November, 2003
I've got another one for you. It has to do with a man named Robert Harlan. Between the
ages of 22 and 29, Mr. Harlan was reported to have stalked, intimidated, sexually
harrassed, or sexually abused dozens of women. He was convicted of three sex-related
offenses. He was arrested for rape, but wasn't prosecuted when the victim was too afraid
to testify against him. He was suspected in the beating death of a co-worker.
In 1993, at age 29, Robert Harlan followed a young waitress, Rhonda Maloney, leaving
work, and ran her off the road. He raped and beat her for two hours, until she managed
to run from him, and was picked up by a stranger--Jacquie Creazzo--who happened to
drive by. Mr. Harlan gave chase, and shot into the vehicle several times, hitting Ms.
Creazzo. When the car came to a stop, Mr. Harlan then abducted Rhonda Maloney a
second time, killed her, and dumped her body under a bridge in a rural area. Autopsy
showed she had been raped, had suffered dozens of heavy blows, and was shot twice.
Ms. Creazzo was permanently paralyzed.
He was arrested a week later, and charged with capital murder. He was convicted in
February, 1994, and was sentenced to death. Claiming prosecutorial and jury
misconduct, defense lawyers appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
The appeals were unsuccessful, and in August, 2002, a hearing was scheduled to set the
execution date.
At that point, the defense lawyers filed new motions with the local Circuit Judge, again
claiming jury misconduct. The alleged misconduct? That the jury had considered THE
BIBLE in their decision to impose the death penalty. Defense lawyers claimed THE
BIBLE, not being part of Colorado law, was "extraneous and prejudicial" information that
had led to unfair treatment of their client. They had made the same argument for eight
years already; the Colorado Court of Criminal Appeals, the Colorado Supreme Court, and
the United States Supreme Court had not even considered the argument worthy of
comment. But the Circuit Judge responded, holding hearings and having the jurors from
nine years before interrogated by defense lawyers under oath.
Indeed, four jurors admitted to consulting Gideon Bibles while sequestered in their motel
rooms. One juror brought her own Bible from home to the motel room. One juror
carried her Bible with her into the deliberations room, and Biblical concepts were
discussed among some of the jurors. The only specific testimony regarding alleged
"improper influence" had to do with a juror who felt Colorado law required a death
penalty but that he was initially reluctant to vote for it, and then did vote for death after
further consideration--including the consideration of Bible verses regarding murder.
The judge described Robert Harlan's crimes as "among the most grievous, heinous, and
reprehensible" he'd seen in his eighteen years on the bench. He indicated that if any
crime deserved the death penalty, this was it. Then he threw out the death penalty,
agreeing with defense claims that the Circuit Court's staff had failed to properly insulate
the jury from the non-Constitutional influence of the Bible in their deliberations nine years
before. The judge's decision automatically revised the death penalty to life without
parole.
It implies that the mere presence of THE BIBLE in the room with a deliberating jury
prevents the defendant from fair treatment. After all, there was no evidence that the
"offending" Bible was ever opened during deliberations--just that the contents of it were
discussed among some jurors in informal conversation. The juror with the Bible admitted
under oath that she opened it after the decision was made--seeking comfort and guidance.
Not one juror claimed any undue influence of any kind--each voted their own conscience.
In essence, a heinous killer's lawyers claimed that jurors cannot consider BIBLICAL
TEACHINGS in a death penalty case, and a judge agreed. It is as if, in the world of
lawyers, it's against the law to read, remember, or discuss THE BIBLE in the setting of a
death penalty case. It's considered juror misconduct so severe as to justify rewarding the
most unimaginably evil human a life sentence, rather than death.
In the Godforsaken world of lawyers, everything is normal.