Justice: An Elusive Concept

by Donna Pendergast

The concept of justice is sprinkled throughout the scriptures and is an ideal that is sought in many arenas of daily life. People seek justice to create a proper ordering of random things and persons within a society, in the enforcement of laws, to solve disagreements between persons and in response to criminal behavior.

But what is true justice in the case of an almost unimaginable act of criminal depravity? What is justice for a purposeful act of harm and violence where one persons gratification comes from stealing the life of another human being? In the case of a purposeful serial murderer like Coral Watts, who may have murdered as many as a hundred beautiful and talented women, can there ever really be justice for the family and friends who were the peripheral victims of such a diabolical and depraved predator?

I struggle with these concepts on a daily basis while prosecuting homicide cases and when dealing with the survivors, the family and the friends of a person whose life was callously snuffed out by by an act of senseless violence. In the depths of pain and misery survivors look to the prosecutor to guide them through the nuances of an unfamiliar criminal justice system and to obtain justice for them for an incomprehensible loss. Often the families look to the prosecutor as a sort of lifeboat who will save them from disaster and fix the circumstances that put them in touch with the justice system. Unfortunately, as prosecutors we can't fix anything we can only try to do justice, whatever that is, by seeking a conviction.

In seeking justice for the survivors, there are things that you learn, some of them the hard way. After having prosecuting over 100 murder trials I have learned NOT to say "I understand how you feel." As one survivor pointed out very early on, I don't understand how they feel and never could. Instead I've learned to say "I understand that I can't understand what you are going through but I have dealt with other families in this situation many times before and here is the benefit of my experience.

I have also learned to expect what often happens after a verdict even if it's a favorable verdict. Many survivors describe a hollow feeling after a jury verdict in a homicide trial because even a guilty verdict will never bring back a loved one. Accordingly, I've learned to caution families that there will likely be a letdown after the verdict as they adjust to the new reality that the fight is over but the pain goes on. The mother of a man beat to death by a pack of savage brothers and their friends several levels below "Deliverance" grade caliber once said to me after the verdict "I thought I would feel better but I don't," not a surprisingly revelation considering the testimony that she had to sit through including the fact that her son and his friend had been chopped up and fed to pigs. It was closure after eighteen long years of wondering what had happened to her son who had disappeared while on a hunting trip up north, but closure at a terrible cost.

But the question remains "Is a jury verdict that one is guilty of homicide and subsequent resultant incarceration in prison true justice?" The dictionary defines justice in a number of ways. One definition defines justice as the ideal morally correct state of things and persons. Another entry defines justice a what is fair.

The question remains whether or not anything can be morally correct or fair when dealing with the senseless obliteration of a human life. Without delving into the complex and gut wrenching arena and dodging the land mines associated with the debate over the death penalty (maybe a subject for another day) I've come to the conclusion that there is no true justice for survivors rather justice as we can best do it under a horrendous set of circumstances and with an imperfect system.

Unfortunately true justice and true closure for the survivors remains an impossible dream.

Statements made in this post are my own and are not intended to reflect the views, opinion or position of the Michigan Attorney General or the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

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Christmas Massacre

by Susan Murphy Milano

The house (left) in Carnation, Washington, was brightly decorated for the holidays. A freshly cut, eight-foot tree in the living room overflowed with presents as Wayne and Judy Anderson prepared for their Christmas Eve dinner. They awaited their adult children and grandchildren. 

Just before 5 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2007, Michele Anderson, 30, and her former live-in boyfriend, Joseph McEnroe, 29, entered her parents' home to bring them a present no one could have predicted. Like a scene out of a horror movie, each armed with hand guns they purchased at a pawn shop together, they executed her father and then her mother. 

Five minutes later, the joy and anticipation of sharing Christmas with the family turned into terror and fear for Scott Anderson, his wife Erica and children, Nathan, three, and Carolina, five, when they walked in the door. The family met with a blaze of gunfire. 

 

The pair (above) shot Scott and then Erica in front of the couple’s children. Somehow Erica, already shot twice, managed to call to 911.

* 5:13.47 p.m.: Communications Center receives a call lasting about 10 seconds from the Anderson residence. The 911 call receiver did not hear any talking on the call, and noted information for the dispatcher: "Heard a lot of yelling in the background….sounded more like party noise than angry heated arguing".

