I woke up this morning, saw a news story on MSNBC, and now I'm literally shaking with anger as I type this. This isn't some big story that affects millions of lives, this isn't political, but it shines a light on some of the worst elements of human society.
It's about the vicious beating of a 75-year-old grandmother in San Diego, who was then locked in the trunk of her own car for 26 hours. I've seen lots of reports about crimes over the years, but something about this is... different.
The 75-year-old grandmother was strangled, punched, kicked, bound in duct tape and thrown in the trunk of her own car by three young adults. After 26 hours without food or water, Sandy Vinge made a silent plea to God: Either save me, or let me die.
None of the three kidnappers/thugs/disgraces to human society are even 20 years old. But they definitely knew what they were doing. The callousness with which they acted is almost incomprehensible.
For the next 26 hours, police say, the three abductors drove around in Vinge’s car, using her credit cards to buy gas and other items. They never offered anything to Vinge, and when she asked for something to drink because she was desperately thirsty, one of the men smashed her in the face with his fist.
"I was so taped and bound I couldn’t even move to protect myself," Vinge told Lauer. "He was driving crazy and I was bouncing all over the place."
Finally, on Tuesday night, a police officer saw the car committing a traffic violation, gave chase, and stopped the car. The officer found Vinge in the back. When the duct tape was removed, it took her skin with it in some places.
Nelson, Osborne and Baker were arrested and charged with a number of crimes, including kidnapping and assault. They were arraigned on Friday and are being held on $2 million bail each. The three pleaded not guilty.
An in-court television camera zoomed in on Nelson, a muscular young man with buzz-cut hair, and showed him rolling his eyes as the charges against him were read.
Even after being caught, no remorse. Sickening.
Unlike most of you here, I'm a Taoist. We do believe in good and evil. And these three scumbags, I do believe, are evil. Don't give me that bullshit about how they're simply a product of society and upbringing and all that. That's whitewashing it. There are many others in their kind of situation that do NOT descend to the depths of banality and never resort to kidnapping and beating an old woman without any remorse.
Lock 'em up for life. That's the least we can do. But it still doesn't feel like it's actually enough. These aren't your normal thugs who simply deserve to go to prison. By their actions, they revealed themselves to be something more... evil.