27 Years Later
We all hear the stories of inmates in prisons being set free after serving 25 years of a life sentence because, with the technology we have today, we have figured out that they were not actually guilty of their crimes. What happens after that? What kind of issues does that bring back to a family that has believed the one that committed terrible crimes against them has been a free man that whole time? What happens to most of these cases? Well, for those who wouldn't know the history of this story let me give you an overview. My aunt, on my dad's side, was murdered at the age of 23. She was a college student at the time at Hope College in Holland (Michigan). An investigation, at the time, into her murder was left with no conclusion. There is no resolve in an istance like this, and even though true closure is something that is unatainable you can still have a sense of peace knowing that the person responsible for the crimes that were committed will never be allowed to hurt an innocent person again. For my dad's side of the family there was no closure, nor any resolve. I never met my aunt because she was murdered 27 years ago and I am 21. And even though we put our faith in God that she is in a better place, there is still a sense of despair knowing that this case was never solved. Well, two years ago marked the 25th anniversary of her death. A communications profesor at Hope College decided to mark the time by creating a documentary about the case. When premiered the documentary sparked a desire by police to re-examine the case. The Michigan State Police, along with the Holland police, formed a team of investigators to solely concentrate on this case. The investigators began to compile all information possible, and set out on what was thought to be a, for lack of better words, dead case. However, after beginning to interview hundreds of people, they began to compile a case file which they believed to be taking them further into the case than the original investigation had trecked. Well, to make a 27 year old story short, there was an arrest made last Tuesday. Police arrested a 66 year old man, whom up to this point had no more than a drunk driving arrest on his record. The man has been charged in connection of this case with two counts of first degree felony murder, and one count of first degree premeditative murder. If convicted of these crimes he will serve a manditory life sentence with no possibility of parole. It seems amazing to me that this case could soon be closed 27 years after the deed was done. I guess that this shows us a lot about God's faithfulness. Our God is a God of mercy, grace, resolve, and justice. My grandparents may finally be able to have peace about this dark history that surely must haunt them. However, we can not forget about this man who was arrested. We, as christians, must realise that this man could very well have a wife, children, grand children, and this would be an incredibly hard thing to take if you were in any of those categories. We must make our prayer a prayer of praise for God's resolve, but also a prayer of mercy towards this mans family, and pray that this man might see the love and grace of God through this situation. Pray that my family might be a good representation of the hope that exists in God. The tale has not ended, but merely another chapter is closing. There are still many pages to be written, and time will tell of the ending, and ultimately we will all witness the ending when we pass from this world. There is hope in tragedy, blessing in suffering, and a refuge in a faithful God.http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=50284
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-27/113950038538590.xml&coll=6
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1139415342300620.xml&coll=8
posted by Eric @ 11:06 AM
1 Comments:
great post eric,
i've really felt sad for your grandparents and father this week.
i love the way you ended it.
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