 * 5:15.11 p.m.: Call Receiver calls back into the residence but the call goes to voice mail. Two squad cars are dispatched to the caller's home.

Prosecutors say murder suspect Joe McEnroe yanked the phone out of Erica's hands, tore the phone apart, then shot her in the head. Afterward, McEnroe shot and killed her two young children.

Michele Anderson, in her bright orange county-issued jumpsuit, told a Seattle Times reporter in a June 2008 jail-house interview that she "killed her family in a fit of rage, claiming she had suffered years of physical and emotional abuse."

Justice is a long time coming. Defense attorneys for both of these animals have been granted one continuance after another since the prosecutor announced he would seek the death penalty. The defense attorneys claim that they are not ready to set a trial date because of the complexity of the case. They say they have approximately 200 witnesses to schedule and interview. At this point, the judge will set a trial date sometime in 2010.

If found guilty, Anderson and McEnroe face only two possible sentences for six counts of aggravated murder: execution, or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

These grisly murders, which might seem a prime argument for the death penalty, should instead make us reexamine death-penalty statutes across the country.

The costs necessary to obtain and carry out a death sentence, including many years of appeals, require more than the justice system can absorb, according to a recent report from the Death Penalty Information Center. The defense of Anderson and McEnroe is a case in point. They will drain the justice system dry of resources it can't afford and waste as much time and money as possible. Warehousing them would cost far less money, time and effort.

I would be in favor of abolishing the death penalty if it meant these offenders could be convicted within a reasonable amount of time and sentenced to live out the rest of their lives in a prison cell. 

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"Justice Before Mercy"

by Susan Murphy Milano

Laurie Asplund was sexually assaulted at a Christian camp in the 1970s. The former pastor began his advances during a trust game that the man of God played with the teenager. Asplund was sexually assaulted more than 40 times from summer 1974, when she was 14 years old, to spring 1976, when she was 16.

Justice finally caught up with former pastor Russell J. Lesser, now 64, who had moved to Bryson City, N.C. For three years, Asplund worked on the case with law enforcement. In late June 2009, Lesser was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting Asplund in the mid 1970s.

The State of Wisconsin kept the case open because Lesser moved out of state. Otherwise, he would have never been convicted. As it stands, he went on to work in other states in the meantime. I’m sure he had access to others, as he was a Youth for Christ Campus Life minister.

During his sentencing, Lesser asked for the court’s mercy and apologized to his victim, the now-50-year-old Laurie Asplund.

“I’d like to take that one year out of my life,” Lesser said. “I’m so deeply sorry for it.”

In her new book “Justice Before Mercy” Asplund is coming forward with her story in an effort to remove the stigma associated with sexual assaults. She wants victims to know it's not their fault and hopes her message will help others to feel empowered and confront their fears.

In the book Asplund talks about the fear of rejection and the reasons why it was so hard for her to talk about her traumatic experiences. “I didn’t know if people would believe me,” Asplund writes. “He was this gregarious, fun-loving and well-liked adult who many parents liked very much.

Laurie Asplund is a licensed professional counselor who works primarily with abused and neglected children, as well as with people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Using this combination of clinical knowledge and journalistic talent, Asplund tells a unique and educational story about just what it takes to survive and find justice 35 years later.

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Justice or Mercy

by Kelly Siegler

"There's an old, old saying that goes people cry and cry for justice until they get it . . . and then they beg for mercy."

As a prosecutor, I have used that line to begin more punishment final arguments than I can count. The first time I heard the phrase, it struck me in so many ways. The most obvious meaning was what compelled my using the line in confronting what was all too often an attempt by a skilled defense attorney to argue to a jury that they should deliver "justice" to his client.

You have heard it all yourself. Pleading along the lines of "You have in your hands the ability, the opportunity, to right a wrong. A wrong that has been done to everyone here today. You have already righted one wrong by finding my client guilty, now you can right the wrong that has been done to this defendant. For all of the abuse this defendant has suffered in his own life that led to the events of that tragic night where a life was lost (or injured or abused)."

A skilled defense lawyer would continue . . . "Today you are like God, with the ability and the power to be kind and forgiving and just . . . to render justice today in this courtroom."

Justice. Really?

Real justice?

We could talk for days and I've made that argument many times to jurors that true justice does not exist. Just ask the parents of a dead child whether even a life sentence without parole or a death penalty seems like justice to them.

