© 2014 The Wired Word
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While we hope the two convicted murderers who broke out of a northern New
York prison June 6 will have been captured by the time you read this, as of
this writing, their trail has gone cold, according to a New York state
official. And this despite a search effort involving 800 law enforcement
officers and reportedly costing the state $1 million a day. Last weekend, New
York's governor acknowledged that the pair could be almost anywhere.The escapees are Richard Matt and David Sweat. Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole for killing a sheriff's deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnap, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss.
Meanwhile, Joyce Mitchell, 51, a prison tailoring shop instructor who had befriended the two inmates, has been arrested and charged with aiding their escape by providing them tools they used to chisel their way out of the maximum security facility. Investigators say she had also agreed to be their getaway driver, but backed out at the last minute. She said this was because she still loved her husband and felt guilty for participating in the breakout.
"Basically, when it was go-time and it was the actual day of the event, I do think she got cold feet and realized, 'What am I doing?'" Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said last Sunday. "Reality struck. She realized that, really, the grass wasn't greener on the other side."
Mitchell has also been suspended without pay from her $57,000-a-year job overseeing inmates who sew clothes and learn to repair sewing machines at the prison.
More charges against Mitchell are possible. A criminal lawyer not involved in her case said she could be considered liable if the escapees commit new crimes. "She could have accomplice liability for that," the attorney said. "Certainly she would be civilly liable."
TWW team member Joanna Loucky-Ramsey lives in New York state not far from where the prison is located. She comments, "People here in the North Country feel a lot of anger and fear not only about the escapees, but about the prison employee who helped them. She has been described as an idiot and a few other choice words. Local residents feel they are the ones in prison. Schools were closed, and then even when classes resumed, children are not allowed outside. Residents have been asked to stay indoors, virtual prisoners in their own homes. There is no love for her here among the locals."
Why did Mitchell get involved in this escape? Officials say that she was charmed by Matt to the point that she thought she was in love. There are reports in some news sources that she had a sexual relationship with each of the men, though this has not been officially reported. She did say that the convicts made her feel "special."
There are also reports that Mitchell may have wanted the pair to kill her husband.
It's not uncommon for a married person to be drawn to and even get sexually involved with someone new, but why would she select men who had committed such ugly crimes and are obviously dangerous? Pursuing this question, a reporter for International Business Times interviewed Sheila Isenberg, author of Women Who Love Men Who Kill. Isenberg doesn't know Mitchell, but for her book she talked with three dozen women who have fallen for notorious prisoners, asking what motivated them. Her interviews included one young woman who got into a relationship with a man who had murdered her grandmother, and a woman who served on a jury that convicted a murderer and then visited him in prison and entered into a relationship with him.
Isenberg found common threads in these women: "They'd all been abused in their childhoods: by their fathers, their parents, some of them sexually, most of them physically, all of them psychologically. A lot of them had been victims of domestic violence from their first marriages. ... So when they got into a relationship with a prisoner in prison for life or [on] death row, even though it sounds weird, he was a safe relationship because they couldn't hurt them."
All of the women Isenberg interviewed turned out to be Roman Catholic (The Wired Word was unable to learn whether Mitchell has any religious affiliation). This caused the IBT reporter to ask Isenberg if the women thought they could redeem and change the men. But Isenberg found that these women don't see the men as needing redemption. "They see him as a changed person, as not bad," Isenberg said. "All of the women I interviewed had incredible excuses for the men who murdered: He was young, he was on drugs, his friends made him do it, he didn't mean to pull the trigger."
Each of the women hoped she could get her man out of prison, Isenberg said, and each hoped to live happily ever after with the man. What all the relationships had in common was what Isenberg characterized as "unnatural elements": "They didn't happen in the real world, in real time. It has a fantasy element to it. They were romantic, artificial, with prison guards, walls, all that. The men don't have jobs, careers, kids, families. They didn't have anything to take them away from this courtly, worshipful love they could shower on the women. So it's a fantasized, romanticized 'love.'"
When the reporter asked Isenberg if the women were victims of the murderers, she said, "The men definitely conned them. ... They lie, trick and manipulate them. So in that sense, they're victims, but they're also not victims in the sense that they're actors in their own fate. ... the women aren't crazy. It's like when you look at your best girlfriend and say, what does she see in that guy?"
Some professionals experienced with inmates say that Matt and Sweat used Mitchell like a pawn, and that after getting what they wanted from her, they likely would have killed her.
