On the Moral Courage of Parents

Some twenty years ago, my mother sat on the jury for a trial involving a young man who had shot an unarmed pedestrian, mistaking him for a member of a rival gang. When the trial was finally over and my mother could talk about it, she said the strongest witness in the case was the defendant’s own mother. At the end, when her son was convicted, the judge asked her why she was willing to testify against her own son. She responded, “Because this has to stop somewhere.”

What made her do it? Moral courage.

We have witnessed moral courage again this week. I cannot imagine the heartbreak that hit Tyler Robinson’s father when he realized his son was the shooter who took Charlie Kirk’s life. That he convinced his son to face the hard road of justice and alerted the FBI took enormous courage. It is the courage born of loving truth and righteousness more than even blood family. The Robinson family is on a terrible, tragic road right now. If the court system agrees with Governor Cox, it will culminate in the execution of their son. For a family, that could not be a worse thing to live with. I hope that hands of comfort will reach out to them from their neighbors and church community. I pray that the atoning blood of the Savior heals their hearts, their son, and the Kirk family. That in the end, good will triumph over tragedy.