Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Monday March 5, 2007

Life has a way of being very human. This should not surprise us, but life is full of surprises.

Take the girls, Melissa, Amber and Jennifer. Nice names and nice girls. Jennifer, now 17 helps to put a human face on her mother Cathy. Cathy Henderson. Have you heard of Mrs. Henderson? Cathy has a date and the girls are upset about this date. It is not uncommon for children to get a little put out when mom has a date. Children like the idea of the dad dating mom. The date which Cathy has is known in literature by several names the most well known being The Grim Reaper. This Pale Rider will mount his horse and ride into the life of the Henderson family this coming April 18th. The date will take place down in Texas, the Death Chamber in Texas, famous around the world.

I have corresponded with Cathy for nine of the 12 years she has been on the Row. She has never mentioned her crime, nor have I, for to do so is tacitly forbidden in this kind of work. I have researched her case and while it is tragic beyond words, I agree with many high profile attorneys that her representation was as near none existent as possible, much like the cases in Illinois which Governor Ryan looked into and 17 men were released from that states Row.

Jennifer, now 17, hasn't seen her mother except through a plexiglass window and talking through a phone since she was five years old.

As I have grown older and am now a grandfather, my heart has developed a real concern for the children of the men and women in prison and the work I do with folks on Death Row has brought the human side more into view than the monster view I held for so long. To be sure there are monsters out there and in 'there.' Is there no difference in a accident followed by fearfully stupid acts by a person with no prior criminal record, babysitting to earn money to raise her children and a serial molester/murderer? Of course there is and we in America should step up and seriously consider the many aspects of Capital Offenses. That the American public has little to no confidence in our current justice system is witnessed to by the overall rejection of the findings in the O.J. Simpson case. You can't have it both ways, the system is broken and needs fixing and that right now, or it is fine. I certainly hold to the first premise and urge all people to work to reform our system with the emphasis on fairness across the board.

I know that 'murderers' did not give their victims a fair chance. But that is why repairing the system is all the more important for we do not for sure know they are actually murderers until they have a truly fair trial. Makes sense to me. I am convinced one of the problems Jesus dealt with in John 8 with the woman accused of a Capital Offense was the corruption in the system that brought her to him.

I hope you will pray for Cathy, and her three girls and for the Baugh family.

Someday when Jesus comes heartaches will cease. Until then…

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit.

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