The Shunning of Mercy by Kevin Goodson's Family

Words like “justice” “peace” and “mercy” get tossed around like orbs of energy in today’s society. In the case of the murder of Kevin Goodson, the family sought justice, showed no mercy, and tried to find peace in all of this. Three young men, Justin Locke, Jeffrey Labarge and Tyler Simpson destroyed Goodson’s life without initial remorse. The man was beaten, shot, and burned by the three men now facing over a century combined behind bars for their actions.

In their early twenties, it appears they won’t experience freedom again until well into the latter stages of middle age. Locke received the highest sentence as the “ring leader” at fifty-five years in prison. While it might be a shame for them to just throw their lives away, it is more detrimental to the family of Goodson that they can’t be around him anymore. His nephew can’t show off the new bicycle he gave him as a gift.

Debbie Cox described only the mayhem and hurt that happened to her brother. This is key. This shows that someone who has been affected by a brutal murder so close to them who shows no mercy for the perpetrators is virtuous. It is a good thing that Miss Cox and her family find no forgiveness for the horrific force that the three men leveled against her loved one.

In a story involving drug users and malevolent intentions which became outright carnage against Mr. Goodson, New Castle County Superior Court Judge Eric Davis called the entire setup “depraved.” And he’s right. This entire case is a nasty tale about the way some people don’t deserve to be free because of their actions. It is incumbent upon ourselves to always remember what American author and philosopher Ayn Rand said about compassion. She writes, “If one feels compassion for the victims of a concentration camp, one cannot feel it for the torturers. If one does feel compassion for the torturers, it is an act of moral treason toward the victims.” In an extreme and massive case of injustice as the Holocaust, this only extends to any other form of mercy or forgiveness or compassion. It denigrates the victim and upholds the notion of forgiving someone who hasn’t earned it.

This carries to the young men who feel remorseful, including Locke who finds his own actions reprehensible. But what has happened in the culture, especially among people of color is that they forgive those who trespass against them. It’s a disgusting cycle of actions that most people, not just those of color, exhibit. When their loved one is beaten, gunned down, and set ablaze, most people just take it on the cheek and offer their cloak.

Not this family. There is no God but thank God that they had the wherewithal to completely disregard the statements that these miscreants pronounced in court. There is no place for mercy. The judge seemed to have gone to every length to give the maximum sentence for these young men. What’s sad is they probably won’t die in prison. Even if they reach the ages of seventy-five, fifty-five, and sixty-two, Locke, Lebarge, and Simpson will forever have scarred their souls for their heinous actions.

No matter how much mutterings of apologizes go around, there is not one way of restoring the family man back to those who cared about him. The details of the case which included stomping and kicking Goodson only shows that they just paid lip service to a man who could not speak from his own lips the devastation they had caused. It is apparent that Goodson should be elevated to the status of a martyr. He stood for the belief of treasuring values and being an upstanding citizen. He just wanted to live his life, but three terrible men silenced him forever.

In the victim impact statement, Cox talked about how her brother showed generosity and honesty through his actions. She tried to steady herself and keep her composure, but she teared up as she read. Though a believer in the theory of God, she said the three men showed Goodson no mercy. Despite her faith, she did not display any sort of mercy for them.

As the sentencing concluded, Locke’s mother proclaimed that Simpson had driven her son to act with such animus. While the bailiff carried her out of the room, her own son owned up to his crimes and admitted “full responsibility.”

At least these terrible men know that they acted on emotion and not thought. The family of Mr. Goodson knows this as well. That’s why there’s no mercy for any of them.