Father Robinson is back at Hocking Correctional Institution in Nelsonville, Ohio, after treatment for an undisclosed kidney ailment. All that prison officials would say is that the illness was not life-threatening. His family and close friends are not discussing details, either. He was taken from the prison on Dec. 7 to the Ohio State University Medical Center, then moved Dec. 20 to the prison system's own medical facility in Columbus, and he's now back at Hocking.
I looked up the Toledo Catholic priest on the website of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. You can see it here: http://www.drc.state.oh.us/OffenderSearch/Details.aspx?id=A519811&pg=x.
He looks pitiful and it's astounding to see that his next parole board hearing is scheduled for March 2021. As in the Year 2021. Even though we know his sentence for murdering Sister Margaret Ann Pahl is 15 years to life, it's still a shock to see the year 2021 in print. It seems as distant as another galaxy.
But before anyone feels sorry for Robinson, think about his victim. Sister Margaret Ann was murdered in a brutal, horrific and humiliating fashion more than 26 years ago. Robinson was convicted by a jury of his peers.
I was reading Genesis this morning and came across a relevant Scripture in Chapter 9, verse 6: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." (New International Version). According to biblical laws of the Old Testament, Father Robinson should be put to death. Our laws today are more lenient but the Bible reminds me of how high a value God places on human life. Anyone who takes a life should pay the ultimate price. Robinson was fortunate to have had 26 years of freedom after the murder and to not have faced the possibility of execution (because there was no death penalty in Ohio when the crime occurred in 1980).
Sister Margaret Ann did not have an opportunity to live her life to the full. She had no trial, no appeals process. When I think of her, I cannot feel any pity for her killer. Justice has been served.

* * *
Sin, Shame & Secrets has made a Top 10 list for the first time: The most-requested books at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. It's not the New York Times best-seller list but it's a positive step. My book is right behind those of renowned authors James Patterson and John Grisham, and two notches ahead of another literary heavyweight, Michael Crichton. Pretty heady company :)
Here's a link to the list: http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/bookletter/showlist.html?sid=5707&list=CNL15.

Toledo, Ohio, Jan. 4, 2007