Correspondence on severity and clemency

As I have been thinking about some topics that are being publicly debated right now, whether it is the appropriateness of the death penalty or policy regarding illegal aliens, it occurs to me that much of the debate revolves around the issue of balancing justice with mercy where someone has broken the law. You have not only the offense itself and what the offense objectively deserves, but you have also to deal with the offender as a person and with those who are affected by the offense. In some cases, the person making the sentence or the law or policy will take a position that has more of severity than of lenience in it. In other cases, it will go the other way.

I had the occasion at one point to discuss this issue as it related to my own family. In the summer of 2013, my brother Caleb murdered his wife Andrea. He confessed to the crime and gave the police details that only the murderer could have known. The public did not become aware of his confession until October of that year.

I had been in communication with a lady who was a close friend of Andrea's. She wrote me after the confession was revealed in court, and she raised the subject of sentencing. Below is part of my reply before it was translated into Spanish:

"I appreciate your prayers for everyone involved in this tragedy. I want to respond to some of the things that you expressed, so that you will know better what to pray for.

In this life, Caleb will be judged by the law of the state of Virginia. No human law is perfect, but we respect the law because God appointed the government for the punishment of those who do wrong and the praise of those who do right. All law on this earth has elements both of justice and of mercy. No one deserves mercy, but government is sometimes like God by showing mercy. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, wrote a letter once to a government official who had asked him how to respond to requests for mercy. Augustine explained that there are times to be merciful and there are times to be severe.

If we as Caleb's family try to help him receive mercy from the court, it will be because we think there are reasons to show mercy.  Not everyone will think that. Some will think...that he should receive the heaviest sentence possible.  They need to say and do what they think they ought to say and do, and we will try not to take it personally.

I believe that the most important thing for Caleb is not the court's decision, but that he is right with God. I have communicated with him about that both before and after I learned about the confession, and that communication continues. He also has the benefit of a chaplain."

Government Policy and Social Services: the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Hispanic Alliance

On Wednesday, February 8, I had the privilege of attending the annual meeting of the Hispanic Alliance in Greenville, SC. The title I have given this article could be misleading, since the Hispanic Alliance is, by its own description, non-political . I saw nothing at the meeting to contradict that description, so my point is not that the Hispanic Alliance takes political positions: my point is that government policy has implications for the work that people involved in social services have to do.

The Hispanic Alliance's mission is to "to enrich the quality of life in our community" through cooperation "among service providers, the Hispanic members of our community, and the community at large." According to statistics from the Hispanic Alliance, nearly half (43%) of the 42,000 Latinos in Greenville County are foreign-born. Of these, the vast majority (76%) are not naturalized citizens. Thus, a significant amount of the Hispanic Alliance's work is with immigrants.

The Hispanic Alliance connects Hispanic and Latino people with service providers in four key areas: education, financial stability, health, and legal services. Each of these areas has a community team assigned to it, and the main part of the meeting was the reports of these teams. The teams look for ways to build partnerships in the community and to collaborate with each other on projects. Each team has aspects of its work that deal specifically with the needs of immigrants.

The Hispanic Alliance has a key role to play in helping with the naturalization process. If my memory serves me right, the legal services team reported that the Alliance helped 26 people become citizens this year. The processes involved in immigration and naturalization can be daunting and confusing, and the Hispanic Alliance helps people make sense of these processes and connect them with the services they need to get through them.

Though the speakers did not advocate any government policies or political action, several expressed disappointment and concern with the rhetoric and actions of the current administration. They portrayed the situation for immigrants as increasingly challenging and constantly changing. The presenters gave insight into the personal impact on immigrants of policies and actions by the outgoing and incoming administrations that have been politically controversial. This impact is a major factor in determining the needs that social and government workers must address.

