what I was trying to convey. Fighting for a loved one's life is an honorable and just thing, something I'd do in a heartbeat.
DeleteMy problem was that initially, there was virtually no evidence to corroborate the farmer's story. Yes, I understand that at this point there's been additional information presented that makes it sound as though the story is true. However, long before that, the dead man was being called all kinds of awful things, and people were lauding the murder. They didn't seem to need any actual proof. That kind of mentality paves the way to a day when none of us have any rights or protection - INCLUDING our children.
Hi Shana - James from HS here - Let me first say that while I disagree with many of the policy changes you advocate, I admire the way you've taken ownership of a difficult cause. That said, some clarification on the legal issues here: In most states (Texas actually has a more relaxed standard, but that's not relevant here), the standard for justifiably using deadly force in defense of self or others is "imminent risk of death OR serious bodily harm" with no reasonable opportunity to retreat. This is the strictest self-defense standard which would be applied in this case (other factors, such as whether the girl was legally considered to be in her home at the time, would relax the standard, but again, not relevant here). In this case, as I understand it, the girl was trapped against a wall with the dead man between her and the door, and directly between herself and her father. She was apparently in distress in a manner which led the father to reasonably believe that an assault was occurring (child molestation has long been considered to be "serious bodily harm"). Whether the pants around the ankle thing is true or not, it's a slam dunk defense of others claim. Moreover, physical evidence at the scene confirmed that the father ceased his assault when the attacker became incapacitated, as required by law. The decision of whether or not to arrest or charge is always a discretionary one, and officers frequently make bad decisions on the scene in these sorts of situations (see: Trayvon Martin). But here, the situation seems pretty cut-and-dry from a legal standpoint. Another note: this was not, never was, and likely never will be a murder. "Murder" refers to the act of fatally injuring someone with the intent (or reckless disregard) that the person die. At worst, this would be considered manslaughter. However, given the facts as they have come out, it's pretty clear this wasn't a crime at all - this is the reason the father wasn't charged, there's no witch hunt or blaming-the-victim happening in this particular case.
DeleteOK first things first... are you James from "JJHS" or a different "HS"?
DeleteRegardless, thank you for clarifying murder vs. manslaughter. As I explained above this post was written before the more damning details came out - initially, no witness corroboration or physical evidence indicating an assault had occurred were mentioned. Even so people around the country were automatically assuming guilt. That was the point I was trying to make, not that the father was wrong for intervening.
The Jessica Lungsford case is an example of the chicken hawk watching the chicken, meaning that this girls brother committed a sex offense and nothing else has been heard of it.Hush !Hush once again. It is according to who you are whether punishment is persued. I have no faith in the judicial system because persecution is the game played on the poor and unsuspecting souls who try to be honest. Keep up the good work.In this day and age most people are so violent and anxious to retaliate even against the innocent that living in the united states is living in hell. The democracy is for certain people certainly no the poor , minorities or christians.
ReplyDelete