Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Death of a Bush-Era Prosecutor Prompts Deep Thoughts On the Hereafter

Dunn Lampton

If you are like me and grew up in a mainstream Christian home, you probably learned that it's important to feel sorrow upon learning that someone you know (or know of) has died. Along those lines, you also probably learned that one should never "speak ill of the dead."

A couple of recent events have caused me to rethink those notions and ask this question: Is it OK to be glad when a sorry human being--a real son of a bitch--dies? The answer, I've decided, is yes. This blog, more than anything else, is about honesty--about exposing SOBs and the harm they cause to others. So why should we drum up false sorrow when such an individual is no longer among the living? I don't think we should, even if it conflicts with what I was taught as a child.

What brought this issue to mind? First, came the death--unexpected, as far as I know--of a relatively minor character in our Legal Schnauzer story. This guy was minor enough that I have not mentioned his name or written about his actions on this blog. But he lived a few doors over from us and took it upon himself to act like a major horse's ass toward Mrs. Schnauzer and me. I would call him a "neighbor," but that term suggests some level of good will, and this guy showed nothing but ill will toward us--over issues that did not even involve him. I will refer to him as The Jackass Who Lived Nearby (JWLN).

This guy twice acted in a threatening manner toward my wife, both times while she simply was trying to walk Murphy, the beloved miniature schnauzer for whom this blog is named. And he did this even though Murphy, Mrs. Schnauzer, and I had never wronged him in any way--or anyone else, for that matter. In fact, Mrs. Schnauzer and I had never even spoken to the guy--and for the record, neither had Murphy. But he saw fit to twice act like such a bully toward my wife that she thought seriously about calling the police. Those acts earned JWLN my eternal hatred, which brings up another old Christian saying: "It's wrong to hate anyone." My response is, "Why?" If someone has earned your hatred, I say go ahead and hate them. It doesn't have to consume your life, but holding a genuine hatred probably is more healthy than pretending all is well.

The second event was the death last week of Dunn Lampton, the former Bush-appointed U.S. attorney who instigated the Paul Minor case in Mississippi. I probably have written more about the Minor case than any human on earth, and our blog has shown beyond any doubt that the prosecution was bogus, driven by the fact that Paul Minor was a highly successful trial attorney who generously supported Democratic causes and candidates. We also have shown that the case was unlawfully handled and wrongly decided, causing Minor and codefendants Wes Teel and John Whitfield (former state judges in Mississippi) to be imprisoned for "crimes" that do not exist under the actual law.

Oliver Diaz, a former state supreme court justice, twice was prosecuted in connection to the Minor case and was acquitted both times.

How evil were the Minor prosecutions? Paul Minor, who clearly committed no crime, was in prison when his wife died and his son got married. Paul Minor was not allowed to attend either the funeral or the wedding.

Dunn Lampton, to a great extent, was responsible for true wickedness being heaped upon fellow human beings. Are we supposed to be sorry that he's gone?

Lampton was only 60 years old when he died, pretty young by today's standards. He had been in poor health for several years and apparently died of natural causes. Here is part of what the Jackson Clarion-Ledger wrote about him:

Lampton, of McComb, was in office when then- state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz and his wife were indicted in 2003 along with millionaire lawyer Paul Minor of the Gulf Coast and two former lower court judges on federal bribery allegations. Oliver Diaz was cleared of the bribery charges in 2005. Minor and the other judges are in prison.

The Jackson newspaper made an effort to "balance the scales" on Lampton:

Lampton, appointed to the post on Sept. 14, 2001, also was the chief federal prosecutor for the Southern District when two dormant civil rights-era cases were successfully prosecuted. Reputed Ku Klux Klansmen Ernest Avants and James Ford Seale were convicted. A slew of Hurricane Katrina fraud prosecutions also occurred during Lampton’s administration.

Perhaps Dunn Lampton accomplished some good on this earth. But what is his final legacy? He caused three innocent people to be imprisoned for purely political reasons--and he had to know it. For that,  Dunn Lampton should be roasting over a red-hot fire in the pit of Hell.

What about JWLN? He was only 56 when he died of a heart attack, and I've been debating whether to identify him and describe his actions toward Mrs. Schnauzer and me. Since his death, I've read an obituary that described him as a loving family man. I've also read a piece on his church blog that described him as a devout, caring Christian. Well, that's not the JWLN we saw.

Unlike Dunn Lampton, JWLN was not a public figure, so for now, I've decided to let his sorry soul rest in peace. But in the interest of exposing gross hypocrisy, I'm tempted to unmask him.

Am I glad that Dunn Lampton and JWLN are dead? It's probably going too far to say that. If I hadn't stumbled upon news of their deaths, I might have never noticed they were gone. In my immediate world, they didn't matter enough for me to waste psychic energy on them.

Do I feel sorrow because they are gone? I sure as heck do not--and I have patriotic reasons for feeling that way. Our country, in my view, is in trouble largely because we have too few honorable people and too many dishonorable people. From what I know of Dunn Lampton and JWLN, they were wretched SOBs--individuals who acted with dishonor toward the ideals upon which America supposedly stands. Our country is better off without people like that. So I say, "Good riddance."

