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April 27, 2005
Death can destroy your credibility!
Speaking of dirt digging and background checks, this lesson in morality occupied three-quarters of the Philadelphia Inquirer's front page yesterday. Stanford A. Douglas Jr. told police that, for seven years, he thought about killing William L. Berkeyheiser over a perceived racial slur when the two men worked together at a care facility in Philadelphia.It turns out that the killer located his victim with the help of a private investigator: At A-Plus Investigations in Levittown, president Philip Olshevski expressed "shock and amazement" yesterday that Douglas had used his agency to help track down the victim.It also shows how easy it is for anyone. To get anything. On anyone. The remarkable thing about this case is the plaintive way the family has been forced to defend the victim of a murder: Gibbons and family members belittled the notion that the victim was racist. They pointed out that Viola Berkeyheiser is of part-Asian descent.For his part, the accused murderer has for the past two days steadfastly refused to disclose the joke. Obviously, that's why the story only made the section B in today's paper. People want punchlines, and if they don't get them, they begin to bore. (However, I did find this attempt at psychoanalysis.) To stir up speculation about the relevance of a racist joke as a defense to murder is one thing. There's the old "fighting words" doctrine, but I don't think there's a "killing words" doctrine. In the heat of passion, might reduce a first degree murder to second, I suppose. But seven years later is a stretch, by any standard. However, I recall a case involving a child molester who was murdered many years after his crime, and the jury refused to convict. These are ultimately questions for the jury, and juries have been known to disregard instructions. I don't like the idea of being murdered because of an old joke, no matter how "offensive" it might have been. I guess Howard Stern needs bodyguards, for some people take comedy very seriously. But how could Berkeyheiser have known that he needed a bodyguard? For that matter, how is anyone supposed to know whether the man ever told a racist joke? He's dead, and his murderer is alive. So, while the murderer has the media advantage, the victim must content himself with a hole in the ground. They worked together for ten months, and it all comes down to a single joke? What if Berkeyheiser was a nice guy who never told this or any other racist joke, and his killer is a psychopath who hated him for reasons known only to him? Is there a morality lesson here? We will never, ever know. It isn't even one man's word against another. The only moral lesson I can see is that there's a distinct advantage to being alive. Wars of words are won by the living. It's an old moral lesson many people forget. A lesson Josef Stalin knew better than most people. Whether in politics or in life, you'll win the debate if your opponent is dead. posted by Eric on 04.27.05 at 09:02 AM
Comments
His lawyers are probably advising him to leave the public in suspense. Maybe his psychiatrists will say it's too traumatic and personal to ever require him to relive the pain. Eric Scheie · April 28, 2005 02:54 PM |
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I hate to admit it, but the thought that keeps recurring is "What was the JOKE??"