A BOOK ON U.S. APPLICABLE LAW
Deacon San Nguyen
LATE LOVE
Mr. John received death sentence because he planned to murder his second wife. When he was young, John worked for a pharmaceutical as a salesman. Due to his job that required him to do marketing for his manufacturer far away from home, his wife divorced him right after she gave birth to a son. Being so depressed at first, John saved all his love to his son, although John knew that the real father of his son was not his. John was a good man. He realized that his long absence from home had made his wife a lonely woman. Therefore, John accepted the boy as his dearest one. After his first wife left him, John took care of his son very dearly. He thought that he would never marry again.
Unexpectedly, life made a turn for him. John met a girl who was 22 years old, 10 years younger than his son, and already had an intimate love with another man. Like being struck by a thunder, John loved the girl passionately. To pursue her love, John offered her money and stuff. The girl negotiated with him a condition that if she could see her first lover sometimes somewhere anytime she wanted, she would marry John. Being so blind with the new love, John accepted it and told her that she could see any man she loved anywhere except his home. Both felt good with such conditions. They married with each other and set up a magnificent wedding ceremony at a big restaurant. John and his second wife live in happiness for about 2 years. John felt proud with his young and pretty lover. Strangely enough, John seemed friendly with her old lover whenever he visited her. He never showed off his jealousy. (Later on, John told me that he agreed to let his wife see her lover sometimes, because he was incompetent since he was still living with his first wife. The son he had was not his son. John’s first wife had affair with another man and gave birth to this boy.)
One day, John came home early and caught his wife making love with another man in his bedroom. Instead of getting mad, John stood calmly waiting for that man put on his clothes and ran out of his house. Being afraid that John would do something terrible to her, his wife knelt down and begged him for forgiveness. To stop her from crying, John said that he would forgive her. Nevertheless, inside him, a fire burst out. John wanted to kill her immediately because she betrayed him. He had given her a lot of good stuff and money in order to help her keep her promise not to betray him. At first, John wanted to kill the man who slept with his wife inside his house, but then, he changed his mind. What if she still slept with other men? No, it was not a good plan. She should be dead.
John then visited his wife’s first lover saying a lot of bad things about his wife and made him angry. Moreover, John offered the man a big sum of money to push the man to kill his lover. Feeling great with bunch of money, the man agreed to follow John’s plan to murder his wife.
That night, John flew to another state for a long journey just like he did before. The very next day, the man came to John’s house and enjoyed happy times with his lover. Then, at night, he strangled her to death. Nobody knew anything about the murder until 5 days later, John’s neighbor smelled a very bad smell, they reported to police. With their experience, police found out the murderer. A week later, both John and the killer were arrested. John was sentence to death because he was the person who planned everything for this murder case.
During first few years, John sincerely showed his remorse to me who visited him every two or three weeks. I recited the Bible to him and also, asked a Catholic Priest to come and perform a confession for John. Then, he was allowed to receive communion like all Catholic faithful followers did. Every day, he pray with rosary, read the Bible to other detainers. His faithfulness to God shook other souls in cells. Strangely enough, a Hindu detainer requested to be converted to Catholic.
Before being transferred from detaining center to death cell, I had a chance talking with him that “if you truly considered your wife as the Angel of Love as you said, you should not kill anybody who worshipped her. Why did you allow only one man to sleep with her then kill another?” John sadly answered: “I totally agree with what you said. Now, it is too late for remorse. I am willing to accept the fate that will come to me. Really, before I die, I ask God to forgive me and let me live with him in he Eternality.”
There was strange thing that I needed to mention in this story. When John was in jail for about 8 years, he received a very bad news. His son, who was put in jail due to his selling drugs, suddenly killed himself in jail while he still had a love from a female inmate. They loved each other by communicating through pipes that flushed water in toilets.
A year ago, I also heard news about John’s death in cell. He was sick and died during the time waiting for the appeal to State Supreme Court.
In my opinions, John was both Saint and Devil. Because of his jealousy, he committed a murder, although he was not the man who strangled his wife, but he planned everything for a man to kill. The real murderer was covetous with money. He just followed John’s plan and did whatever John directed him to do.
On the other hand, John was a very good man. He showed his goodness to his first wife who left him with a child not belong to him. In fact, she left John for another man who was not the father of the boy. John loved the boy very much although he knew that boy was not his son. Then, when seeing the second wife, John sacrificed himself for his lover to be happy with such nonsense request: sleeping with another man out of wedlock. He also provided her all her material needs without any hesitation. That was very rare for a human-being.
Telling this story, I just wished that readers would have a moment of silence to commemorate John, a man of generosity and good heart.
