Ghostwriter
Everywhere I look today saddens me. Here in the United States we have leaders and well known people who used to be respected, falling because they practiced no integrity.
Integrity is first being true to yourself. It is about being honest, straightforward in your own heart and mind first. You recognize your own shortcoming and you work on them and fix problems. Everyone makes mistakes, but few now take responsibility, and change behaviors.
I watched the news where someone said they may have stepped on a gun and that is why a young woman lost her life. That can’t be accurate and because of lack of integrity of all lot of people, even in the justice system, the man is free to kill again.
No one is perfect. A person of integrity doesn’t wait to be “caught” to change behaviors and make amends. One of my struggles over the years has been to forgive, no matter what. I am not there yet. I am angered and saddened. Will I ever be able to simply forgive and let it go, no matter what? I don’t know, and still I hope so.
I wish that integrity was as important as fame, originality, honesty and respect.
We have a long way to go.
I thought the man said that he found a gun under a bench, wrapped up, and it went off as he picked it up. The fatal shot was caused by a ricochet – which means that the gun was not aimed at anyone. That strikes me as being entirely possible, and presumably that is what the jury thought as well. Justice depends on the facts being established beyond reasonable doubt and with no regard taken to the previous criminal record of the person being accused. If you have not been furnished with all the facts, and there is reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused, then you cannot assume that a wrong verdict has been reached.
He originally said just that. Today when the first set of transcripts were released he said he may have stepped on the gun.
I suppose I shouldn’t assume anything, but I am able to make some reasonable assumptions. You may consider that in this state this man could not legally hold a gun. (Perhaps that is why he came up with the second version where he stepped on the gun.) Manslaughter in California is defined as the unlawful killing of a human being without premeditation, malice or deliberation. At the very least, manslaughter seems reasonable.
They deported him again. I hope the same problems don’t happen in Mexico or as he has done in the past, illegally enters the country and repeats the offense.
Thanks for the lively discussion.