While the Crista Pike melodrama agonizingly continues and reflects one fissure in our deeply polarized society, prophetic Old Testament messages and recent articles and columns from this paper reveal that debates over justice are timeless.
The News-Sentinel reported on Sept. 16 the death of an 83 year-old Roane County native in a California prison. As a member of the infamous Manson gang, Bruce Davis was sentenced to life in prison in 1972 for his role in several heinous murders. Despite a remarkable rehabilitation record and seven recommendations for parole, three California governors rejected those appeals – in the name of justice.
Much like the mythical Forrest Gump, I had a brief encounter with Davis and more extended interaction with two
others who reflect Tennesseans' diverse responses to the justice debate. My mother taught Bruce Davis at Roane County High, and they worked closely as student editor and faculty sponsor of the school’s 1960-61 yearbook. When several regular hay hands were unavailable a year later, Dad hired Bruce as a last-minute fill-in. Even I – an oblivious 11-year old, mostly curious about Davis’s reputed beatnik leanings - realized Davis was ill-suited to that role.
Over the years, this paper reported Davis’s crime and rehabilitation. In prison, he embraced Christianity, earned two college degrees, married, fathered a child, and at every opportunity promoted “life-enriching … violence preventing lifestyles.” All to no avail in the minds of those who champion what theologians distinguish as “retributive” justice.
State Sen.Ken Yager’s opinion piece in the Aug. 9 edition of this paper offers a local version of this rationale. In equating justice with “accountability” and the death penalty, Yager echoes sentiments shared by most of his fellow Tennesseans. But my devout but unorthodox father’s repeated references to the prophet Micah’s call to justice, mercy and humility planted the seeds for an alternative view. Those same theologians call this restorative justice – ameliorating misfortunes from which sin (broadly defined) emerges.
Ironically Ken Yager’s political career took off after he defeated Dad in a race for Roane County attorney in 1978. Exhausted from more than a decade in local politics, Dad fortunately devoted his remaining eight years to his growing flock of grandchildren, teaching Sunday school, playing Santa Claus, gardening and pondering divisive issues with his diverse six sons.
After Dad’s unexpected passing in 1986, I came home with convictions on many matters – including justice – that differed from many of my neighbor’s equally heartfelt views. Soon after the Webb School of Knoxville hired me to teach history in 1987, I became acquainted with Bill Haslam. Even before I taught his three children, Bill shared with me his love of history and appreciation for my classroom efforts.
Bill’s faith is more conventional than mine, but his memoir "Faithful Presence: The Promise and Peril of Faith in the Public Square" reveals that it is equally genuine. Consider his veto of a bill that he and I agree “trivialized” the Bible by declaring it a “Tennessee state book.”
More relevant here, however, are his recollections on the pardon of convicted murderer Cyntoia Brown. Characteristically cautious, Bill refrained from intervening in several earlier death penalty cases. But Brown’s challenging childhood and circumstances surrounding her crime convinced Bill that she deserved restorative justice. In his heartfelt reflections on Brown’s clemency, one hears echoes of Micah’s calling and Jesus’s Beatitudes.
However, the Crista Pike story is ultimately resolved, Governor Haslam’s kindness, wisdom and humility proved restorative for Cyntoia Brown and reflects pro-life convictions that today’s rancor obscure.
Dr. Mark Banker is a retired teacher, active historian, and weekly columnist for the Roane County News. He taught at Knoxville’s Webb School from 1987 to 2016 and can be reached at mtbanker@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Debates over what constitutes justice are timeless | Opinion
