What Crime can be Forgiven?

Malicious Crime
There's always that argument stating that the reason why people commit the crimes they do are because of reasons that should be irrelevant. Does it really depend on your nationality, mental status, or where that person grew up from? You would believe that these reasoning's wouldn't even be tried in court, but it seems as though that is the first thing people think of when hearing about a malicious crime. Of course there will always be the ones that actually do suffer from being mentally ill, coming from an unstable background, having some sort of jealousy towards one another, or simply just react to a situation in the wrong way at the wrong time. But when is going too far really just going too far for something that can be changed without committing a huge mistake.

Teenage Murderer
In an ABC News article, "An eighteen year old Stafford County teenager, who also use to attend Colonial Forge High School, pleaded guilty for killing her own mother over her recent four month long boyfriend. Prosecutors say that she shot her mother in the face and chest with a 12-gauge shotgun and stabbed her multiple times, tossed around items to make it look like a robbery, then went to a fast food restaurant. When she was caught, she explained to the police that her reasoning for killing her mother was because she had 'pushed her too far' and was interfering with her relationship." "Her mother and father didn't approve of her boyfriend and her boyfriend didn't like that at all, so he told his girlfriend if she doesn't kill her mother then he'll break up with her. As Colonial Forge teachers were investigated about the situation, they said that they seemed to notice a change in the girls' actions and participation in school around the same time she started to date this nineteen year old boy. The defending argument for the daughter in court was that it was all her boyfriends fault. She stated that after her and her mother engaged into a small argument about seeing fireworks is when the time came closer to ending her mother's life. After planning the murder in a church parking lot, her boyfriend suggested that she cut her mother into pieces and dispose of the body in trash bags, but she said she couldn't do that," (Keith Epps, Free Lance Star).

Remorseful Feelings
She pleads guilty for first degree murder, using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and will now serve 48 years in prison. She was seventeen at the time but was still tried as an adult. Her boyfriend was also convicted on an accessory to murder charge. Her father still comes to visit her at the county jail and explains that he has seen remorse for her wrong doings and when asked by prosecution how he feels towards his daughter he says, "She knew she made a mistake and she knew she could've listened to us". Even though her father has learned to accept that his spouse is no longer here, he still has an unexplainable feeling about the crime. When asked about the impact of losing his wife, whom he had known for more than 50 years since he was a thirteen year old he states that, "When you lose your wife of 44 years it's hard to explain," "You don't wake up"(Tracy Bell, Stafford County Sun).

Harmful Thinking
When hearing the news of a type of crime as this one it's only human nature to think why this seventeen year old girl has done such a thing. It's understandable to be against her actions but it becomes a little different when you find out some of the reasons as to why people are against them. As I read into various articles about the teenager and especially the article by ABC 7 News, I come to see that most comments are not worried about why she had done the crime but instead worried about what nationality she is and assuming that she was a worthless person to begin with. In an anonymous comment someone says, "I knew this gal would be white based on her name, the description of the crime, and my knowledge of Stafford demographics. About 10% of rural Stafford has the last name "Chewning". Regardless of her color, this young lady is a menace to society and needs to be locked up for good. Hopefully by the time she gets out, she'll no longer be able to breed and produce more murderers." This person stresses the fact that he or she is so knowledgeable of knowing what kind of person she is by her name and the type of crime, but then states that it doesn't matter and brings in unborn children who also, aside from this persons remarks, doesn't have anything to do with the crime at all. In another comment it says, "They also neglected to say which category they fall into. If I had to guess I say their black and I've got my reasons...oh I've got my reasons." Again, people are worried about things that doesn't help or change the situation nor gives a chance to make people think, what if this girl should be accepted an apology or given remorse?

Accepting Mistakes
As some of the public were against her others in the court system tried to lower her sentence by believing that it was all her boyfriends fault. Dye's attorney, Terrance Patton tried to get the judge to lower the sentence down to 21 years and two months but prosecutors Ed Lustig and Michael Hardiman argued strenuously against that. "There's just no getting around the horrific, savage and brutal manner in which her mother died," Lustig said. He also scoffed at the teenagers attempt to blame her boyfriends break up threat for her actions. "You killed your father's wife of 44 years so that you could keep your boyfriend of four months?" Lustig asked (Keith Epps). These statements might sound as harsh as the actions the teenager chose to do but can love really affect someone to this extreme?



Work Cited

Allbritton Communications Company 2012 ABC 7 News article, http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/01/ashleigh-nicole-dye-pleads-guilty-to-killing-mother-71571.html

The News Desk Fredericksburg.com article by Keith Epps, http://news.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2012/06/04/stafford-teen-gets-48-years-for-killing-mother/

Stafford County Sun TownNews.com article by managing editor Traci Bell, http://www.staffordcountysun.com/news/article_18e57af1-65fe-5c8b-87c6-5dffa808a7a8.html