After testifying this Wednesday at the sentencing hearing for her son’s killer, a North Carolina mother has begged the jury not to sentence him to death, forgiving her ex for taking her child’s life and stunning everyone with her surprising act of kindness
In November of 2008, North Carolina mother Lashinna Burger’s two year old son Elijah was brutally bludgeoned to death by his father, Lashinna’s ex-boyfriend Andre Hampton. This horrific tragedy was unfortunately the culmination of a lifetime of abuse to the poor boy. Hampton evidently used to beat Elijah frequently, whipping him with belts and even dislocating his shoulder on one occasion. Eventually, on that fateful November day, Hampton beat the little boy to death with hairbrush, toothbrush, and belt for apparently not finishing his soup, according to his confession.
After Hampton’s conviction in just the last couple of weeks (first degree murder, of course), Burger told reporters that she had made peace with the man who savagely beat her son to death, stating, “I want him to live. He needs to get himself together… He needs to seek God so when he passes away, maybe he’ll still reach others. That’s why I want him to live, to get himself together with God.” She later added that if she had asked them to sentencing him to death, then that would mean that she was judging him, something she said she has no right to do, no matter what he did.
This sense of forgiving and acceptance is also surprising because for years, Burger had lived in hatred of Hampton. She said that it had killed something inside of her, but she has finally come to peace with it all and forgives him
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I am amazed that this lady has shown such an amazing act of forgiveness to a man who, frankly, deserves none at all. How could anyone be allowed to live if he beat a small boy (who wasn’t even two years old yet) to death, especially if that boy was his own son? Is there any crime worse than viciously murdering those whom you ought to have the strongest obligation to protect with your very life?
I can now add Lashinna Burger to my list of heroes because she is truly an inspiration and a wonderful role model, a modern day saint in my book. She has shown some great moral strength by choosing new life and forgiveness over death and vengeance. It takes a lot more courage and strength to forgive a wrong (especially such a massive one too) than it does to act spitefully and hatefully on it, trying to right a wrong with another wrong.
And really, who are we to judge one another? Who are we to say whether someone lives or dies? Is that really our job? I think Lashinna Burger has it pegged: our job is to forgive those who have wronged us because isn’t that what God would want us to do? And no matter what faith you practice or what God you do or do not believe in, I think we can all agree (or at least SHOULD agree) that the road of anger and hate can only lead to pain and suffering, whereas the road of love and forgiveness leads to happiness and harmony.
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Look at the original article here. If you want to, of course.
We should all be willing to do what Ms. Burger did, forgive no matter what the offense is. This simple act, if done by all, could create a more loving and peaceful society. The death penalty should be eliminated because we are messing with aspects we shouldn't control. We are not God so why do we want to act like him? Our role should be to forgive our offenders, but we should leave to important power, death, alone.
ReplyDeleteI am continually amazed by people. Of course our initial reaction is to have the man killed in perhaps a brutal way, eye for an eye. But thank you Ms. Burger for being an example to us all!
ReplyDeleteNowadays it seems that all we hear about is murder after murder after murder... and the cycle continues. And at the sentencing of the criminals, families are often seeing weeping for joy because the man or woman was sentenced do death, which he deserved. But did they? How can we know? How can we know that we ourselves do not deserve to die? Point is, it isn't up to us. Because after one murder, what is being accomplished by the families celebrating the murder of the murderer. And then the cycle just continues. Blood will have blood is how Macbeth (sorry but best reference I could find) put it. And that will always be. Unless, of course, somewhere along the line is someone who puts an end to the nonsense. While we celebrate people who kill for revenge, murder terrorists, and even pay people to abuse their bodies in fistfights on TV (not saying that some actions may not have affects on national security, but cases tend to be overforced: for example, why could we not celebrate the victory of brave soldiers and the end of terror, but rather focus on the death of binLaden? I understand the two come from the same event, but America focused on the death of a fellow human rather than the probable saving of others...) the true heroes worthy of our praise are overlooked, or even scorned for being weak, scared, or whatever. So, thanks to Ms. Burger for being an end to the cycle, for being an example to us all.
God Bless America