Kenneth Jackson (picture, left), 52 walked into a Phoenix police station, Tuesday, and confessed to murdering his elderly neighbor, Marlon Darton (picture, right.) Twenty-one years ago, the then drug addicted Jackson blundgeoned his 78 year old neighbor to death for the purposes of stealing a small sum of money in Mr. Darton's pocket to buy drugs.
Mr. Jackson moved to California, he recovered from his drug addiction, and he found religion. His conscience tormented him and he recently sought the advice of a sister who lives in Georgia. It is likely that Jackson will spend the balance of his life incarcerated in Arizona. I wish him, God's grace.
This story is fantastic, and inspirational. This Blawg was inspired by my guilt. Guilt. May I be able to grow into my guilt and let it take me to where I need to be. Mr. Jackson knows what I suspect, you are never truly free unless you can confess your guilt. Guilt is grace.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2009/12/16/20091216jackson1216-ON.html
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I wonder if guilt and responsibility are the same thing, or different?
ReplyDeleteI was marveling about this story at coffee this morning. My pals come from a variety of perspectives and the hold a variety of perspectives, including Chuck who says "guilt" should be a matter between man and Church. But as you might guess, Chuck is Roman Catholic and he genuinely believes in confession and the power of the church to grant "forgiveness." I understand Chuck's point, but expiation requires action and in this case, Mr. Jackson is doing something profound with Cosmic consequences. That we're talking about Mr. Jackson's action, demonstrates the power of his act.
ReplyDeleteGuilt has many meanings. It is a juristic concept with very specific meaning, according to Black's Law Dictionary Guilt is that quality that imparts criminality to a motive or act and renders the person amenable to punishment by the law. But I like the second meaning, "responsibility for offense."
What I desire is my sense of responsibility to migrate from my head to my heart. The relief from nightmares and intrusive thoughts began when I was able to intellectually embrace guilt, now I need to complete the emotional "ownership." I'm optimistic.