Forgiveness is a Christian ideal.
And if you don't believe in Christ, well, then you'll just have to serve your time?
“In God We Trust” · Season 15, Episode 23
In this episode: Jack McCoy (4), Borgia (2)
I don't care if he comes to court with a hair shirt and a scourge. Murder is murder.
Is Ms. Weiss serious? If you really, really, really turn to God, you can murder someone and walk away with a clean slate? That doesn't put Mr. Elwin in line with any higher moral authority I'm aware of. It places him above the law. We can all acknowledge the existence of a higher moral authority. We see it in action when our collective conscience compels us to reject unjust or immoral laws. But while our actions may be guided by our faith, we deliberately don't conduct them under the guise of religion. Our founders left "God" out of the Constitution, not for lack of faith among them, but because of what they knew about the toxic combination of state and religious power. So, if Mr. Elwin regards his prosecution for a hate murder as unjust or immoral, let him present his arguments without the cloak of religion. To that, the People say the defendant's virtuous conduct after Justin Lennard's murder should be a factor in his sentencing. But to dismiss this case outright would be a miscarriage of justice that contradicts more than 200 years of American jurisprudence. If you kill someone, Mr. Elwin, you have to answer to the State first. And to Justin Lennard, and his family. And then, hopefully, someday, to your Maker.
[after Elwin agrees to plead guilty] I'm just curious, Jack. What were you going to offer?
I was considering going as low as Man One, praise the Lord.
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