after being arrested twice at planned parenthood on dec. 21, 2011 my pro life friends offered a pro bono (sp?), that is a 'for free', lawyer. one was referred to me and after looking at the charges started talking about taking the bond money ($1000) and said nothing to assure that that was the sum total to be taken. after sleeping on that, decided to call and thank him for his time in looking over things and offered to pay him for his time. he kindly declined and i was left on my own.
in thinking it over, it wasn't so much the money..although that was certainly a consideration. it was more about the principle of the matter. why should money (paid a lawyer) obtain something that lack of money barred? it can be understood in other areas but justice, no. justice is blind, impartial and makes its judgment on the facts of the case and what the law states. in this case the lawyer said he would get the charges expunged (blotted out) and the punishment lessened. it just didn't seem right.
i had, in good faith, done what i did, in all good conscience before God, because i believed that i was supposed to suffer in prison in communion with the unjust suffering of aborted babies. after getting in prison and realizing i was NOT supposed to be there it was obviously too late to avoid the penalty for breaking the law. i felt i needed to take responsibility for what i did, even though now viewing it as a mistake. i still broke the law whether now regretting that or not.
the week before the trial i heard two separate stories of total injustice occurring in courtrooms with great injustice done. this made me think twice. what if something of that sort happened and i was sent to prison, etc. thinking about the deal made, with my arresting officer/district attorney at the warminster courthouse, reducing the sentence to probation, the voice of one of the other warminster pro lifers kept coming, 'they lie'...yes, we men do often lie.
i thank the Lord that He gave me peace notwithstanding these 'last week things' and during the whole time at doylestown courthouse yesterday. left souderton at 8. a host of those having trials started through the sorting out process at 9 in courtroom 1. several of us were released to courtroom 3 at 10 am and before 1 we had all had our trials, mine being last.
the trial, at which i pled guilty to both charges, took about 3 to 5 minutes, the judge agreeing with the recommendation which had been agreed upon in warminster. each misdemeanor of the third degree carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of some hundreds of dollars. the sentence given yesterday is what had been originally stated. i am now starting two contiguous 12 month periods of non-visiting (i do not have to report or call in) probation, $300 to pay for probation costs and i must pay court costs. i am not allowed to leave, approximately, the 5 county area of philadelphia and suburbs without calling and getting approval. i am not allowed to leave pennsylvania without getting written approval. i walked out of the probation office and into the warm sunshine about 1:15 pm.
i was calm in the several month period before trial, not a light, elated calm but rather a kind of ready-to-except-whatever-the-Lord-send's calm. afterwards i experienced no expected elation but rather have had little tiny experiences of what can only be called 'times of refreshing from the Lord' in the time since 1:15 yesterday.
oh Lord You would have been perfectly righteous if i had been sentenced to jail, if all kind of unimaginably bad things had happened, were happening. would You give me the heart to live more for You than i am now?
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