Gerald Robinson filed a motion in court yesterday asking to be released on bond. When I first heard this shocking news, I wrongly assumed he was ill and needed specialized care not available in prison.
Nope.
His reasoning, to summarize and paraphrase, is that the court made a mistake by convicting him of murder, so he should be let out of prison pending his appeal.
Unbelievable!
To be fair, he has nothing to lose by making such a request. But it would make a mockery of our justice system if the court freed him on such a pathetic argument. Oh, there are many other points he brings up, such as he is a retired Catholic priest, he has friends and family in Toledo, he weighs 130 pounds, has never had a mental illness, and "I have no criminal record." Except murder -- but I guess he's not counting that little detail.
This is also the first time that he publically and specifically denies that he murdered the nun, writing in paragraph 15: "I do solemnly swear, as I shall answer to God, that I did not kill Sister Margaret Ann Pahl."
One wonders why he didn't take the witness stand during his murder trial and make such a clear pronouncement.
I'm not a legal expert, but from what I can gather, the chances of Gerald Robinson being released on bond are about equal to the chances of the Detroit Tigers withdrawing from the World Series and asking the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to take their place.
As Claudia Vercellotti said when informed of the motion: "We might as well shut the courthouse down if they release him." And empty the prisons and jails, too. As we all have heard, 90 percent of prisoners were wrongly convicted -- according to them.
I am posting copies of Robinson's motion on my photo page, which, by the way, should be back up soon.
Bert Elliott is doing a tremendous job managing this web site -- he's been redesigning the photo pages from scratch. He's amazing. Here's a plug: If you would like your own custom-built, world-class website, contact Bert by email.
* * *
On a personal note: Today, Oct. 18, is my 26th wedding anniversary. Janet and I tied the knot at a little Catholic Church in Tampa, Florida, and moved to Toledo less than a year later. She was pregnant and we hauled all our belongings in a tiny little U-Haul trailer. Now that baby in her womb is a college graduate and engaged to be married. The world is a beautiful and awesome place. I am so grateful to God for all his blessings. He has brought us through so much. The good times are better with God in our lives and the bad times are lessened by his love and kindness.
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119-105.