A Feeble Cry For Justice
My duty, as a Freemason
Yesterday I attended the conferral of an Entered Apprentice Degree. The Lecture of the Degree brought to the front of my mind something that has never been far from my thoughts since it happened a year ago.
Hearing that lecture once again, reminded me that as Masons, we have a duty to call out injustice. I do so here today.
The man, seeking that particular solitude and communion with nature that is offered by the vast forests of Western Washington State set off for a short hike from his campsite. Alone with just his dog for company, he wandered a trail between Mounts Rainier and St. Helens. It was profoundly peaceful under the towering trees, with the massive mountains rising behind them. The solitude brought him a quiet joy, exactly as it has for countless others before and after him.
Out of breath, he moved a bit off the trail and sat down. Gently petting the dog that was his constant companion. Perhaps he had pain in his chest, we can not know, but we can know that the air, so clean at his elevation, fragrant with the scents of the forest and the trees filled his lungs, bringing the peace of the forest into his soul as he inhaled, expelling the rush and filth of the city as he exhaled. We can know, from his family, of the joy he found in solitary spots just like the one he found himself within on this late afternoon day.
“JUSTICE is that standard or boundary of right which enables us to render unto every man his just due, without distinction. This virtue is not only consistent with divine and human laws, but it is the very cement and support of civil society; and as justice in a great measure constitutes the really good man, so should it be the invariable practice of every Mason never to deviate from the minutest principles thereof…”
-Standard Work F&AM of Washington
“The wise and well-informed Mason will not fail to be the votary of Liberty and Justice. He will be ready to exert himself in their defence, wherever they exist.”
-Morals & Dogma, Elect of the Nine
The man’s peaceful solitude was abruptly ended by an unexpected, excruciating pain in his chest. One instant it was not there, the next it was. The bullet, fired from close range, traveled faster than sound, so it tore through his body before he heard the shot.
The man collapsed. Not dead, but gravely wounded. The peace of the forest shattered by unexpected, unreasoned violence.
The shooter and his accomplice walked up to the man. The Man’s dog, not of course able to comprehend what had happened, nevertheless stood watch, performed his kind’s ancient duty of loyalty to its human companion. A protective loyalty for which dogs have been prized since the most ancient of days.
The shooter and his accomplice, perturbed by the dog standing over the wounded man’s body pulled out a knife and stabbed the dog to death.
Looking over the man, it was clear to the shooter and his accomplice that the man was still alive, could still be saved. That a murder could still be an attempted murder.
He and his accomplice walked away. They left the man they had shot to slowly die, all alone, without even the company of his faithful dog. The man lay there, under the trees, normally so peaceful, cradling his dead dog while he died over the course of many hours.
Some days later the shooter’s father called the Sheriff’s Office to report the fact that his son had killed a man. Shortly after that, the shooter, and his accomplice both confessed to their crimes.
But, as one law enforcement official stated, ‘they are good kids.’ Neither of those ‘good kids’ have ever been arrested.
Three final thoughts that can’t seem to escape my mind for long…
Despite the law enforcement official’s assertion, not only are these not good kids, the shooter can’t be considered a kid at all. He’s an adult, legally and otherwise, simply a young adult. A young adult who shot a man without reason, stabbed the man’s dog, and then walked away, leaving the shot man to slowly die over the course of hours.
I am very much like other kids who grew up on large rural farms in Washington. I’ve owned guns from an extremely young age, like most of my peers. When I myself was a kid, an elementary school kid. I’m a proud supporter of our Second Amendment, and a member of multiple organizations dedicated to the preservation of our Second Amendment. But it is profoundly disturbing to me that given no action on the part of law enforcement to bring the shooter or his accomplice to justice, despite the evidence against them, despite their own confessions, the shooter is able right now, today, to walk into any gun shop in Washington State and legally purchase another gun with which to shoot another person without reason or cause.
Unlike most stories, there are not two wildly divergent sides to this one. All the players agree what happened. Those elected to enforce the law do not claim a good reason for the non-arrest of these criminals. They claim a ‘botched investigation.’ Perhaps it is. Perhaps it is corruption. Either way, a murderer remains armed, and continues his prowl through our State.
A truly sad story that I find difficult to understand. As someone who enforced the law for more than 30 years, and arrested a lot of “good kids” that had never been arrested before, the evidence of malice and evil in this incident certainly cries for justice. The cruelty of leaving the man to suffer and die coupled with the killing of his dog clearly shows these were not good kids. I find it so difficult to understand how a law enforcement official could make such an irresponsible statement. Justice can, at times, be an extremely long and slow march. There is no statute of limitations in Washington State for homicide and the elections of a new Prosecutor and/or Sheriff can be a remedy. Did the crime occur in the jurisdiction of the US Forest Service and could it be prosecuted in federal court? Like you MW, I’ve owned guns since I was a teenager. For nearly half my life guns were a tool of my profession, treated with care and respect. I support the second amendment but I also believe that, People that shouldn’t own guns, shouldn’t own guns. We all know someone like this. I hope justice is found, not only for this man, but also for a society that demands it.
There is also the civil court route, it worked for the families of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. At least some small justice could be served that route.