In addition to the aid it provides legal immigrants, the Hispanic Alliance has projects designed to engage and serve illegal immigrants and their children. Some of the presenters used the politically correct term "undocumented immigrants", and some called them "illegal immigrants." The future of DACA and what it would mean for those who were brought into the country illegally as children was a subject of much discussion at the annual meeting. The presenters also outlined the responses that the Hispanic Alliance has made to the bullying of children of illegal aliens. (This is a special problem for these families, because they often do not feel free to report bullying when it takes place.)

I have been learning a lot about the situation of illegal immigrants outside of the meeting, so I want to cover that further in a separate post or two. I think I can sum up the situation, though, by saying that illegal immigrant families have humanitarian needs that should concern the whole community. It is not necessary to support a path to citizenship or other long-term concessions to illegal immigrants for us to see their humanity and have compassion on them in their need. It is also not necessary to incentivize illegal immigration or to relax immigration enforcement for us to recognize and address the problems that arise from the lack of opportunities or services and from the enforcement of immigration law.

It is the responsibility of the government to consider the impact of its actions on the vulnerable, but the government is not always in the best position to help those who do not enjoy the full protection of the law. That is why the work of organizations and groups like the Hispanic Alliance is so important. A major event that contributed to the development of the Alliance as an organization was an immigration raid in Greenville in 2008. Children were separated from their parents, and parents were temporarily released to their homes but unable to financially support their children. This disruption would have destroyed lives if it were not for the help and support from the local community. This is just one example of the difference that private individuals and organizations can make.

In closing, I want to say that I enjoyed the meeting very much. The gathering of staff members, administrators, volunteers, and partners was very diverse and vibrant. Some of the backgrounds represented surprised me: for instance, I sat next to a very friendly lady from Saudi Arabia who seems to be very active in the Hispanic Alliance. The network of organizations and agencies involved with the Alliance is very impressive, and I was glad I was able to learn more about it. I have started following up and will continue to follow up on the connections that I made.

Why I attended the Annual Meeting at the Hispanic Alliance

On Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending the annual meeting for the Hispanic Alliance in Greenville. I went to network and to get more information about what the organization is doing. This was the first event I have attended at the Alliance, and it will not be the last.

My connection with the Hispanic Alliance may come as a surprise to some, but it may make more sense when I explain what led up to it. I was actually introduced to it by Darian Blue. You may remember him in his role as head of the Phillis Wheatley Association, but the conversation about the Hispanic Alliance arose because of a project of the church he pastors, Nicholtown Missionary Baptist Church. The church is purchasing 200 bus passes to give to people in the community, and the members of the congregation were encouraged to ride with the passengers and get to know them.

This project was announced in the morning service on January 17, a day when my wife and I happened to be visiting. After the service, I spoke with Pastor Blue. Pastor Blue had mentioned previously the problems with access to transportation for people with low income and for the African American community, but he told me that day that access to transportation is a pressing need for Hispanics in particular. He mentioned the 9 month transportation study done in Greenville by the Piedmont Health Association in 2015, and he mentioned Adela Mendoza of the Hispanic Alliance and her work on the study.

I reached out to Ms. Mendoza and offered to help in any way I could. She told me that there are two great needs in the Hispanic community-safety and access to transportation. The big priority on transportation right now is to fund and implement the recommendations of the transportation study. I asked her about volunteer opportunities to help alleviate the need for transportation. She raised a possibility that we are looking into right now. I will let you know more details as plans become firmer.

The biggest strength of the Hispanic Alliance is its network of volunteers and organizations. The Alliance builds bridges between Hispanic communities, service providers, and the general community. Ms. Mendoza recommended that I get to know the network and connect with people I can help on the transportation issue and with other needs. That is the other thing I am working on now with the Hispanic Alliance, and that is why I attended the annual meeting.

I will write another post, hopefully this week, on what I learned and my impressions at the annual meeting. I have some other things in the pipeline, including pieces on immigration, the connection between national politics and the local community, and an interview with Darian Blue on racial diversity in churches. Stay tuned!