. . . . and Justice For All

The loss of a child is always painful and something that any parent, instinctively, will do almost anything to avoid. Once the loss has occurred, the parent tries to minimize the pain and suffering attributable to that loss. But there are birthdays, death days, holidays and a myriad of other days that bring memories of good times and the loss. In our case, today the 6th day of September, is the anniversary of Lisa’s funeral day.

In many lives, one such event is the parole-hearing day. The day the perpetrator makes his bid to be released from a cell and again enter society. We had that opportunity in 2006 and that bid was denied. One of the factors that influence the parole board seems to be the response from the public and victims family. While we are not mean spirited, and are willing to let things rest in the hands of a higher power we feel a responsibility to our daughter who lies in a premature grave. We feel there are factors that caused the judge and jury to be more lenient than was prudent, but again, that is not our decision, so we are willing to let responsibility for that rest in others hands.

So you ask then why are you inputting the process to encourage a full term sentence? Simple! We believe in justice and in our minds justice must be served without the early intervention of mercy.

Again, the process was conducted in August of 2008, with the same results and a determination that the opportunity would not be available again and the full term would be served. Others will see this differently, but we are satisfied that all that can be done, has been done and we leave the rest in the hands of that higher power.

We wish to thank those who have asked and have written letters expressing their feelings about the situation. Your expressions of love, interest and concern are a great comfort to us, of Lisa’s family. We are always reluctant to name individuals, but in this case will make an exception. We express appreciation to the Assistant District Attorney, Bill Hicks. His efforts have been above and beyond those required by his office and we appreciate his expression of concern in Lisa’s behalf. We hope that he who was judged in this case, has and will take this opportunity to reflect on how life can be made better and at the first chance, choose the higher road that leads to success throughout eternity.

We will continue to work toward the same goal with an eye to the time we will be rejoined by our precious loved ones that were called to the other side of the veil before us.

John and Linda