The Grossman Circus: Kind or Cruel?

I wasn't planning on saying a word about the Grossman execution, but I cad hardly take it anymore. Starting on Wednesday or Thursday last week, I started to receive requests to sign the petition for the Florida Governor to grant clemency for Martin Grossman who had been sitting on death row for a quarter of a century. After a ridiculous amount of time, Grossman had exhausted appeals and the time to carry out the sentence was nearing. I was surprised to see how many known organizations, from the spectrum of Orthodoxy, had joined together in protest and the strength of the campaign certainly made me feel like I was doing something wrong by not penning the letter.. I am not a bold talk show host who throws out predictions, but I had some misgivings.

Shortly after the execution, a circus began confirming every single one of my misgivings and leaving me, and others, in pain.

My first concern was that the petitions were only giving the information they wanted to give. Turns out that information was withheld. I know of some people who sought advice and wrote letters that feel very duped. One person stated if he knew what he knew now, he would not have petitioned. Read Govenor Crist's statement:

On December 13, 1984, Mr. Grossman violated the terms of his probation by leaving Pasco County and having a stolen firearm in his possession. In a routine stop, Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer Margaret Park found the weapon. When she reached for the radio in her patrol car to report him, Mr. Grossman attacked her with her own large flashlight, beating her over the head and shoulders 20 to 30 times. When Officer Park tried to fight back, Mr. Grossman took her .357 Magnum revolver and shot her in the back of the head, killing her.

Mr. Grossman took several carefully planned steps to cover up this horrible crime. The weapon was buried, and Mr. Grossman attempted to burn his clothes and shoes, which were later disposed of in a nearby lake. The following day, Mr. Grossman thoroughly cleaned the van and changed its tires to mislead law enforcement.
Officer Park’s autopsy revealed lacerations on top of her head, hemorrhaging inside the scalp and extensive fracturing of the skull. All of these injuries resulted from Mr. Grossman’s attack. The facts of this crime clearly meet the definition of heinous, atrocious and cruel, and his actions afterward demonstrate his well-reasoned attempts to cover it up.

The defense being pushed by major Orthodox Jewish groups is that the death sentence was inappropriate because he was mentally deficient, a drug user, and had a very bad childhood. How many murderers are not at least one of the above, it not all of the above? This summary of the murder is sickening, and worst yet are the comments at YWN, VIN, MATZAV, and the letters that will soon come to other major Jewish publications. The comments being made about the Governor are especially sickening, and those disparaging the legal system that protects us are downright irresponsible.

Which brings me to my next concern: Why did the Jewish Organizations involved in this campaign seek the involvement of the Jewish public? I'm saying this as someone who is politically active and has intentions of becoming more politically active in the future. A mass campaign was asking for trouble. A number of years ago, I attended a meeting within the Jewish community where there was going to be a small push for greater funding for private schools. Those who came to the forum were able to meet with state and local politicians. I believe every politician there was Democrat and not particularly open to additional funding for private schools, and certainly not vouchers. After some nice back and forth, a hot tempered man in the community (a loose cannon by all means), attacked one of the female politicians shouting her down and accusing her of all sorts of things. I think nearly everyone was horrified as the scene developed for what felt like at least 10 minutes. I was waiting for one of our leaders to kindly escort this man out of the room to take a breath. He was doing our cause no favors! Spend a short amount of time on any Jewish news website, and it should be obvious that we have plenty of loose canons in our midst. Letters from the NCYI, or the OU, or the Aleph Institute, sent to the Governor's Office would have made the point that they wanted made without the embarrassment that transpired.

It has been reported that Ms. Park's mother was harrassed by people in the Jewish community. While everyone pats their back for their rachmanus, I am horrified. I don't know the extend of the harassment, but this is certainly an example of being cruel to the kind! I am not going to speculate if the rachmanut for Mr. Grossman was misplaced, but I do believe that this massive effort has been completely cruel to the Park family, from the calls (of hopefully only a few) to the comments that are being made all over the news sites and blogs. Even in the stories where Ms. Park's mother expresses her feelings, people have the audacity to rub salt in her wounds by accusing her of being revengeful and asking if she would support the death penality had her child murdered. Her child did not murder. This is shameful. This is painful. This is not rachmanus, this is cruelty! And this is the state of chinuch.

Speaking of chinuch, over at imamother, what in the world was a school doing discussing an execution with 8 year olds?

The real circus has been developing ever since the execution. Have we no busha? A very public funeral attended by thousands in Monsey. I don't think anyone would disagree that Mr. Grossman should have a proper Jewish funeral. But the frum community is walking a very fine line between making this man a hero, and just providing a kosher and modest funeral. (If anyone can translate this video through the raw emotion, please do). There are people speaking as if he died al kiddush Hashem. There are people speaking of his great teshuvah. That is for Hashem to decide. But as a parent, I am very concerned about the elevation of criminals (and accused criminals) of various stripes to tzaddikim.

I think now it is time for the News Blogs and every other publication to just lay low and exercise some self-control. Let's not pile on the governor trying to referee his every move in executing justice, such as being done on Matzav right now. Let's not make anymore asinine comments for the family or friends of Ms. Park to read. Let's take some time to think about her, rather than pat ourselves on the back. Let's not threaten to derail the governor's career or accuse him of acting only politically. If you disagree with the death penalty, fight that battle instead.