A deepening of sorrow: The Browns and Goldmans

One crow, sorrow. Two crows, joy. Three crows for a girl. Four crows for a boy. Five crows for silver. Six crows for gold. Seven crows for a secret that's never been told.

~The Crow: City of Angels, "Ashe Corven"

Draw your own conclusions from the above quote. I find it works in this situation on a number of levels. I counted only one crow as the sentence was delivered to Orenthal James Simpson, for all I saw was sorrow, one so deep I can scarcely fathom it. The Goldmans and Browns have hated Mr. Simpson ever since their loved ones were so brutally murdered in June of 1994, and frankly, I can't blame them. For over fourteen years, they sought justice, and indeed, vengeance on the man responsible for the murder of their loved ones, and if anything, I commend them on their restraint. With Mr. Simpson likely to spend most of the remainder of his life in prison, they have finally found the justice and vengeance they have sought for so long. One would think this is a time to rejoice, to be content with what the justice system has finally done. Though I have never met the Goldmans or the Browns, though my knowledge of them is no better than anyone else who reads the newspaper or watches the news, I can go by how I think I would react. It is for that reason my sympathy for them has increased with this recent conviction. By virtue of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, Mr. Simpson can never again be tried in criminal court for the murder of their loved ones. In essence, though every shred of evidence points to one individual, including the shoe prints of Mr. Simpson's size of butt-ugly Bruno Magli shoes, their cases will forever be technically listed as "unsolved", and he will never spend a day in prison as punishment for that crime. I doubt that 14 and one half years have alleviated that kind of pain, and I would not be surprised if that pain were everlasting. But the crux of a deepening of my sympathy for the Goldmans and Browns is this: They have hated Mr. Simpson for so long, and he has finally gotten some of what he deserves. Their calling to be the voice of those they held so dear is done. For fourteen and a half years, they pleaded for justice, cried out for those who no longer had a voice, and suffered pains beyond those of the damned. What do they do next? It is this question that really makes my heart ache for them. What now?

With all that in mind, I close with the quote I opened this post with:

One crow, sorrow. Two crows, joy. Three crows for a girl. Four crows for a boy. Five crows for silver. Six crows for gold. Seven crows for a secret that's never been told.

~The Crow: City of Angels, "Ashe Corven"

May mercy and comfort be granted unto the Goldmans and Browns and all those who knew and cared for the victims, and the victims of all crimes everywhere.