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Franklin Graham Prays O.J. Receives Eternal Mercy. But Should He Get Mercy on Earth?

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O.J. Simpson was granted parole on Thursday after serving nine years in prison for a botched kidnapping and armed robbery in Las Vegas. 

When he was sentenced to nine-to-33 years in prison in 2008, many thought the sentence was too steep for the crime he committed, and that the judge and jury were punishing Simpson for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, for which Simpson was infamously acquitted. 

Simpson won't be released from prison until at least October, but the controversy is in full swing in the wake of the parole board's decision.

The Rev. Franklin Graham posted about it on his Facebook page, pointing to the grace available to all of us through faith in Christ, saying  "...yesterday's ruling can serve to remind us of our own pardon, made possible by Jesus Christ. We have all been found guilty of sin and deserve its penalty—death."

Graham went on to say that if we ask His forgiveness, and put our faith in Him, we can have eternal life with him, and experience His eternal pardon.

That's all true, and eternal mercy is available to O.J. Simpson as it is to all of us. Whether O.J. turns to Christ with a repentant heart and receives the gift of eternal life is between O.J. and God. But if God forgives him for his crimes, does that mean he should be released from prison more than 20 years early?

Ron Goldman's family doesn't think so. After Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, the Goldmans filed a civil suit against Simpson and won. Simpson was found legally responsible for their deaths.

Ron's father, Fred Goldman, expressed his disappointment at the parole board's decision in an interview with CBS on Friday. "I'm troubled that he's out free getting a second chance. Something that Ron didn't get. I would prefer to see him back in jail. Simple as that. I don't think he is worthy of the right to be out amongst decent people," Goldman said.

Eternal mercy and earthly mercy and justice play out in different ways. To receive mercy from the parole board, O.J. didn't have to prove he was remorseful or repentant for his crime. In fact, when the topic of the 2007 robbery attempt came up in his hearing, Simpson became momentarily defiant and angry. Yet in the end, the parole board decided to let him go free. 

This latest chapter in the Simpson saga made me think about Karla Faye Tucker, the Texas woman who brutally murdered two people in a drug-fueled crime spree in 1984 and was sentenced to death. Karla Faye became a Christian in prison and from all accounts was a model prisoner and a truly changed woman. 

When her appeals ran out and her execution was imminent, Christians around the country petitioned the governor for a stay of execution, and for Karla Faye to be released on parole. But Gov. George W. Bush let the letter of the law and the severity of her crimes guide his decision, not Karla Faye's changed heart. In 1998, Karla Faye Tucker was put to death by lethal injection, receiving earthly justice for her heinous crimes.

Like Franklin Graham, I hope O.J. truly repents of his sins and finds mercy in the next life. I don't think he should get it here on earth, though. Nicole and Ron sure didn't. 
 

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Andrea
Garrett