Rachelle Friedman Chapman is a young woman who is filled with a zest for life, but she’s had her share of rough times. The Amish community did not stop there-they also offered financial support to Robert’s widow. In an extraordinary demonstration of forgiveness, members of the Amish community, including family members of the deceased victims, attended Robert’s funeral and comforted his widow. In the face of such tragedy, one can only imagine the hurt and anger the loved ones of the victims might feel. Two more children died later from their injuries. Not long after police arrived, Roberts started shooting, killing three children and himself. Notes that he left behind indicate anger toward himself and God for the death of his newborn daughter almost nine years earlier.Īuthorities were alerted, and soon arrived on the scene. His deranged rationale for his actions was that he wanted to exact revenge for something that had happened in his past. He allowed the 15 boys, a pregnant female student, and three other adult females with infant children to leave safely, but held the remaining 15 girls captive and tied their feet together. There were 26 students in the schoolhouse. Roberts walked into an Amish schoolhouse armed with three guns. In that letter she wrote, “However bad it was for me, I realize it was 1,000 times worse for you.” The sincerity of her forgiveness shone through in a letter she wrote to Williamson that was to be used in his defense. She knew that the horrible accident had not been intentional, and she harbored no ill will toward Williamson. Patricia Machin, though, felt no anger toward the driver. The driver, Brian Williamson, was extremely distressed over having hit Gerrard Machin. Her husband had been struck down by a driver. She was greeted by the sight of an ambulance and blood on the ground. Patricia sensed something was wrong and went to look for him. Gerrard Machin was doing what he always did, but this time would not return home. In 2011, Patricia Machin lost her husband when he set out to buy the morning paper. You are forgiven, sir.” These words brought Ridgway to tears. You’ve made it difficult to live up to what I believe, and that is what God says to do, and that’s to forgive. Ridgway . . . there are people here that hate you. When the time came for Robert Rule, the father of teenage victim Linda Jane Rule, to speak, Ridgway finally showed a glimpse of remorse. As Ridgway stonily listened to the family members express their grief and anger, one person came up and said something unexpected. Understandably, many were angry and lashed out at Ridgway for the unimaginable grief he had put them through. Ridgway especially despised prostitutes and targeted them for his killings.Īt Ridgway’s 2003 sentencing, the families of the victims had the opportunity to speak out and address Ridgway directly. By his own confession, he may have murdered as many as 60 women. In 2011, Ridgway was convicted of the murder of Rebecca Marrero, bringing the victim count up to 49. In 2003, he confessed to the murders of 48 women. Gary Leon Ridgway is better known as the infamous Green River Killer. Those are natural human emotions, but some people just don’t bother with them. Many people struggle to forgive a serious wrong done to them and many times feel that the perpetrator does not deserve forgiveness. While smaller grievances may be easily forgiven, serious transgressions are another story entirely. Many can attest to the fact that this is usually easier said than done. According to the old saying, when it comes to forgiveness, we should all forgive and forget.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |