Throw Away The Key

Before I get into the full body of this piece, I want to extend my sympathy and prayers for Senator Edward Kennedy and his family.  I vehemently disagree with almost everything he proposes. I think he is guilty of hypocrisy and manslaughter. Mistakes were made.

Be that as it may, Edward Kennedy has had a lot of tragedy in his life including losing two brothers a son, and a divorce.  That’s not to mention the other misfortunes his family has suffered. He is a human being, and according to my beliefs, is a child of God. He is fallible and vulnerable as are we all. (Some of us are more adept at hiding these defects than others.)

Forgiveness is the most human thing we do. I believe that it’s okay to hate the sin, but one cannot hate the sinner.  That’s a lesson many should learn. There was an article in the New York Daily News today (Thursday, May 22) discussing Vicki Kennedy’s assumption of her husband’s duty as senator. This is nothing new, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with it.

What struck me was the vituperative responses and attacks (albeit basically true) at the end of the article. Teddy Kennedy will undergo hell on earth before he dies. I know because I have lost close friends to brain cancer and tumors.  It’s bad enough that one might experience extreme physical suffering without saying derogatory things. Teddy’s sins will come home soon enough.

Vicki Kennedy may be senator within a month. If that is the case and she subscribes to her husband’s philosophy, she is fair game for the likes of me. Leave Kennedy alone.

Incidentally, I feel the same way about the mayor of Charleston.  I wish him no ill. I hope no misfortune befalls him. I just don’t want him to be mayor.  Every sin carries grace.

What got my dander up today was a letter to the editor in the P&C. Written by Allisun Chronister and titled “Weak System,” she writes, “Why is it possible that criminals who brutally rape and beat with intent to kill are ordered to serve only a maximum of 20 years in prison and then released with no mandatory follow-up by authorities?

“Why are the victims who are lucky enough to survive such horrific brutal crimes victimized for life, knowing their assailants could be freed?”

I’d like to know why people who brutally rape and beat with intent to kill haven’t been hung. At least, they should be imprisoned for the rest of their life.

I have a special reason to feel this way. Back in 1973 and 1974, young teen-aged girls were disappearing from Folly Beach.  Incidentally, a friend of mine’s younger sister and her friend were approached by a man brandishing a pistol who demanded that the girls accompany back to his house. Uttering an expletive, the girls turned and ran.

Thus Richard Valenti was captured and went to trial. He had threatened these children with a toy gun, took them back to his house, tortured them, then murdered them.  During the trial, the prosecution played the taped confession. When Valenti killed two of the girls, he brought them back to the house bound their hands behind them and tied their necks to the ceiling with their feet resting on a chair.

When asked whether he touched them, Valenti admitted he stripped them down and abused them.  Within sight of the two, he pleasured himself. One of the girls freaked and tipped the chair.  The murderer admitted that watching the girls die slowly excited him, etc. It was pretty gruesome.

While the tape played, one of the girl’s fathers screamed and ran from the courtroom.  Three bodies were found buried under the house. The tape went on forever. The horror went on longer.

Richard Valenti has had 15 parole hearings. Will he ever get out of prison? He’s 61. He’s due for another parole hearing in a year and a half.  As long as Paula Clark Marion, the older victim’s sister lives, he will stay in maximum security. Still, this poor woman has to re-live this heartbreak every two years.

For those who oppose the death penalty, I have a suggestion. Place these offenders on a desert island in shark-infested waters for the rest of their lives. Instead of three squares and cable, maybe a taste of the land of flies might suit their palate more aptly.