Not This One -- But Wouldn't It Be Weird If It Were?
My personal opinion is that often, fervent and public professions of religious faith are only an excuse for an abuse of power, personally, or on a broader scale. Ask the Office of the Holy Inquisition. Ask any of the local 'pastors' who participated in lynchings in the American South. Ask the Taliban, or their U.S. equivalents. And ask the families of people like Anthony Hopkins (no, not that one).
In Jackson, Alabama, a 37-year-old evangelical 'pastor' and "model church-goer and worship leader" named Anthony Hopkins was arrested for the murder of his wife. Herr Hopkins had kept his wife's corpse in a freezer, for four years -- thoughtfully preserving evidence for forensic and homicide investigators.
Anthony Hopkins of Jackson, Alabama, 2008
Hopkins' wife, Arletha, had not been seen since 2004; he had told friends that she had died in childbirth and was buried in Georgia. As it was later reconstructed by investigators, Hopkins' wife arrived home one day in 2004 to find him in flagrante with a young girl; after the girl fled, Hopkins killed his wife and stored her in a large freezer.
Plainly, not an individual who stops to ask himself, "What would Jesus do?"
Details emerged during his trial that Hopkins had terrorized his family for nearly a decade with alternating threats of heavenly punishment -- and sexual and physical abuse, which intensified after murdering his wife.
Hopkins was arrested in 2008 after one of his oldest children apparently approached police with a statement that their mother was stored with the Christmas ham and bags of Ore-Idas ("Timmeh, get me that bag of frozen peas" "Where, Daddy?" "Don't know -- lift your Ma's feet and look around under there, or god will strike you").
Portion Of 2004 Announcement From Hopkins' Church,
Reporting His Wife's Alleged Death In Childbirth
As I used to say in another job role, this guy's a real solid citizen.
Hopkins was convicted, primarily on the basis of physical evidence he had preserved and his own family's testimony. This week, he was sentenced to life imprisonment plus fifty-one years for the murder, and additional counts of rape, sodomy, child abuse, and poor sanitation in food storage.
As someone who committed acts of child molestation in addition to murder, he should have an interesting time in the Joint. Hope you enjoy being locked down 23 out of 24 hours a day, segregated in population, Tony! Otherwise -- hoo boy; you're dead, greymeat.
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