Justice is defined as "deserved; merited; reward or penalty as deserved." Getting exactly what is coming to you.

Mercy, on the other hand, is defined as "refraining from harming or punishing offenders; kindness in excess of what may be expected; the power to forgive or be kind; a fortunate thing; a blessing."

What do you think a good criminal defense attorney is truly asking and imploring a jury to do?

Could there be a more perfect phrase?

I'm not sure who coined the phrase. If you know, please pass it on. I do know that the Bible makes reference to the difference between mercy and justice in the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament. Chapter 9, verse 15 says, "O Lord, God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence."

The NIV version footnotes go on to explain: "Ezra recognized that if God gave the people the justice they deserved, they would not be able to stand before him. Often we cry out for justice when we feel abused and unfairly treated. In those moments, we forget the reality of our own sin and the righteous judgment we deserve. How fortunate we are that God gives us mercy and grace rather than only justice."

What if we applied that same phrase to how we live our own lives?

In all of those quiet moments in our own lives when we talk to God. In our times of prayer, alone or with a group of people. When we have those talks with our children about how they should behave and when we attempt to do our best to mold their little minds. When we don't understand the ups and downs of our own lives and turn to God for answers. . . .

What if God truly gave each and every one of us exactly what we deserved or merited or had coming to us based on how we lived our lives and treated other people every single day?

That thought is a little scary, isn't it?

Aren't we blessed that God is in the mercy-granting business.

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And Justice for All

by Donna Pendergast

This week is Crime Victims' Rights Week. Every April since 1981, Crime Victims' Rights Week has been observed across the nation by victims, survivors, and the criminal justice professionals who assist them. This observance promotes and recognizes victims' rights and brings the victim-assistance community together to raise public awareness and to renew the commitment to address the needs of victims and their families.

Leading up to the national commemoration, the Department of Justice Office of Violent Crime held a National Observance and Candlelight ceremony in Washington DC on April 10th. The featured speaker was none other than famous author and investigative journalist, Dominick Dunne, whose actress daughter, Dominique Dunne, was murdered by her boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, in 1982. Dunne later wrote an article for Vanity Fair magazine titled "Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of His Daughter's Killer."

This year Crime Victims' Rights week is being celebrated across the country with a multitude of events. In Whittier, California this past Sunday, more than three hundred homicide victim family members released doves, lit candles, and sent balloons aloft with messages to their departed. In Texas, The Catholic Charities of Dallas kicked off their celebration with a seminar to advise immigrants of the protections available to them if they become a victim of violent crime. Candlelight vigils, memorial rallies, and a host of other activities are being held in almost every state to mark the occasion.

These activities seek to remind us that crime can strike anyone at any time. Whether it's a drive-by shooting, a campus massacre, or a crippling identity theft, we are all vulnerable to crime.

The theme for this year's event "Justice For Victims, Justice For All" seeks to enforce the idea that the country's founding principles of liberty and justice for all ensures justice for each and every victim of a crime.

THE CRIME CLOCK

Consider these statistics recently released by the Department of Justice:

One person is assaulted every 7.2 seconds
One person becomes a victim of identity theft every 8.7 seconds
One home is burglarized every 9.1 seconds
One child is reported neglected or abused every 35 seconds
One woman is victimized by an intimate every 1.3 minutes
One man every 6.7 minutes
One person is raped every 2.7 minutes
One person is murdered every 31 minutes
One hate crime is reported to police every 73 minutes

These statistics serve as a stark reminder that none of us is immune from the specter of crime and that every crime has a victim who suffers some harm at the hands of the offender.

When the Crime Victims' Rights Movement was founded over twent-five years ago, the idea of victims' rights was just that: an idea. We have come a long way since then. Almost every state in the country has passed laws that protect victims of crimes. Although the laws vary from state to state, most laws include the right to be treated with dignity and compassion, the right to be informed about a case's progress through the criminal justice system, and compensation for damages and financial losses. Crime Victims' Rights Week is a good time for all of us to reflect on what more society can do to help those who suffer the trauma of victimization and to effect positive change in the criminal justice system. Communities which make justice for victims a priority invest in achieving justice for all.

Statements made in this post are my own and not intended to reflect the views, opinions, or position of the Michigan Attorney General or the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

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