The Wired Word found several online anonymous snide comments saying that Mitchell was susceptible to the charms of the murderers because she is unattractive. But one commenter, identified as @Mitch7181, responded, "So are prison employees [susceptible] who are in financial straits, and their inmates have access to significant wealth from outside of the fence. I worked in men's penitentiaries for 26 years, and I saw employees from ALL walks of life -- attractive, unattractive, male, female, caucasian, African-American, you name it -- fall victim to inmate manipulation."
If convicted, Mitchell herself could face eight years in prison.
More on this story can be found at these links:
New York Prison Break: Source Says Search Has Gone Cold. CNN
NY Prison Escape: Joyce Mitchell Appears in Court as Search for Convicts Continues. ABC News
Why Joyce Mitchell Aided Dannemora Convicts; Interview With 'Women Who Love Men Who Kill' Author. International Business Times
The Big Questions
1. If you were called upon as a Christian to counsel with Mitchell, what is the first thing you would tell her? Why? What else would you want to say to her? Why? What would you expect -- or hope -- that she would say?
2. If you ever made a very bad decision with disastrous consequences to yourself and perhaps others, what helped you recover from it? What role did your faith play in that recovery?
3. What parts of the gospel message might an unscrupulous person play on to manipulate a Christian to do something that is wrong? How can this kind of misuse of the gospel be rendered ineffective? How does the "Law" -- God's standard of right and wrong -- play into this?
4. Isenberg discovered that women who enter into relationships with incarcerated murderers usually have a history of abuse. What parts of the gospel and church life might especially help abused persons avoid making bad choices regarding future relationships?
5. Are there times when doing the "good" thing is not the right thing? Jesus tells us to forgive "seventy times seven," but we're also called to be "wise as serpents." How do you balance compassion with skepticism? What are warning signs or triggers that tell you to take a deep breath and a step back?
6. How does finding your identity in Christ help you decide whether or not to pursue proffered courses of action?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Joshua 2:3-4, 15
Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land." But the woman took the two men and hid them. ... Then she let them down by a rope through the window ... (For context, read 2:1-24.)
Rahab, as a resident of Jericho, would probably have been considered a traitor by the other Jerichoites for hiding the Hebrew spies and then helping them elude those searching for them and escape the city. It's possible that Rahab had little loyalty to Jericho to begin with, however, because, as a prostitute, she might have been part of the sex trade as a slave, and as such, she may have identified with the slaves escaping from Egypt. Whatever the case, from the point of view of the Jerichoites, she was a betrayer.
Questions: Although the matter is still unclear, it seems as if Mitchell has switched loyalties a couple of times. When have you slowly or abruptly changed loyalties, and why? How are loyalties to others formed? What causes us to switch loyalties? What is the biblical view of loyalty?
2 Corinthians 11:20
For you put up with it when someone makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or gives you a slap in the face. (For context, read 11:13-20.)
We've given the immediate context for this verse above, but the larger context is 11:1--12:13, which recounts how Paul, who founded the church in Corinth (Acts 18:1-11), addressed the matter of later missionaries who bore a different "gospel" (a false gospel) to the Corinthians. Because of the harm their so-called gospel could cause to the Corinthian Christians' faith, Paul felt that he must respond to these rivals' disparagement of him, even if it made him look personally foolish. Thus he writes, "I want to contradict the claims of the people who want to be treated like they are the same as us because of what they brag about" (11:12, CEB). He goes on to lay out some of his "credentials" as a servant of the true gospel.
In the verse above, Paul chides the Corinthians for allowing these missionaries of the false gospel to "[make] slaves" of them, and prey upon and take advantage of them. Paul would no doubt agree that the Corinthians need to exercise discernment regarding the ramifications of what's being brought before them. And he clearly wants them to make good decisions regarding which version of the gospel they will accept.
There are plenty of people who'd like to take advantage of us. Thus, Jesus told his disciples, "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16).
Questions: What besides experience and maturity can help us to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves"? If a proffered activity will leave us less innocent, is that an indication that we'd be wise to avoid it? To what extent do you share information from your life with some sort of small support group, whether at work, church or home? How helpful is that to keep you accountable and assist you in making major decisions?
Acts 16:27-28
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." (For context, read 16:25-34.)
Philippians 1:12-13
I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ ... (For context, read 1:12-14.)
Here are examples from two of Paul's imprisonments that show that relationships between inmates and their jailers don't have to be brutal, manipulative or toxic. In the first case, when the prison door sprang open in an earthquake, Paul and Silas deliberately did not escape so as to protect the life of the jailer, who would have been subject to torture and execution because of the loss of prisoners. In the second case, Paul talks about his imprisonment leading to the guards hearing the gospel.
