Ten Commandments Still Alive in American Judicial System
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Tuesday, an Alabama judge refused to delay a trial when an attorney objected to him wearing the Ten Commandments embroidered on his judicial robes. Circuit Judge Ashley McKathan began wearing the embroidered robes Monday. The Commandments were described as large enough to read by anyone near the Judge. Attorney Riley Powell tried objecting to the robe and asking for a continuance, but the motions were denied.
The Ten Commandments can help a judge know the difference between right and wrong.
McKathan believes that the Commandments represent the truth “and you can't divorce the law from the truth.” McKathan added, “The Ten Commandments can help a judge know the difference between right and wrong.” Also, McKathan doesn't believe the commandments on his robe would have an adverse effect on jurors.
McKathan’s actions were applauded by former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was removed from office in 2003 from refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. "I applaud Judge McKathan. It is time for our judiciary to recognize the moral basis of our law," Moore said.
A lot of the other inmates were rough with me because I had broken Commandments.
This underscores the fact that many people do not understand that our law is based on the Ten Commandments. Often people are caught by surprise by this fact and find themselves in legal hot water. One of these people is Elvis Bale. Bale, 17, is spending the next 25 years in a correctional facility in upstate New York. He was convicted in 2003 of one count of not honoring his father and mother and two counts of taking the Lord’s name in vain. Because of the seriousness of his crimes, Bale was tried as an adult. To this day, Bales does not understand why he is in prison. “I was cursing at my mom, and she picked up the phone and I said to her, ‘Who are you going to call? The cops?’ and she said, ‘No, the church.’ Now I’m in here.”
At first, Bales had trouble adjusting to prison life. “It’s hard,” Bales said, “A lot of the other inmates were rough with me because I had broken Commandments. They don’t go easy on guys like me on the inside.” But things are looking up for Bales, “I met a couple of Hindu guys that are doing life for honoring other gods before Jahweh. They are helping me out.”
How did I miss this story about the robes? I am usually so good at sniffing these out.