Here is the big, cosmic issue with Lampton, JWLN, and others like them: It's one thing to make a mistake, or even commit an intentional act, that causes harm to someone else; it's another thing to not recognize that you have done wrong, to fail to be accountable, to fail to apologize and try to make it right. In the months and years before they died, Lampton and JWLN had plenty of opportunities to acknowledge the harm they had caused to others and seek redemption. The best I can tell, they did nothing.

Is there any justice in all of this? Maybe so. Consider this line from the Clarion-Ledger article about Dunn Lampton's death:

Lampton retired in 2009, about two years after he suffered a severe spinal injury in an accident on his farm near Summit.

Hmmm, the accident would have been in 2007, not long after the bogus verdicts in the Minor case. Maybe there is a loving God who cares about justice. Maybe payback really is a bitch.

17 comments:

Robby Scott Hill said...

Ezekiel 25:17, SLJV* - "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is The Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

* Samuel L. Jackson Version, edited by Quentin Tarantino

Thanks for being the Shepherd.

Redeye said...

"If you can't say anything good about the dead, say they are dead. Good"~I don't know who said this but I thought it applied in this case.

jeffrey spruill said...

The Federal Bureau of Prisons ruled that Minor could not be released.

Payback is a bitch.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-30/politics/prisons.director.dui.apology_1_dui-arrest-harley-lappin-federal-prison-facilities?_s=PM:POLITICS

choggs said...

It does make you pause and reflect. 60 is young. Maybe he had something to get off his chest. Guys like this don't ride off into the sunset after locking innocent people up. We see it here.

James Greek said...

Roger,

I know how you feel brother. I mean, There are two people who I wish would be dead by now

1. My late mother's alcoholic boyfriend-he abused my mother and all which caused her to stab him with a knife. Which led to her being arrested and lead to a lengthy and heated battle in court.

2. This girl who has been chasing me since 2004 and I have felt guilty for not dating. She went as far as saying that she asked god to show her and he pointed to me. That is crazy. I am not in love with this girl at all.

Anonymous said...

A place I worked once had a man that was so evil for a manager that you would not believe how he tried to torture some and even caused a few to have a nervous breakdown. And upper management allowed this to happen. He retired and lived less than a month. When we were told that he had passed away the entire group stopped working and cheered like we had been told that we won the lottery. Do I feel bad..NO SURE DO NOT.. He caused a lot of pain and agony. I just told someone last week I bet the grass has not grown on his grave over these past years and probably the handles on the coffin were so hot from where he was the pallbearers had to wear potholder mitts.

choggs said...

This is none other then some sophisitcated barbarism. The law doesn't protect victims from this kind of abuse. I won't conclude that a concious of man will "worry him to death" or a higher power punishes the wicked, but it sure is hell is noteworthy.

Anonymous said...

scientist, are claiming they have found something so diferent and complicated they are calling it the god partical, also thay do have phisical proof of the fourth dimenshin, of were ghost reside, among other possibilties of a new theory of a new phisics science, ect

Anonymous said...

You are one sic individual.May you rot in Hell

legalschnauzer said...

Just out of curiosity, what makes me a sick individual--assuming you are responding to me and not one of the commenters?

jeffrey spruill said...

sic: to attack somebody physically, usually used as a command to a dog & payback is a bitch.

Anonymous said...

payback is a bitch ha ha

legalschnauzer said...

Looks like I've offended a friend or family member of Dunn Lampton. That's unfortunate. Too bad the individual insists on remaining anonymous. I would be interested in hearing why he/she took offense

Ishmael said...

Well, Schnauzer, as one who married into a family of psychics and witches some 20 years ago, I have received the gift of past life memories with my wife, including our experiences being shot down at the Sand Creek Massacre. Those memories were reinforced in 95 when we visited the Massacre site, knew where everything was and had those memories confirmed and validated in 2004 by a US Park Service archaeological dig at the site. This was reinforced by the fact that, in 95, we were living in Longmont, Co, where many of the Bloody Third Colorado Volunteers were recruited from. So, we literally got to see the sins of the Fathers being visited on the Great grandsons and daughters.

So I can tell you God's Justice DOES exist. It manifests itself by having the evil reborn to face the consequences of their actions in their NEXT lifetime. So have no fear. They WILL reap what they sow.

Similarly, Righteous acts and behavior in this life redound into the next. In my previous lives with my wife, I only wanted to love and care for her and was always denied that. My reward is that I have the opportunity to do that in this life. My test is how well I do that, since God has seen fit to give me FIVE lifetimes of care to provide for her all rolled into this one. So, it would seem that God has a sense of humor.

legalschnauzer said...

Ishmael:
Thanks for a thoughtful comment, one that provides hope for those who seek justice.

Anonymous said...

Yours is coming- Don't Worry

James Greek said...

Wow Roger!

You and Carol sure lived in a neighborhood full of assholes! Between McGairty and this guy and some other folk who's kids cussed you problems they sure were asses to you!