A Time to Kill - A Real Life Scenario

The best selling book, A Time to Kill, by John Grisham, which was later adapted as a movie, is the story about a father’s trial for the premeditated murder of the two men who violently raped his 10 year old daughter and dumped her in a nearby river. If I stopped here, many of you would probably agree that the rapists earned that unauthorized death sentence from Carl Lee Haily, the father character in the book. However, in Grisham’s masterful way of storytelling, this is not an open-shut case: the rapists were white supremacists, the little girl and her father were black and the crime took place in Canton, Mississippi, one of the most racist cities in America. I won’t spoil it for those who have not read the book or seen the movie, but of all the book titles that I have seen, this may be the most perfect – A Time to Kill.

Most civilized people will agree that there are certain crimes that defy justification. In other words, society will sympathize with a man who steals a sandwich because he is hungry, but will have no sympathy for a child molester, a murderer or someone who brutally assaults a senior citizen. I remember abruptly turning off an Oprah program during a show about a man who raped a beautiful 10 year old girl and then poured acid on her face. Although she survived, the acid tore the flesh from her face and not only left the little girl emotionally impaired but physically scarred as well. After the numerous plastic surgeries to repair the damage, the best description that I can give is that her face looked like that of a cabbage patch doll.

For the first time in my life, I felt the urge to murder.

There is no crime that is more vile than sexually molesting a little child, except for the possible exception of genocide, and if genocide is worse, it is only worse by an ounce or two. Sexually molesting a young child has got to be close to what the Catholics call a mortal sin. In fact, it may be closer to an unforgivable sin: Jesus remarked once when referring to offending little children - But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6). This is a heavy judgement coming from the man whose mercy endures to all generations.

My motivation for this article stems from a conversation with a good friend last week who told me that he was horrified to discover that the live-in boyfriend of a friend of his and his wife was arrested on charges of aggravate indecent assault, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of corruption of minors in connection with the assault of two young girls in his home. I understand that this alleged pedophile has two children by his girlfriend, but it is unclear if the girls that were molested are his. However, it does not matter if the children are his or not, whether a man molests his own daughters or a neighbor’s, it is still a despicable crime that warrants a severe penalty.

There are certain human activities that I cannot fathom; and if this suggests a self righteous attitude, then I do not apologize. But I cannot imagine a grown man lying with a little girl as he would a grown woman. The only thing I can consider is that he struggles with his own sense of manhood and never allowed himself to grow-up. And I’ve often wondered if such men suffer from an infantile sex organ. However, even if there is some Freudian explanation for a pedophile, it is still beyond my comprehension and does not minimize society's disdain for such activity.

These cases confirm the need to talk with one’s children about child molesters. However, I believe that we live in a sick world anytime you have to introduce such mature subjects to children. As the father of a 12 year old boy, I go to the Family Watchdog website every so often to make sure I am aware of any pedophiles that may be near my home and my son's school. And I urge all families to visit this site at least once per month. A friend of mine had a pedophile move in right next to him years ago, and he put his house up for sale a few days after he discovered it. That was an extreme decision, but how comfortable would you be knowing that a convicted child rapist lived next door?

It is the world that we live in, and the only thing that will make it better, is prayer. I solicit your prayers for the young lady and her children who I spoke of earlier.