January 21, 2001
CYBERCOLUMN:
An innocent condemned
___By Donna Van Cleve
___And they laid hold of him, caged him, and covered the cage with a cloth so no one could see him. They led him away to the lower court, where the justices were assembled. Many false witnesses testified against him with the following claims:
___"He ruined my life!"
___"He embarrassed me and my family!"
___"He is unwanted around here!"
___"He showed up at the wrong time!"
DONNA VAN CLEVE
___"He demands too much of me—his cost is too great!"
___And the judge stood up and said to the accused: "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony these people are bringing against you?"
___But the accused remained silent.
___"I hear nothing from the defendant," the chief justice continued. "Are you alive or not?" he asked the one hidden from sight. Then to his captors he ordered, "Remove the cloth so that I might see him."
___ ___"We object, your honor," the lawyers said. "We cannot allow you to see this vile thing lest you be beguiled and misled by his appearance. Listen to our words; we assure you he is not viable on his own, but rather a parasite living off others."
___ "Why do we need any more witnesses?" The judge said, and then asked the people, "What do you think?"
___"He is worthy of death!" they answered.
___ Now, while all this was happening, Iglesia was sitting out in the courtyard watching from a distance when a servant girl came to him.
___"You fend for the accused," she said.
___ But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about."
___Then he went out to the gateway, where another woman saw him and said to the people there, "This man supports the undesirable!"
___He denied it again, with an oath: "That's your concern, not mine! I don't have time for such things!"
___After a little while, those standing there went up to Iglesia and said, "Surely you are for the captive, for your name gives you away."
___ Iglesia was adamant in his denial—even to the point of cursing. "I care nothing for him! Leave me alone!"
___"Then you're one of us," they replied.
___ And when Iglesia realized his indifference was condoning their actions, he went outside and wept bitterly.
___When the morning came, the council reconvened, and the verdict was confirmed. But this judge did not have the power of final condemnation, so an appeal was made to the Supreme Court.
___The justices of the highest court listened to all the arguments and witnesses of the previous trial, and still the accused made no reply—to the amazement of some of the judges who saw nothing that warranted killing the defendant.
___ While the chief justice was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream about it."
___Now it was the custom at this time of year for the court to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time, they had a notorious prisoner called Choice, who could have lived an honorable life, but instead chose to stir rebellion, commit murder and steal.
___Surely they would choose the innocent, the chief justice thought. He didn't realize some very visible and vocal groups had swayed public opinion to do otherwise.
___So, when the crowd had gathered, the chief justice asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you?"
___ "Choice! Give us Choice!" They answered.
___ "What shall I do, then, with the accused?" The chief justice asked.
___ "Kill him!" they all cried.
___ When the chief justice saw that he was getting nowhere, but that an uproar was starting instead, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am blameless of the blood of this innocent," he said. "It is your responsibility!"
___They all answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"
___Then he released the condemned one over to them. As they were carrying the draped cage out, one of the captors stumbled and the cloth slipped to one side.
___"Don't look," someone yelled to the crowd, "lest you be beguiled and change your mind!"
___ Most everyone—all but a few—turned their heads to keep from facing the veracity of the situation before the cloth was replaced and the accused continued to be carried to his death.
___ A sharp intake of breath was heard among the crowd.
___ "Did you see him?" one asked another. "What did you see?"
___ "Surely my eyes deceived me," he said.
___ "What!? What was it?" another asked.
___ "It was a baby," he whispered, "just a tiny baby ..."
___ "But this isn't about killing a baby; it's about the freedom of Choice … isn't it?"
___ An unnatural darkness descended over the land, and an eerie rumbling shook the ground.
___ Truth seeped into their hearts as they looked at one another.
___ "Surely this was a child of God."
___"What have we done?"
___Forty million, and counting …
___Donna Van Cleve is director of the public library in Cotulla, a writer, wife, mother and member of First Baptist Church in Cotulla, where she is pianist.
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