March 21, 2013

Connie Schultz: Resist the Chardon Killer's Taunts

I think this is her best column, ever.

On Tuesday, a year after he murdered three Chardon High School students and injured three others, 18-year-old T.J. Lane walked into his sentencing hearing and made it virtually impossible for most of us to summon even a shred of sympathy for his condemned soul.

But summon we must. If we are good people — and most of us want to believe we are — we are called to dig deeper for compassion that eludes us, lest our own souls wither.

Bear with me, please. I've worked hard in the past 24 hours to find this patch of my heart. It's a tenuous grasp, and I'm trying to hold on tight.

On the morning of Feb. 27, 2012, Lane walked into the high school cafeteria in Chardon, Ohio, and started shooting.

By the time he was done, three students were dead: Daniel Parmertor and Demetrius Hewlin, who were 16, and 17-year-old Russell King Jr. Three other students were injured: Nate Mueller, 17, Joy Rickers, 19, and Nick Walczak, who is now in a wheelchair. One of the more heartbreaking video images of Tuesday's hearing — and there are so many — is of Walczak's shy smile as he rolled his chair into the courtroom. He later strained to catch a glimpse of his shooter.

...more...
http://www.creators.com/opinion/connie-schultz/resist-the-chardon-killer-s-taunts-13-03-20.html