Very few suffer the grief of having a family member murdered. Imagine the pain it must cause. Recently, a celebrity had to re-confront the horror caused by such an act. Here are excerpts from an article at abcnews.go.com, edited by yours truly:
"Actor Kelsey Grammer told a Colorado parole board he has forgiven the man who murdered his sister nearly 40 years ago, but does not want him released from prison. 'I accept that you live with remorse every day of your life, but I live with tragedy every day of my life,' Grammer, 59, told Freddie Glenn, his sister’s convicted murderer, via video conference on Tuesday. The Frasier and Cheers star was 20 when his younger sister, Karen, then 18, was abducted and stabbed to death by Glenn and others in 1975. 'She was a terrific kid,' Grammer said. 'She was a wonderful person and I miss her all the time.' Glenn is currently serving a life sentence. He watched Grammer from a video monitor and apologized to the actor, saying he was young and hung with the wrong crowd. 'I thought I would die. I thought I would be killed,' Glenn said, according to the Denver Post. 'I think I deserve a second chance.'
'I accept your apology. I forgive you,' Grammer told Glenn. 'However, I cannot give your release my endorsement. To give that a blessing would be a betrayal of my sister's life.'" The perpetrator's plea reminds me of that of Morgan Freeman's character in The Shawshank Redemption (1994), a film almost universally revered that I despise. I know time heals all wounds, but I draw the line at premeditated murder. I doubt I'd be able to forgive a crime such as Glenn's. Grammer's response seems contradictory. If he truly forgives, why wouldn't he endorse the murderer's release? Fortunately, I've never been in such a position and can only imagine how I would deal with it. I would not forgive, especially since I doubt God, if He exists, cares about the workings of humanity. The many instances of horror that occur in the world, individual, group and natural, prove, at least to this pedestrian mind, that the Almighty does not intervene, that it is up to mankind to make things right. I have a hard time with the death penalty, despite the monstrous acts of certain criminals, but I firmly believe people like Glenn should spend the rest of their lives behind bars. My sympathy is for the relatives of those killed.
"And now for something completely different," as the Monty Python crew often said: The trading deadline in MLB is at midnight and activity is hot and heavy. I don't recall so many significant names moving in so short a period. The Red Sox have thrown in the flag on the season and unloaded John Lackey and John Lester, who pitched them to the world title last year. And Tampa Bay has let go of former Cy Young Award winner David Price, a preemptive move, knowing the franchise would not be able to compete for his services with the richer clubs once he becomes a free agent. Wow.
My thanks to the kind folks who purchased items today at the floating book shop.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
No comments:
Post a Comment