Many of you know I’m writing the main defendant in Marc’s case, in fact I’ve sent some of his letters out to a number of people. I felt compelled to write him after the sentencing as I saw how devastated he was. I could see he was depressed & sorrowful, I knew how depression can take hold of a life.
A local TV station filmed my statement and his apology, you can listen for yourself and see how repentant Andrew was:
http://koin.com/2015/06/03/remorceful-marc-sundin-stabber-sentenced-to-10-years/
For me it was so great to hear how he’d turned to God after the crime, how he gave Marc credit for leading him to God! His respect for Marc’s memory blew me away and endeared me to him, I knew he was trying with all his might to be a strong man in the midst of this tragedy.
I initially wrote him a paragraph or two, understanding that he may or may not write back. But I was caught totally off guard when I got this very personal one page letter from him saying how glad he was I wrote and how forgiveness is so healing! He went on to say he was glad he was in custody as he’d really been caught up in some bad stuff.
If he was a nasty, gloating, mean-spirited person I don’t believe he’d ever write back. If he was a psychopathic liar, ego-maniac, career criminal I’m sure he’d not be interested in me … and I’d not want to continue a relationship with an abusive person. I would probably have told him at sentencing what I felt and we would have gone our ways. But after I found out more about Andrew’s lot in life during the hearing, and heard his heartfelt apology, I was amazed at how Marc’s passing had helped turn his killers heart around!
Another thing I want to get across to people is that I don’t think of the defendant as this terrible person, but as a young man who was really stuck in some pain & depression, self-medicating with drugs, in with the wrong group, etc. Don’t think I am dismissing the horrendous loss and tragedy that occurred! But his were not the actions of a serial criminal, or premeditation but a very brief encounter caused by youth, mixed signals and chemical influence! So, I feel clear about the circumstances and very grateful for how the defendant is turning his life around. Marc would like that!