Almost 13 years ago, my then seven-year-old daughter was brutally assaulted by her birth family’s neighbor. Today that man was released from prison.
I am frustrated and intellectually conflicted. The man was given a plea bargain because the Tennessee prosecutor did not believe he could get a conviction if he went to trial. Despite having DNA evidence, the prosecutor did not want to go to trial because my daughter has an intellectual disability and is non-verbal. This was, unfortunately, just another example of disability discrimination that she experienced in her short life.
My daughter is the most easygoing young adult that one could ever meet. While she still bears the physical and emotional scars, she is not vindictive, she is loving and forgiving (unless we are talking about fighting with her sister). She has a very different sense of justice than I do. She really does embody a biblical sense of justice.
The man who assaulted my daughter was sentenced to only fifteen years in prison, of which he served less than thirteen. He does have to register as a sex offender, but his sentence required no mandatory period of parole, nor any sex offender treatment. In Colorado, a similar offender would have a sentence that includes the possibility of live imprisonment, unless the offender completes a rigorous sex offender treatment program.
My family has been touched by sex assault twice. My late grandmother was assaulted by a CNA in her nursing home. The man who assaulted her received a life sentence. at the time of the assault, my grandmother had an intellectual disability and was non-verbal. Her rapist too was offered a plea bargain, but one that provides our family with a better sense of justice.
I know the men who assaulted my daughter and grandmother can effect salvation. God is no longer in the business of punishment. God offers all believers a path to salvation. Even though God no longer punishes, the Old Testament gives us an example of laws that can affect a measure of justice. Part of justice is not discriminating against victims or offenders on the basis of their disability. Part of justice can be punishment. Part of justice is restitution. Justice requires an acknowledgement of the pain, suffering, and life changes for the victim. In may daughters case, this did not happen. As a believer, I know that I must search for forgiveness. I have not yet found the path to forgiveness. I do know that one can simultaneously seek justice and find forgiveness..