"Life," for Hope Tilley's Husband

Hope Tilley was sick, depressed and despairing according to her letters and pleas to her husband, David (pic), 83.  She begged him to "kill" her not wishing to screw up a suicide.  An Ohio court has sentenced the wheelchair bound octogenarian to 18 Years to Life.  Here's the Columbus Dispatch account:

"For months, Hope Tilley (pic, left) begged her husband to end her depression and despair by killing her in her sleep. In the early hours of Sept. 23, he fulfilled her request and likely will spend the rest of his life in prison for it.

David Tilley, 83, of Guysville, was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to murder. Police responded to a 911 call from Tilley around 1:30 a.m., reporting that his wife had been shot and killed. Tilley, who recently had a leg amputated and is wheelchair-bound, surrendered to police after they arrived at his home.

Story continues belowAdvertisement While investigating the home, police said they found letters and notes written by Hope scattered throughout the house. In them, she described herself as depressed and unable to care for herself and her aging husband.

'She had a fear of killing herself because she thought she might mess it up,' said David McNamara, Tilley's defense attorney.  After the sentencing, McNamara read a statement from Tilley saying he was only following through with his wife's wishes.

'It's really kind of an unfortunate situation,' Athens County Prosecutor David Warren said. 'You're dealing with a man who is 83 years old, and it's unlikely that he'll survive prison.'

Warren said that, in 28 years as a prosecutor, he had never before seen a case like this. 'As a society, we can't have people deciding to end other people's lives, even if the victim consents to it,' he said."
_________________________________
Love story, probably.  Justice?  Maybe.

Star: My Sisters

Star was my first child sex abuse client.  I talked about her matter last year when I described how it is that I pursued child molesters and sex abusing priests.  As a result of an unexpected visit by one of my sisters, yesterday I have been thinking about Star's father, one of the most evil and vile men I ever encountered.  My father was by degrees, only slightly less criminal.  Star's father got caught and paid a price in the physical world; my Dad was able to manipulate and play his children and family against one another creating by crimes, generations of injury and harm.  Two of my sisters spent some time over the weekend trying to get a grip on some of the parameters of the injuries he inflicted on his children and possibly grandchildren.  Unfortunately, the subject intruded like an uninvited guest at my 4th of July festivities. 

I love my sisters and brothers, but it is not lost on me that the estrangement among us is a continuing pattern of behavior fostered by the child molester, our father, to cover-up his crimes against my sisters and the other young women he had contact with throughout his lifetime.  We brothers and sisters continue to act out and keep one another at arms length and maybe blame one another for injuries he inflicted on us.  I've seen cats sit at a screen door and stare out at an interloper cat on their front porch, only to attack one another.  We do this.

Star's father molested every child in his family but primarily the three sisters.  Star was a a "Harley chick" and a tattoo centerfold, years before tatoo'ing went "mainstream."  Star's sister was a banker, and looked like a banker.  At the trial of their father, the banker sister got on the stand and attacked Star as a liar and manipulator and cheat and drug addict.  I asked the sister: so who taught Star to be a liar, cheat, manipulator, etc.  Her honest answer:  our Dad.  A jury awarded Star $5.5 million dollars (like most of the millions of dollars of verdicts I racked up over the years, substantially "uncollectable.")

My sisters, to some degree or another, have come to view one another less than charitably, I think.  My one sister has admittedly made some awful choices, my other sister has stepped in and helped her out with parenting, my other sister has been until receently--broken-hearted and uncommunicative with both of her sisters.  It goes on and on and while we are all adults and responsible for our conduct, we have forgotten who manipulated our feelings and why he did those things to us.  He did those things to us so he could commit crimes against children and others!  That we don't see that we are perpetuating these harms against one another is just one more crime he is committing against us from beyond the grave.

I gave my father too much free rent in my head over the years.  I used his crimes against me and my sisters as a reason to relapse into alcoholism after 12 years of sobriety.  The self-righteous bastard I became as a lawyer--who was incompetent to even run a business--justified his mis-guided and ultimately self-destructive crusades as a war of angels against devils.  This is my father's legacy.  Fuck him!

For my sisters and brothers, I love you and I wish you peace, and grace, and love.

Meeting with the Disciplinary Authorities, Best Wishes for a Good Lawyer

I have children through the miracle of adoption.  The adoption process was unpleasant, painful, difficult, humiliating, expensive, and finally something I would do again over and over if the children who are my children were there with the Blond Super Lawyer and me at the end of the day.  My children, to this day keep me motivated to show up--and, if you have read anything I've written here over the last couple of months, it hasn't  been easy.  My daughter was 72 hours old when she was placed in the Blond Super Lawyer's arms.  My 14 month old son was alleged to be "special needs" and unplaceable--my God, we should all have his special needs:  the special need to be loved and be able to give love.  In this and many other departments he is a brilliant and beautiful guy.
 
This mash note to my brats is by way of telling you about a friend of mine who has an appointment with the disciplinary authorities in OurState, today. 

I met BB, nearly 20 years ago when a "targeted adoption" that she was handling as an attorney meant for my friends, Pat and Sharon, which they were prevented by "the adoption rules" then in place because they had adopted a beautiful baby boy, within certain time-frames then in place--even though Pat and Sharon wanted and were able to support a larger family.  My friends would later adopt a second baby--also an amazing beautiful and funny child.  And my friends, Pat and Sharon are the truly gracious and loving God parents in the truest sense of the word for both of my children both formally and informally--as well, as half of the known world. 

But this post is about BB, the adoption and family law attorney who meets with the disciplinary authorities, today.  If you pray, pray for a good outcome for her.  BB deserves a good outcome.  BB did many wonderful things over many years--including bringing discarded children and children lovingly placed for adoption together with loving parents.  Like me she screwed up, without getting into details, I imagine her deviations were not on the scale of mine--but an indiscretion sufficient to cause her endless pain and suffering. BB deserves a good outcome, in my opinon--but we are dealing with the disciplinary authorities of OurState who are capable of inconsistently reprimanding one young lawyer who screws her clients, then lies about it;  while a veteran attorney serving the indigent community who improperly notarizes a document gets suspended.  My point is that while I think the Supremes think they are being consistent, disciplinary outcomes can be and often are arbitrary and capricious.

So here's hoping for a great outcome for a good lawyer.