Questions: What prison ministries does your church support? If you have ever been on a ministry team working with inmates, what advice were you given by prison authorities regarding connecting with individual inmates? Do you consider it good advice or not?
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. (For context, read 7:8-12.)
Some of the accounts of Mitchell's involvement in the prison break indicate that she experienced a "repentance" of sorts in that she chose to not show up to drive the escapees away. According to the county district attorney, "one of the reasons why she didn't show up was because she did love her husband and she didn't want to do this to him."
The verses above invite us to think about the nature of true repentance. "... godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret," Paul says. Repentance isn't getting cold feet or simply being sorry; it is being sorry enough to change directions, a change that applies from that point forward, with God as our help. Repentance is often the first step in recovering from bad decisions.
Questions: When have you backed out of something you'd agreed to do, being truly sorry that you'd gotten involved? When have you repented after the fact? How does that relate to godly grief?
For Further Discussion
1. Imagine that a woman, active in your own congregation, was declaring her love for a notorious convicted murderer whom she never knew until he became infamous. What would you want to ask her? What advice would you wish to share? What part of God's message in the scriptures would you want to impress upon her?
2. Discuss this, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "I was involved in a jail chaplaincy program for 12 years. We had a refresher course taught by an out-of-state chaplaincy program. The rules were fairly simple. Don't take anything in to any prisoner. Don't take anything out for any prisoner. Don't leave anything behind in the jail, deliberately or inadvertently.
"I listened intently to everyone who came to my in-prison Bible study, but I found many prisoners to be great charmers. There were some I thought victims of a system, who didn't belong in jail. I am a very credulous person and would always allow myself a few days to reflect on anyone's story. There were only two occasions on which I wrote letters on behalf of inmates, and that was only to share direct experience about them, without commenting on their case. I can understand how an outside person with esteem or self-image problems could easily become part of something dangerous."
3. Comment on this: TWW team member Stan Purdum worked one-on-one with a prisoner and later helped him get re-established after his release and even later officiated at his wedding. Purdum is satisfied with the outcome and now considers that former inmate a friend, but he says that prison ministry is no place for someone who has difficulty saying "No."
4. For a more uplifting angle on this news, consider the following that Michelle Raducz-Coolbaugh posted on Facebook: "My husband is one of 44 CERT [Correctional Emergency Response Team] members from Elmira Correctional Facility who has been activated to go participate in the search for the two inmates who escaped from Clinton Correctional. His team left Thursday night and arrived there around 4:30 a.m. Friday morning, and they went to work looking for the escapees. The weather was cold and rainy and they walked for hours upon hours ... With blisters on their feet ... Wearing full CERT gear with little to no sleep! They joined their fellow CERT team members from across the state who were already searching.
"Just when they thought the lack of sleep and the conditions couldn't get any worse, the community rallied together and have turned around the whole morale of the teams! The local McDonald's donated 500 hamburgers, people have been bringing tarps for the rain, food, drinks, desserts, and hot coffee for our guys! The chief of the fire department went around and handed out individual spaghetti dinners, an apple granola bar, forks, and hand wipes. He told them if there is ANYTHING they need, to let him know. Children are going around handing out clean, dry socks and offering bug spray. Individual families are bringing hot dogs and hamburgers, Gatorade, home baked desserts and cookies, and simply taking the time to say "THANK YOU"! One man came out of his home and asked my husband if he would like coffee and brought out a whole pot in a thermos and handed it to him. The children being so helpful have brought tears to the [officers'] eyes and they have completely turned around the whole attitude of the group.
"I cannot tell you how much we wives appreciate that the community has opened up to these men and put their arms around them when we cannot! I only pray we can repay the kindness someday to someone! My husband was halfway through his first week of a two week vacation when he was activated. Our son graduated Friday night and he missed it. My husband's sister gets married today. And he will miss it. And we just miss him terribly! One of my friends, and a fellow CERT member of my husband, has her anniversary Thursday and she is hoping and praying her husband will be home to celebrate with her! From all of us wives in Elmira, NY... We want to say THANK YOU to the community of Dannemora! From the bottom of our hearts! And may God bless you!!"
Responding to the News
Consider using the "Seven Seas" (7 Cs) found here (LINK https://www.growingchristians.org/devotions/the-seven-cs-of-decision-making/) as you weigh decisions about choices you are making in life.
We might add an eighth C -- Christ -- to indicate reflection on our life as a forgiven child of God and our faith and trust in him.
Closing Prayer
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