A Look to the Past, Victim Families

As of late, I've been researching victim families in hopes of contacting them and discussing the delicate issues that arise when talking about the death penalty. It's not an easy project. It's hard enough to just find family members, but I imagine it'll be even harder to approach them.

I came across an article that was released back in 2001, that talks about the forgiving nature of one family member whose father was killed right in front of his own eyes. This is the story about Tim Streett:

His father was rushed to the hospital. He was dead on arrival. "I think I was just in shock," Tim Streett says. "You just go into this state of unconsciousness. I think over the next week, even months, I kind of came out of it slowly." Within weeks, three young men were arrested: Michael Daniels, the shooter, Don Cox, who drove the getaway car, and Kevin Edmonds, who testified against the other two for a lighter sentence. "The lack of remorse from the defendants was remarkable," says prosecutor Stephen Goldsmith, who showed no mercy. Daniels was sentenced to death. Cox was sentenced to 90 years in prison.

Then he did something truly unusual. In 1997, almost 20 years after seeing his father gunned down, Tim Streett decided to face his father's killers again. So he sent each of them a letter. "Well, he introduced himself and he wanted me to know that he had forgiven me," Cox says. "It was unbelievable," he says. "Until it actually happens to you, you're not really sure that people like this even exist, or if it's real." Tim Streett was asked why he didn't think along the lines of: "know forgiveness is in the Bible, but these young people took my father's life." "It's very easy to say that, but it's amazing what a person can go through psychologically when they're unwilling to forgive," he says. "Anger and bitterness - that can build up. But true forgiveness says, 'I forgive you, and it's over.'"

So Tim Streett decided to put his forgiveness into action. He went to see Stephen Goldsmith. "He said, 'I'd like you to help me get Don Cox out of prison early," Goldsmith remembers. "Well, I was a pretty hardline prosecutor. I never agreed to clemency; I never agreed to parole." But Tim Streett convinced him to help, and Cox's sentence was reduced to 23 years. Cox was released from prison last year, and is now working as an auto mechanic. "True forgiveness not only says that you're forgiven, but it acts on that," Streett says. "Whether it be somebody who committed a murder, or just a white lie. We can all be forgiven."
To read more on this story, visit http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/12/20/48hours/main258775.shtml

I see the transpiring of Tim Streett to be quite incredible. It goes to show us that it not only can happen, but it does happen! This article doesn't report the end of this story, but in 2005, the killer, Michael Daniels was taken off of death row as Governor Kernan commuted the sentence.

Was justice served? I can't say I know what it feels like to be a surviving member of a family that has dealt with such unfortunate circumstances, but I would go to say that these men were punished for their crime. The life of the victim has been honored and remembered, and, I believe, justice was paid. This story semi-exemplifies how our system is supposed to work in the first place. One of both restitution and compassion.

My heart goes out to all who have lost a family member to homicide, and I pray for strength and justice [for all].