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Aug 2, 2003 "You have have too much compassion," my Compassion-less editor barks at me. "Yeah? How's that?" I ask her laughing. She swivels her red chair to face me, sighs, takes off her funky horn-rim glasses and rolls her eyes. "You can't be a reporter and have compassion," she barks. "Really? That's funny....because I AM a reporter and according to you, I have compassion." She isn't laughing. She's bursting with anger. What she is talking about is that I have asked her if I could add a small paragraph to a story that I already handed in hours ago. It's still in her computer and on her desk. She hasn't read it yet. But she is mad at me. Asking the Compassion-less editor anything at all is like you're suddenly the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz and you have to make the request for a brain...you just get fire spewed at you and a big face shouting no. I was ambushed today by an ounce of compassion and she is hating it. I can't help it. An ounce of compassion snuck up on me after interviewing some people who I did not at all expect would be feeling compassion. There was an incubation period, just like with a cold. Took a while for me to realize I had caught it. .....like it was conagious. Actually, I don't even know if it's compassion. It might just be suddenly my pre-conceived notions disappeared and that might LOOK like compassion. Or maybe it's just clarity. Anyway...if it's that contagious, that may not be so bad. It means my boss will catch it too. So I don't worry. I turn to my computer and wait for her to read at her desk behind me. We'll see when she finishes reading, if she wants to add the extra paragraph that I'd like to add. The story I have been working on is a very serious one. With serious words, serous plot...and it's all real: Burned by a cigarette lighter. Bite marks. Pins into the shoulder. A boy stuffed into a refridgerator. These are some of the abuses I wrote about this week. It involves a little boy, a very young single mother and her boyfriend. The surprise compassion creeped up on me as I spoke to the prosecutor and later to the public defender, mostly because they were both understanding of certain aspects of the case. A prosecutor feeling understanding. Emphasizing you really have to look at ALL the facts in this case. There had to be a reason for his saying that. In fact, it's had me mulling things over even way after I handed in the story and even while I need to be concentrating on other stories. The case was especially difficult for prosecutors because it was impossible to determine who delt the fatal blow to a little child. Was it the boyfriend or was it the mother? They were each blaming the other. A surprise came about in the case, however, when the woman suddenly wanted to plead guilty. The prosecutor said hearing her words felt to him like a bomb went off in the room. It was that much of a surprise. The woman then cooperated fully and testified in detail over the course of several days. She admitted to hitting the child in the head the same day he died. The prosecutor was shocked that she took responsibilty. She also explained that she'd had the child when she was an EXCEEDINGLY young teen. She'd left her home, very far away, and moved in with her boyfriend in a state where she knew no one. She was kept in the house with no house keys, no car and no money. She was a virtual prisioner. And her boyfriend's abuse of her was horrifying. The cigarette lighter I mentioned, was used on her. The pins into the shoulder...it was her shoulder. It's a case with facts and rumors that changed direction in u-turn after u-turn. What you think the story is...turns out to be different than what you'd expect. The boyfriend admitted that the very first day he was with the son, he beat the son with a belt. Then within a few weeks the son is dead. The boy was healthy and happy until this man came into the picture. I keep hearing over and over as I try to work....both the defender's and prosecutor's words were this... .."If she had never met him, the little boy would be alive." The woman in the story plea bargained, so she is only getting a bunch of years in jail. She waited in jail during the two year wait to hear her sentence because she didn't have money for a lawyer or bail. The boyfriend, however, hired himself a lawyer and paid bail. So he's been waiting for his sentencing for two years too but he hasn't been waiting in jail. He's out somewhere in the world tonight. That's all I wanted to add. The editor agreed. The paragraph was added. My editor wishes me a good night. ------------ About the author: Chrissa Falcon is a newspaper reporter in the New York Metropolitan Area. Chrissa may be reached at ChrisFalconColumn@hotmail.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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