Well, it is refreshing to see a young person accept responsibility for their actions by saying, “Yes, I did it. I’m guilty.”However, it’s very clear from the news interviews with her lawyer, her father and from Heather Johnston herself that they don’t think she deserves jail time.
You see, she’s special!
Dad says in the months since her arrest Heather has been working for a vacume sales company, passing her drug tests, going to church, and playing tennis. Dad says, “She’s a loving child of God that got lost.”
No, Dad, she didn’t get lost.
She made a choice---a stupid choice, but a choice nonetheless. She had a chance to attend college practically for free under the Georgia Hope Scholarship. Instead, over the summer after graduation, she chose to become a stripper and when confronted by her parents she chose to move out of their home. She was 18, a legal adult, and she made a choice.
Perhaps Dad has forgotten that God will forgive, but he also punishes.
Her attorney agrees that she should be punished appropriately, but doesn’t think she deserves any time in jail. He is asking for a combination of probation and house arrest because Heather is taking responsibility for her actions.
No, Mr. Lawyer-man, if Heather is expecting to receive no jail time for robbing a bank then she isn’t taking responsibility for her actions.
She is the same girl who bought her “stunner shades” in anticipation of her planned heist.
She is the same girl who giggled through a bonafide bank theft.
She is the same girl who gave no thought to the other people at the bank branch or inside the grocery store who might be scared, or the many hundreds of “what ifs” that could have happened involving innocent people during the event. In this Good Morning America interview Heather states she didn’t think about scaring anyone because they had an inside man.
She is the same girl that acknowledged the note contained threatening language, [but] she wouldn’t go into details with ABC News. However, sources [told the ABC Primetime program] it read in part, “Remember, I will not hesitate to kill you.”
She is same girl who remembered being very excited as they prepared for the robbery.
She is the same girl who took $10, 966 dollars from a bank….money belonging to other people, and rushed to the mall for highlights in an expensive salon (caught on tape) and shopping.
She’s not so excited or giggly now….now that she is looking at time in jail. The time in jail her father and lawyer doesn’t think she deserves because it isn’t appropriate for her. Mr. Lawyer-man states she’ll become another statistic.
She robbed a bank. She’s already a statistic. One more bratty kid who thinks the rules don’t apply to her and the more the adults in her life open their mouths the more the rest of us can understand why Heather thinks like she does.
She is the same girl who states the whole thing started as a joke stating, “I mean, it’s crossed a lot of people’s minds from what I’ve heard.”
Here is the difference, Heather, you actually did it. You stole from a bank which can earn you a ticket to jail for up to ten years.
Suddenly, I guess, the joke isn’t so funny anymore.
Mr. Lawyer-man states Heather has come a long way since being arrested, and I don’t mean to sound harsh here. I’m glad she is back at church, with her family, and making good choices.
One of the arguments made about jail time for Heather is she will become lost….a victim of the system….if she has to go to the Big House.
Heather should go to jail and so should her accomplices. Just as she had a choice upon her highschool graduation, she will also have a choice in jail. Sometimes inmates made the right choices….they accept their guilt, their responsibility, and they accept their punishment.
Though the judge accepted Heather’s guilty plea she has opted sentencing Heather until her three co-defendants have been tried.
For now....Heather waits to see if the Judge thinks the way her father and attorney does, or does the Judge think as I do.
3 comments:
I agree 30plus. Back in my criminal background check days I found it astounding how many people had a record. Over and over again I would see individuals who received probation again and again yet they kept committing criminal acts over and over. Why? Because the punishment was not a proper consequence.
Hey did you see the post that linked to you? Apparently the blogger is appalled that you might think you "know" God. I guess even though he quotes a verse he's not up to speed on Christianity---it's all about having a personal relationship with God, isn't it?
Hi! Yes I saw the link and checked his stats. Absolutely not worth my time. He's linked to everything in the known world about the girls hoping to drive traffic to his poorly rated site.
Just one more person who thinks you deserve a pat of the head for robbing a bank.
Thanks for visiting EHT.
Following the Georgia Blog Carnival from New Orleans. Fantastic post.
You know what I thought of when reading this? Living in coastal Georgia, going to college in Athens and hearing about all the folks who could get away with crap like this. There are few things get me more riled up than selective prosecution...
If she didn't fit the Barbie-doll or daddy's "baby-darlin'" demographic, she'd be in PRISON right now, and there wouldn't even be a question. But some folks get a pass becuase "they're sorry," and God somehow gets all involved in it at the back end.
Thank you for publicizing this.
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