No Justice for Kate

Preface

This article is in no way to be considered anti-immigration or anti-immigrant. This writer and others spent at least five years singing patriotic songs at court house naturalization ceremonies to welcome immigrants as they became official United States\current. One of our members is currently teaching English to those who have come here from other countries so that they can understand better the language of this nation. In fact, many of our current members are from other points of origin than the United States. This congregation loves all people from every nation under heaven (as the Bible teaches), and each year we help support evangelists working abroad. These truths are mentioned in advance because some are quick to shout, "Prejudice!" when someone speaks of illegal immigrants, as though the criticizer somehow hates all newcomers to American society, which is absurd.

Kate Steinle

With those thoughts in mind, the trial for the man who killed Kate Steinle is over, and he has been acquitted. Many are familiar with the event that occurred on July 1, 2015. Wikipedia furnishes the factual data. 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was walking with her father and a friend "along Pier 14 in the Embarcadero district of San Francisco." Suddenly a bullet struck her in the back and lodged in her aorta. Forever etched in her father\memory are her last words, "Help me, dad." Unfortunately no one could help her; she was taken to a hospital by ambulance but died two hours later. Imagine the heartbreak of a father, who had loved and raised this beautiful young woman, losing her so swiftly. She was doing nothing more dangerous than taking a walk near the neighborhood where she lived. She was a college graduate and worked for a company called Medtronic.

The Shooter

Jos\Inez Garc\Z\rate (or Juan Francisco L\pez-S\nchez) is the name of the man who fired the shot, according to Wikipedia. He was an illegal alien at the time of the shooting\one who had been deported five times and had racked up seven felony convictions. At the time of the shooting, Zarate was on probation in Texas. (How is a five-time deported felon on probation, period? Perhaps he used one of his many names to identify himself there.) Wikipedia lists all of his charges, convictions, and deportations. He was charged with murder, which was probably an overreach, since the bullet appears to have ricocheted off the concrete. Zarate was arrested about an hour after the shooting, and divers found the gun in the bay the next day. He first claimed that he was shooting at a sea lion but then said that the gun fired accidentally when he found it and picked it up.

Murder may or may not have been intended, but there is such a thing as negligent homicide, which can be charged when "one person causes the death of another through criminal negligence. The charge does not involve premeditation, but focuses on what the defendant should have known and the risks associated with what he did know." If that does not work, how about manslaughter? The point is that, whether he intended to kill anyone or not, he did. (The prosecution claimed he was waving the gun around.)

Responsibility

A citizen of the United States, a free and sovereign nation, has the right to ask, "Who is responsible for Kate Steinle\s death?" The most obvious answer is Zarate. Had he not been holding a loaded gun, it would not have fired the bullet that killed the young woman (whether accidentally on intentionally). Had he not chosen to enter this country illegally the sixth time (after being deported on five occasions), he would not have access to the gun that fired the shot.

The United States\border policy is at fault. The fact that one individual was able to enter this country illegally six times ought to be a clue to anyone of moderate intelligence that something is grievously wrong with either our policy or our enforcement of it. We have been given promises that this problem will be corrected, and citizens are looking forward to its fulfillment.

To the city of San Francisco goes a huge share of the blame because they pride themselves in being a sanctuary city. No, that\s not a rumor; it\s a fact, which illegals know. Zarate was in custody and was to be detained so that ICE could be notified. Instead, the sheriff (in connection with the sanctuary city policy of San Francisco) released Zarate. Both the sheriff and the city contributed to the death of Kate Steinle.

Concerning those areas of the country that desire to be "sanctuary cities," there should be punishments for their illegal posture. They are not acting compassionately, as they might suppose. If they want expanded immigration, they should work to achieve it. No nation can establish or maintain its own sovereignty when large metropolitan areas are seeking to undermine that very thing. Even if illegal immigrants were not committing crimes once they arrived, they still violated our laws in order to get here. No nation has an obligation to allow its borders to be overrun.

