Thursday, December 17, 2009

Susan Powell, Mom of 2 missing in Utah

Susan Powell has been missing for more than 10 days, and "the-husband-did-it" lynch mob is out in full force. This is not a defense of Josh Powell. I have no knowledge of his guilt or innocence.

What I do know is that he was suspected from the very beginning - no, I don't believe the lines the police give about persons of interest. It's just as intentionally deceptive as the smoke and mirrors used by magicians.

Where is the evidence of foul play in the house? or of a clean-up? or of drugs or poisons used to kill her? of her body being dragged out of the house? As a parent and grandparent, I know how notorious children are for tattle-taling, and they don't have to be intending to do it, either, they just mess up on the story, or say something unexpected in answer to a question (recall the balloon family escapade, not long ago?)

I assume there is no such evidence, and the 4 year old has said nothing incriminating towards his dad, or the dad would have been arrested.

What is it about these cases that compels otherwise decent human beings to turn with a vengeance on someone they don't even know? Oh, everyone justifies it by pointing out the behavior that is peculiar. And they justify it by claiming they want justice for the victim. In truth, they are no better than the persons who tried and convicted the innocent men and women of Salem Mass for witchcraft -- all because their behavior was a little peculiar. Posting a hateful, ugly, mean-spirited mobocratic message on a message forum or in the comments following an article is no less dangerous to our civilization, and no less anti-Christian and immoral.

Whatever happened to Susan Powell (and I still pray for her safe return), and no matter what the involvement or non-involvement by her husband, nothing justifies this hate-filled rush to judgment by the general public, before even one shred of evidence is produced.

"I'm afraid he may have something to do with it," is not the same as saying, "He did it, they just don't have the evidence to prove it."

How horribly unjust is that last statement? Think about it! How many people in America would be perfectly satisfied to take Josh Powell out to the nearest tree right now and hang him? Without one shred of evidence.

I wonder how many people want him to be guilty, to satisfy some voyeuristic need to see into the private relationships of other people. Are our own lives so boring?

If Josh Powell proves to be involved, everyone will justify their anti-Christian, mobocratic attitude towards him in these initial days. Even if he isn't involved, and proven not to be involved, I doubt that anyone will learn any lessons from this. We didn't seem to learn from Richard Jewell's witch-hunt, nor Elisabeth Smart's. In fact, I dare to say people were disappointed that Jewell was innocent, and that Smart was kidnapped by someone other than their suspect. As Nancy Grace is so prone to say, "they were the logical suspects," so no apologies and certainly no change of behavior required.

As a civilization, America is fast sinking into a cesspool.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree 100% Marlene.

Note the wording of this article, specifically the last sentence:

Josh Powell has said he went camping with the couple's boys, ages 2 and 4, in freezing temperatures in the middle of the night Dec. 7 and returned in the evening.

West Valley City Police Capt. Tom McLachlan on Thursday said the 4-year-old boy was interviewed within "a day or two" after his mother was reported missing. The son told police his family went camping — an event his father has said coincided with her disappearance.

"I think the verification of the camping trip is important to the timeline on this," McLachlan said, cautioning against placing too much importance on the child's statement.

What if the boy had said "Mom was with us on the camping trip?" I think the police would then be putting a LOT of importance on what the boy said!

This is our "new" criminal justice system. Try people in public and the media. I don't follow this (or any other murders) but as with Scott, this man should be charged or left alone until or unless they have a case against him.

Robyn

Anonymous said...

Wearing A Halo said...

Well, JP does have a fishy story, err, wait--he didn't go fishing, he went camping--some 90 miles away from home! Oh well, I hope he hires a high priced defense attorney to tell us all of the exhonerating evidence the proves JP is not guilty.

loretta said...

Now, Marlene, to be fair, you have a number of errors in this entry in your emotional indignation about the widespread belief that Josh Powell is guilty of something more than just being a dolt.

First of all, I don't think the only people condemning Powell or jumping to the conclusion that he probably killed Susan are "Christian" and should therefore not be judged as Un-Christian. Maybe some of the LDS people are jumping on the bandwagon, but don't lump everyone in a religious pile, ok?

Second, is "mobocratic" really a word, or did you make it up?

Third, Richard Jewell was never tried for the bombing, and, in fact, was released and paid a lot of money by the US Govt. The FBI was wrong. Shocking! However, the real perp, Rudolph, was a so-called Christian and had a very similar behavioral profile of Jewell, according to the FBI. Last I checked, the FBI hadn't weighed in on Powell's case yet.

Third, Elizabeth Smart was abducted and she was still alive, but nobody was disappointed in that, nor was anyone disappointed that her father had nothing to do with her disappearance; although, he showed rather poor judgment.

I think you watch too much Nancy Grace.

Marlene Newell said...

loretta, Sorry for not approving this when it was first sent, but for some reason, it went to my spam folder.

It doesn't matter if the behavior comes from a Christian or not, it's still un-Christian. And yes I do expect better from the general public.

Mobocratic is a word. You should use the dictionary more.

Main Entry: mob·oc·ra·cy
Pronunciation: \mä-ˈbä-krə-sē\
Function: noun
Date: 1754
1 : rule by the mob
2 : the mob as a ruling class
— mob·o·crat \ˈmä-bə-ˌkrat\ noun
— mob·o·crat·ic \ˌmä-bə-ˈkra-tik\ adjective

I'm glad you take comfort in the fact that Richard Jewell was never tried for the bombing -- I'm sure that would have made him feel all warm and fuzzy. The reason he got such huge awards from his suits is that everyone made his life a hell while he was the "suspect" and said all kinds of untrue things about him.

I watch too much Nancy Grace! Nope, can't stomach the woman. I haven't watched her since the trial of Scott Peterson. Her idiotic "well he [Ricci] was the logical suspect" and "the hair was wrapped round and round and round the pliers" was more than enough for one lifetime.

Bruce said...

Good Afternoon Marlene, Hope all is well....getting any closer to clearing scott? been looking at the karen servas time line here, so much info, what do you believe is the correct time that she found the dog, also, what was the exact time that the woman saw the guys loading the safe on the morning that scott killed, er sorry, that laci went missing? just working on a theory of my own....Peace, Bruce

Bruce said...

a husband takes his kids camping in freezing weather, with his kids, who are supposed to be in daycare, and you don't think he should be looked at? not even a little?

Marlene Newell said...

He was looked at, and apparently the investigation produced no evidence. But too many people don't need evidence because they have their gut to tell them what happened. That is what I am complaining about.

Marlene Newell said...

Bruce,the correct time Jackson said she saw the van, 3 men, and the safe is 11:40 a.m. The time Servas finally settled on the time she found the dog is 10:18. Are you so narrow-minded that you believe finding the dog absolutely proves Laci was already dead? Because that's what it takes, a very narrow mind, to not allow for any other circumstance that allows the dog to be out on the street with his leash one. Common sense tells me the burglary did happen on the morning of the 24th, Laci did interrupt it as described by Adam Tenbrink, and there was just cause to link the burglary with Laci's disappearance, which is exactly what the anynomous tipster who pointed the finger at Todd and Pearce did -- he/she specifically stated concern for Laci Peterson by name.