Hale homicide victim was a convicted sex offender
It’s pretty sad and disgusting that this story begins by saying, “Before being killed and buried in his backyard in rural Michigan, a 72-year-old man served time for sexually assaulting a minor. The Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry states Roger L. Knickerbocker II in July 2000 was convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim 13 or younger.”
Regardless of how heinous the crime 17 years ago was, the individual had served his time. The story continues; “Police unearthed Knickerbocker’s body the night of Thursday, Aug. 10. He had been buried several yards behind his secluded house at 5851 Snyder Trail in Hale, underneath a dog house.”
And they say the registry is not punishment!
I have tried to live my life by the axiom “Life is 20% of what happens to us and 80% of how we respond”. We can choose to make our lives miserable or we can accept the healing ointment of ‘forgiveness’ and move on. To carry anger around for life is the same as slowly committing suicide at one’s own hands. Life is too beautiful to ruin it with unforgiveness. We have to be careful to not apply the acts of one person to all in one category. The Nazis did that with the Jews, the Japanese with the Chinese, Europe with the gypsies…even sometimes the public does that with politicians. Don’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bushel. Look at life’s experiences as learning events and move on focusing on the positive that life has to offer. It’s not easy for either the hurt victim or the repentant offender but it’s what God would want of us.
Seeing this being carried on into December is somewhat of an anomilly. First lets get one thing right, murder is never ok, so lets at least agree on that.
So true, no matter what side of the fence we are on we have to move on and do whatever it takes to help ourselves. Continued hate only hurts us and I have seen it in the unhappy, judgmental, and grieving faces of those who continue to carry grudges and cry out “poor me.”
Forgiveness is very difficult, and many times, close to impossible, that is why when we do forgive it makes life so much easier and fulfilling.
Brenda. I would never presume to minimize your experience. You are obviously angry and rightly so. However, you are making a judgement based on your experiences and applying it to all. But worse you are saying that it was ok for the murderer to do what they did because of the mans crimes. Where does that stop? Anything you think deserves it should result in murder? I have to believe you are a better person than that. And just to let you know looking at the registry does not help at all. First of all when it says for instance sexual assualt of a child over 12-that could be an 18 yr old boy with a 17 yr old girl. Further, far and away the majority of these crimes are personal. Someone the child knows. It is also the second least repeated crime – second only to murder. Therefore, the people on the list are not going to hide in the bushes and grab your family. They never did. That stranger danger type of crime crime is extremely rare. I live in fear everyday that someone that feels they way you do will harm my son. He is a good man and would be a loss to the World
Reply to Brenda:
What about Roman Polanski’s victim? She has gone on record time and again that she put it all behind her and was more damaged and infuriated by the media and so-called supporters’ insistence that she remain a victim for the rest of her life.
I’ve known many victims of sex offenses over the years. Some took longer than others, but still managed to get past it and lead perfectly normal, happy lives. Several were not “victims” in the sense that they were willing participants or instigators. Not to diminish the truly traumatized, but many victims, if not most, turn out just fine. Would their lives have been different had the abuse not occurred? Possibly, but there’s simply no way to know.
You openly celebrate this man’s murder because he was a sex offender. You know absolutely nothing about this man beyond his name and what he was convicted for. You know absolutely nothing about the circumstances of his crime or the effects on his victim or the victim’s family. You disregard the effects on offender families caused by the registry.
You acknowledge some on the registry shouldn’t be and can read it to judge for yourself. But how do you “judge for yourself” when the registry lists nothing more than the person’s name, address and crime of conviction?
And through it all, you claim you are not for hate crime or judgmental. If you really believe that, whoever taught you the meaning of “hate crime” and “judgmental” made a very serious mistake.
Curious about your views of teenagers convicted as adults for sexting photos of themselves to other teenagers. Are they hopeless, unforgivable pedophiles who deserve nothing less than the most gruesome deaths possible? Or are they helpless, doe-eyed victims rendered incapable of a normal life and whose happiness only comes from the eradication of their abusers and those like them? A simple registry entry won’t answer that.
I have lived in fear of reprisal for the pas 6 years and am afraid to be alone for the fear of someone saying something to get me in trouble. I try to account for all of my actions and where I go and what I do. This will go on for the rest of my life. The punishment will never stop.
As RSO’s we must put our past behind us and move on. This is not easy and in some…many…cases we must learn to ignore the ‘shame’ that many do-gooders would spew to cover their own guilty consciences. As is told us in the book of Matthew, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven” (5:16). We have a higher calling than to let the servants of satan keep us from the purpose we have on earth. Live so that no one can contribute any failure of society to your life. Live so as to confuse those who had you wrongly identified and bring shame on those who were so wrong. It worked for me…try it. It’s not easy but so rewarding.
No Words – RIP Mr. Knickerbocker.