But to harbor those who have committed felonies is unconscionable. Criminals receive more favorable treatment than citizens, if this policy is in effect. And it cost the life of an innocent, taxpaying citizen whose system of local government failed miserably in keeping her safe. No defense of the actions of the city or the sheriff can be effectively made.

Perversion of Justice

Similarly, we might ask, "How does a felon deported five times, who admittedly fired the shot that killed Kate Steinle, not end up convicted of (at least) manslaughter?" The answer lies with the jury. They were either not bright enough to reason properly, or they did not care enough about justice to find the killer guilty. No excuse can be made for them. Not even one person should have desired to set Zarate free\let alone twelve of them. How is that possible? "He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to God" (Pr. 17:15).

Yes, they are an abomination, and they shall one day give account for this decision (2 Cor. 5:10). They may respond by being cavalier and saying, "Oh, we don\t believe in God\and especially one who punishes sin." If anyone possessed such an attitude, they might soothe their conscience, but the fact remains, they will need to give an account of that decision.

These are the actual comments of a juror. The jury could not convict Zarate because the prosecution "could not prove to us that he intentionally killed her. And through all the evidence, I really think that it was a freak accident." Hello! Does this person not understand what manslaughter is? A typical definition is: "the crime of killing a human being without malice aforethought, or otherwise in circumstances not amounting to murder."

The jury was asked to believe that the defendant was unfamiliar with guns and that it accidently fired. Then he threw the gun in the bay because he was frightened by the loud noise\not to destroy evidence. Oh, please! Who are these jurors\hippies left over from the 1967 summer of love? Do they not possess even a few analytical brain cells?

This jury, in effect, said, "Kate, your life was not important. The person responsible for your death we have freed and decided that it was all just a freak accident. Sorry."

But her life was important. She is not the one who had committed numerous felonies. She\s not the one who was deported five times. She\s not the one who was holding a gun in her hand. As John Donne wrote,

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

We are all diminished in the loss of Kate Steinle\not that we knew her, or even would have been friends with her if we had known her. But we grieve with her family on the needless loss of a fellow human being.

Comfort

This whole disturbing matter tends to be depressing, but there are some points in this situation to consider. First, do not expect much out of the world. True, that sounds even more depressing, but it is the case that no one can count on noble behavior from corrupt individuals. For some, it may be a higher priority to be a sanctuary city than to protect innocent civilians. However, we can always count on God for vindication and justice. Those may not come as quickly as we would like, but they do come. So whereas the world disappoints; God does not. He is a God of justice, a fact which can be relied on. What He promises, He will deliver. Criminals may cheat our justice system, but no one bamboozles God, Who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Second, no one knows the number of days he will live upon this earth; therefore, God must be the highest priority. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33). An individual who is 32 expects to have another four decades of life and may put off the most important thing in life\knowing God. Everyone should seek Him in the days of youth (Ecc. 12:1); this is the only guard anyone has against uncertainty.

"Blessed assurance" is available to all who obey the gospel, in the third place. We all make plans, but we do not know how things will work out. Lives are changed by automobile accidents or rare forms of cancer. Some have been assaulted even while engaging in worship to God. Some were killed, and many were injured at the Boston Marathon just a few years ago. Children have been targeted at school. No safe haven exists from the mentally deranged or from terrorists. Only one safe place exists, and that is in Christ\in His church. As long as the blood of Jesus has washed away our sins in baptism (Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5), we have true spiritual security. "For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord\" (Rom. 14:8).

We shall receive, fourth, true justice. On the one hand, no one will rise to testify falsely against us, as they did against Jesus. On the other hand, no analytically-deficient jury will acquit someone who may have murdered us. No one will walk away from the Day of Judgment, shaking his head and saying, "Well, there was no justice for Kate." God will bring all relevant factors into consideration\and render true justice.

And Christians have something even better than justice (as regards them)\mercy. Yes, we have all offended others, but through repentance and obedience God offers forgiveness. Even a five-time deported felon could receive it\if He turned to God. Even jurors who are an abomination to God could have forgiveness if they genuinely repented and obeyed the gospel. The one person who will not have any further opportunities to repent is the victim. None of us should let a day go by without making sure that we are right with God.