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The following is true; only the names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty alike.
The Judge looked somber as he read the verdict, "You, Jane Doe, have been found guilty of Murder in the first degree by a jury of your peers, and are hereby sentenced to life in prison without parole."
It seems that Jane Doe and her boyfriend had conspired to cook up an easy scheme to make money. Jane would walk into a lounge, lure a well dressed gentleman outside with the tall tale that she needed assistance in getting her car started. Then, when the gentleman dutifully accompanied Jane out to her car, the boyfriend would suddenly materialize out of nowhere, pull a gun on the unsuspecting victim and force him into the car at gun point and rob him.
This time, however, after forcing him into the car and robbing him...the two had second thoughts about leaving an eye-witness alive, and drove to an open field where they shot and killed the man as he knelt on the ground pleading with them to spare his life; "Please, I have three children I want to see grow up. Please don't kill me," he begged, "Please!"
But the young fathers' pleadings were for naught. The two conspirators finished their dastardly deed, and left the father of three little children dead in an empty, open field.
The resonating sound of the gavel slamming down after the verdict pierced the eerie silence of the Court Room, and Jane Doe was led out in handcuffs to spend the rest of her life "Until Death do us Part" to think of what she'd done. At least that's what John Q. Public thinks, and I, Yours Truly, also thought until...
Four years after the above mentioned Court scene, I'm sitting in the V.F.W. Bingo Hall hopefully awaiting for the Caller to call my number, "B-4." I whisper to my friend Kathy sitting next to me, "I need B-4 and he's calling everything but MY number - think B-4, B-4, B-4." My heart pounds wildly.
Then it happens! Somebody behind me shouts "BINGO"! Dejected, I turn around to see who got lucky and you could've knocked me over with a feather! It's Jane Doe! In person! I thought I was seeing a ghost.
Confusing? Perplexing? Bewildering? You betcha! But after reading this little tidbit of edification I'm about to divulge free of charge to John Q. Public - it should uncomplicate your confusion in no time flat.
It's like this; the first thing a "Lifer" does is to get the words "Without possibility of Parole" removed from their sentence (by way of an attorney, of course)...and then as soon as this is done, they're now qualified for parole; and eventually after a few tries and good behavior...they're Free! The fact is; there are no old and gray haired women "Lifers" in this particular State Prison. The most time "Lifers" do in this State is eight years or so at the max!
Comfusing, eh? Not to mention "amazing".
So, the next time you hear that somebody got "Life Without Parole," don't be shocked, spooked, or confused when you run into them at the local Bingo Parlor or coffee shop in a couple or so years later on. "Until death do us part" means absolutely zilch, zero, nada, nothing when it comes to marriage vows or life sentences. A confusing and mixed-up planet we earthlings live on, right?
As for me? I'm just a sojourner, temporarily passing through, as Heaven is my home. I can't wait to go home where confusion is a thing of the past and "doing Life" means spending Eternity with my Lord and Savior.
I can hardly wait.
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Perhaps this fact is true only in my particular State, but I tend to believe other States and Jurisdictions may also follow this pattern.
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