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August 24th / 26th, 2007

"Black, Carr, Vick & Nifong: Bad Behavior is No Accident"

Former President Richard Nixon once proclaimed that “No one is above the law”. He stuck with that story until he was forced out of office for covering up the Watergate break-in.

We all like to think that only other people do bad things. But the truth is, we are all guilty of something. We are all flawed. We have secrets. We have all done something of which we are ashamed. That’s why (for Christians in particular) we are reticent to rail publicly about those who have been caught breaking the law. He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone, and all that.

But some crimes just cry out for public comment and derision. And, some criminals deserve to be scorned and vilified.

When teen idol Lindsay Louhan kept getting high and using her car as a weapon, we dismissed it as typical, spoiled Hollywood behavior. But this year, we ’ve learned about some pretty vile offenses that have taken place far from tinsel town, in our own backyard : on first street in Winston-Salem; at a Virginia estate; in a Durham courtroom; and, in a Raleigh bathroom.

Former House Speaker Jim Black accepted bribes from several lobbyists while meeting in a bathroom. But his most heinous crime was that of paying Republican legislator Mike Decker $50,000 to switch parties just so Black could remain Speaker. That one act circumvented the will of every voter in North Carolina who chose to have Republicans share power with Democrats in the State House. Instead, Black stole control with his bribe to Decker. Big Jim will do a few years in prison, but not enough, because he was never charged with election tampering. But Black’s judicial slap on the wrist pales in comparison to the punishment that other notables received (or escaped) this year.

Tolly Carr and his WXII co-workers went bar hopping late one night. His friends never took away his car keys and never called the police despite seeing him consume well over a dozen alcoholic drinks. Carr himself refused to take a cab home, and instead, he and his girlfriend went on a drunken joy ride behind the wheel of a 2,000 pound deadly weapon. Carr then struck and killed young Casey Bokhoven. Carr escaped with a nauseatingly light sentence, and will probably be out of prison inside of 18 months. His co-workers should do the time with him. But Carr should really be pulling at least 6-10 years hard time because he deliberately drove his truck while drunk, and ended up murdering an innocent man. Carr likes to say that it was all “an accident”. But deliberately drinking to excess and getting behind the wheel is no accident.

It’s also no accident that Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong tried to crucify three innocent men. Nifong promised his constituents swift justice and professed the Duke trio’s guilt before a trial even took place, and later stuck by his guns even though he knew he had no credible evidence against the young men. What was his punishment? Disbarment. Boo, hoo! Mike can’t practice law. He needs to be practicing making license plates. In my view, Nifong should serve the same amount of time in prison (times three) that the Duke boys would have served had the case not fallen apart just in the nick of time. And I would send Nifong’s former staffers to jail with him because they knew of crimes being committed and did nothing to stop it. Three innocent men almost went to prison for a long time, and their careers would have been ruined. Yes, they received a nice pay-off from the University (whose President should be fired for rushing to judgement), but no amount of money is fair compensation for what they and their families were put through.

And then there’s Michael Vick. The fallen Quarterback’s three co-defendants have now turned against him, so Michael is probably looking at some jail time for his role in a Virginia dog fighting operation. Dog fighting is illegal, but worse, it is brutal. The animals are abused severely even before they step into the ring, and killed in horrible fashion if they lose a fight and have the misfortune of surviving. Dogmen (that’s what dog fighting operators are called) even recruit innocent dogs to serve up as bait for their warrior dogs. Dogmen sometimes resort to kidnapping other people’s pets, and breaking their hips so that the domesticated animals cannot defend themselves in a bloody sparring match. Illegal drugs and gambling are also involved, thus increasing the likelihood of collateral violence. In most states someone convicted of dogfighting could face up to five years in prison for each count, but my guess is that Vick will cut a deal and either receive a suspended sentence, or do a few months behind the bars of a country club prison.

Like Lindsay Lohan, all of these folks – Vick, Nifong, Carr, and Black have something in common. They all suffer from addictions. But they are not addicted to drugs, nor, I doubt, is Carr addicted to booze. They are addicted to something much worse. They are high on power and all it brings. They all acted as though they were above the law, and had no fear of being caught or of receiving a just punishment. And for anyone stupid enough to think these crimes were first offenses for these low life people, think again. Does anyone honestly believe that Tolly Carr had never been bar hopping and driven drunk? Does anyone believe that Jim Black never took a bribe or paid one out before? Does anyone believe Mike Nifong never concealed evidence in order to gain a conviction or re-election? And does anyone believe Michael Vick never heard about dog fighting before this year?

Perhaps these individuals have learned their lesson. We can only hope. But lives have been destroyed and lost because of them, and that’s something we should never forgive or forget, in spite of our religious teachings.

I shouldn’t throw stones because I am a sinner, but when it comes to murder and abuse, I can have an opinion – all of us can. We can also demand that everyone, especially high profile personalities, live by two simple creeds: “ No one is above the law”, and “Bad behavior is no accident”.

In fact, these slogans should be mounted in every courtroom, locker room, TV news station, legislative building, and in the halls of Congress. If that doesn’t deter these criminals, then perhaps we sinners should just resort to casting stones. Literally.