printThe “family of London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan ‘totally condemn his actions,’” but the father of Khan’s victim, David Merritt, is too busy condemning those who wish to condemn Khan and his ilk to life in a cell.
Usman Khan slaughtered Jack Merritt on November 29. Come December 2, the lad’s dad, David Merritt, was already penning woke op-eds about clemency and leniency for prisoners like killer Khan.
This minute-made forgiveness, claimed Merritt senior, sanctimoniously, would have been Jack’s wish. By calling his son’s murder a “tragic incident,” Merritt senior also minimizes what was murder with malice aforethought.
How obscene is the progressive mindset!
Wrote Mr. Merritt sanctimoniously:
If Jack could comment on his death – and the tragic incident on Friday 29 November – he would be livid. We would see him ticking it over in his mind before a word was uttered between us. Jack would understand the political timing with visceral clarity.
He would be seething at his death, and his life, being used to perpetuate an agenda of hate that he gave his everything fighting against. We should never forget that. What Jack would want from this is for all of us to walk through the door he has booted down, in his black Doc Martens.
That door opens up a world where we do not lock up and throw away the key. Where we do not give indeterminate sentences, or convict people on joint enterprise. Where we do not slash prison budgets, and where we focus on rehabilitation not revenge. Where we do not consistently undermine our public services, the lifeline of our nation. Jack believed in the inherent goodness of humanity, and felt a deep social responsibility to protect that.
Compared to such woke sentiments, the family of the London-Bridge Killer was mundane in its normal and correct expiation:
“We are saddened and shocked by what Usman has done,” said the family . “We totally condemn his actions and we wish to express our condolences to the families of the victims that have died and wish a speedy recovery to all of the injured.”
No need to apologize. Speaking for his dead son, David Merritt appears to have already made peace with his killer. (Dad, if you ask me, is rather presumptuous in speaking for his son.)
Jack, apparently, had “devoted his energy to the purpose of ‘Learning Together: a pioneering programme to bring students from university and prisons together to share their unique perspectives on justice.'”
If young Merritt’s murder proves anything it is that Cambridge University’s social justice outreach, Learning Together, is a costly indulgence.