From Jailhouse to Redemption

And Can it Be That I Should Gain

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Recently I watched an interview of Maury Davis, pastor of the Cornerstone Church in Madison, Tennessee. Davis murdered a 54 year-old woman when he was eighteen. In the interview, Davis said he was on drugs back then and remembers little about the murder. His defense claimed that he was possessed by demons at the time. He was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison. While in prison, he became a Christian and began preaching to other prisoners. Because of prison over-crowding, he was released after serving only 8 1/2 years.

I did a search online for Maury Davis and found the details of his crime in the Nashville Scene story, A grieving son finds no justice on Rev. Maury Davis' path to redemption. Davis' short sentence certainly doesn't fit my own sense of justice. However, I am not so quick to dismiss his claim of finding God in prison because many people seek God at their lowest point. According to the article, the murder victim's son has a hard time believing that Davis has been redeemed:

Had he gone to a small town and a small farming community, and opened up a church and ministered to people in the backwoods, I might could buy that. But I don't know very many ministers who live in million-dollar homes in gated communities.

As the author of the article noted, "irreconcilable crossroads emerge(s) where the Christian tenet of redemption meets society's need for real justice" and "though God many remove all sin, the world of men is far less forgiving." I am not familiar with Davis' ministry but I will say this: the important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.  

Contrast Davis' "Prison to Priesthood" story with An Unreal Dream, the story of a man who spent twenty-five years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Michael Morton's wife Christine was beaten to death in their bed one morning in 1986, shortly after Michael left for work. Morton, thirty-two years old at the time, became the prime suspect even though there was evidence pointing to someone else - the testimony of the Morton's three-year old son about the man he saw, neighbors who saw a man parking a van behind the Morton's house, and a blood-stained bandanna that was found near the home.

There was no evidence pointing to Morton. The prosecution hung its case on the medical examiner's estimated time of death. The supposed motive -  that he was angry because his wife didn't want to have sex. The jury didn't get to see the exculpatory evidence and they convicted Morton for his wife's murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.

It is hard for me to imagine how difficult it would be to be convicted for a crime you did not commit. Not having time to grieve the loss of your spouse because you're fighting to save your own life. Telling people over and over again that you are innocent and having no one believe you. Only seeing your child a couple of times a year.

Morton had to accept his fate yet he maintained his innocence. The one thing he had to look forward to in prison was seeing his son. When his son was twelve or thirteen he decided he didn't want to visit his father anymore. When he turned eighteen, Michael's son legally change his name. These rejections were crushing - they broke Michael's spirit.

Eighteen years after his conviction, Morton's case was taken on by the Innocence Project. The new legal team asked for DNA testing on the stored crime scene evidence, including the blood-stained bandanna. The district attorney opposed the request for DNA testing. Morton's attorneys also made public records requests for investigative materials, suspecting that key evidence was withheld from the defense. The DA fought this request too. He opposed Morton's release on parole because "Michael Morton has never accepted responsibility for murdering his wife." Morton was not willing to lie to get out of prison. It was six years before an appeals court ordered the DNA testing. The DNA testing identified the real murderer and Morton was freed.

The original prosecutor on the case was charged with withholding evidence. He served five days. Five days versus twenty-five years. This is a perfect example of justice gone awry. Yet despite this injustice, Morton was able to forgive the prosecutor who took away his freedom and smeared his good name. How is that possible?

Here are some of his words about his own path to redemption from prison:

When everything has been taken away, or what you think is everything at that point, it can feel awfully brutal.

Losing Chris didn't break me. Being convicted and being sentenced didn't break me. Spending 14 or 15 years down there didn't break me. But when I lost my son, that broke me. 

I didn't see any reason for anything, and I literally cried out to God, ‘I got nothing. I'm bankrupt. Show me something. Are you there?' I got nothing. And, uh, nothing happened. I just — nothing. Void.

Then, a week or so later...

Without any preamble or warning — no flags at all — I was suddenly bathed in this blinding, golden, indescribable light. It was all I could see. There was a roaring in my ears that blotted everything out," Morton said. "I felt that I was weightless, just floating above the bunk. I was experiencing bliss. I was very, very at peace.

Michael Morton, locked up behind bars with no hope of justice or mercy, called out God and God listened. Even though he was still imprisoned physically, his spiritual chains fell off and his heart was free.

*****************

Heavenly Father, you know why these stories touch my heart. You have the power to transform lives. So I pray once again for Jeremy. May he know how much you love him. I pray for mercy. I pray for peace. I pray that his "unreal dream" will come to an end.  Amen.

*****************