Jennifer Wilbanks, the former Georgia bride-to-be who lied to the cops about being kidnapped, has entered a “treatment program.” From FOXNews.com:
Wilbanks “entered a highly regarded, inpatient treatment program on her own volition to address physical and mental issues that, she believes, played a major role in her ‘running from herself,’ as she described in a public statement last week,” family spokesman Sammy Smith wrote in an e-mail.
I have nothing snarky to say. If treatment is what she needs, treatment is what she should get.
Along with criminal charges.
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But Lashawn, she can plead “not guilty by reason of insanity.”
La Shawn, what is the name of the mental affliction she is to be treated for? Coldfeetitus? Altarphobia? Partial-Truth Syndrome (PTS)? Pop psychologists are going to get rich writing NY Times bestsellers on this modern malady.
Along with criminal charges
So much for no snarky comments LOL
Granted, I want her to get the therapy now, on her dime, so that it will be harder for a judge to make therapy part of her sentance. Or the whole of the sentance. And on the taxpayers dime.
What about the nutty fiancee that is still going to marry her? Is there a program for him as well?
I wonder if that therapy will include some help for stickyfingeritis?
Where else but in America will the woman who once prosecuted Ms. Cold Feet for shoplifting is the one who defends her now.
Augh…as a therapist I do have some compassion for this woman. But as an activist, outspoken Christian I am very annoyed with her and actually have written about her alot on my blog.
However, if she did go to a mental hospital she probably was feeling suicidal because normally they don’t admit people if they aren’t. Then again, with her…they might just want the money.
Man, I will be the happiest bloke on earth when you Americans grasp the concept of forgiveness! Ms. Wilbanks is getting the help she obviously needs. Good for her. The man that was most hurt by her flight loves her, has forgiven her and still wants to marry her. Nothing wrong with that. No matter what comes from the peanut gallery, he seems to have his priorities straight. He understands what a committment is. So, for the rest of us I just HAVE to ask this question: Where is the love?
Rafael,
Actions have consequences. Love doesn’t mean that you pretend everything’s okay or that wrong actions do not matter. Forgiveness does not mean that no wrong had been committed. Remember the story about David and his son Absalom? If you love someone and wants to forgive him/her you better make sure he/she realizes what he/she did was wrong. And by the way, where in the Bible did it authorize you to forgive someone for wrongs done to others? If Ms Wilbanks really is sorry she’d pay for the law enforcement costs, and however her fiance feels about this whole situation doesn’t change the fact that she wronged a lot of other people.
I can’t help think that this is a cynical attempt to use the system. First they tried getting some pastors to come to her defense –that covers the religious right– then she goes into a secular treatment center –that covers the secular left. Now she has everybody on her side and there’s no support for bring charges against her, right? Let’s all just let by-gones be by-gones.
Meanwhile, she committed a crime, did some genuine harm, and needs to be treated like any other criminal.
Isn’t her 15 minutes well past by now?
Mwalimu ” …what is the name of the mental affliction she is to be treated for?”
I heard someone on TV say that a histrionic personality is a possibility. If that is true, from what I’ve observed in life, she has a lot of people enabling her with a vested interest in her remaining as she is. Catholics call this “corporate sin,” I think.
“Man, I will be the happiest bloke on earth when you Americans grasp the concept of forgiveness!” Good grief. The condescention in the air is thick.
Part of the forgiveness process involves the offending party owning up to the sins committed. If that includes civil and/or criminal penalities, so be it.
I forgave my son when he poured glue all over the carpet just to see what would happen, but I also made him apologize to his mother and to help clean it up. He also got to spend his allowance to replace the glue.
Why is there so much interest in a 32 Yr. old woman running away from a wedding? New Mexico police have declined to charge her with a crime so that should have been the end of it.Yes, it cost a lot of money to hunt for her but she didn’t ask anybody to initiate that hunt, The groom and her family were the ones to sound the alarm so let them foot the bill. Also, what does her past record of shop-lifting have to do with anything?
Earl: Are you saying that if someone is missing for as long as this gal was, the Police shouldn’t start searching for her, unless they are invited to do so?
We don’t want the Police to wait to be “asked” to look for missing persons. By that time they could be dead.
The Police did exactly what they were supposed to do. They were pro-active in initiating a search.
—–At tax-payer expense.
And, self-indulgent psycho-analysis/psycho-therapy, is not my definition of paying one’s debt to society, for this kind of crime.
Fuzz & Redbeard: first of all I never said or even implied that Ms. Wilbanks did no wrong. I believe I referred to the person she hurt the most, her betrothed. I commended him for being man enough to honour his committement to her in what have to be very trying circumstances. I have also said elsewhere that she has to face consequences for what she has done, ESPECIALLY the lies she told.
My question obviously hit a nerve and I am thrilled it did. Why? Well, because I see too many folks judging without compassion. I realize that the folks that comment here aren’t representative of the nation as a whole (or even conservatives) but the lack of love and compassion is appalling to me.
And Redbeard, forgiving someone has NOTHING to do with whether or not they own up to what they did. Forgiveness is a mutually exclusive, singular act of the forgiver. Remeber Jesus? “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Where is the repentance on the part of those that He asked forgiveness for? It is in the future, if it is to be found at all. Had He waited for a little crumb of shame or guilt from those that were murdering Him, He’d STILL be on that execution stake on Golgotha’s hill. Believe that.
Fuzz let me turn your question on its head: Where in scripture does it FORBID you to forgive anyone anything? I am sure you are familiar with the model prayer, excuse me, the Lord’s prayer. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?” That is from Matthew 6:12. Or what about a verse or two later, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6:14 & 15).” Rest assured that “men” includes Ms. Wilbanks.
So again I ask, “Where is the love?” It is too important a thing to be left out. This is elementary stuff guys. No one is saying let her off scot-free. She will get her recompense and hopefully redemption will come afterwards. All of this hate (and that is what it is) irks me. I am just imploring you to show a little compassion.
I’ll end this with a little more from the Master: “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13).” Peace. Oh, and LOVE.
Glamchild, You are right in what you said but I still don’t understand what crime she committed other than a false report to the police in New Mexico who have declined to prosecute her.I am no lawyer but to make her reimburse her home state for the expense of the search would seem,to me, to be a civil matter.
Rafael, in terms of heavenly forgiveness, you might be right. But since I’m not a perfect being, forgiveness from me necessarily comes with a few strings, like a tiny bit of repentance on the part of the offender.
Also, wouldn’t the legal penalties in this case be justified as a separate issue from spiritual forgiveness? Render unto Caesar, and all that.
Compassion? Where was her compassion when she knowingly and FALSELY accused a man and woman of raping her and kidnapping her? Yes, she said that the woman raped her as well. These two people actually existed. She met them on her little bus trip. Can you imagine what would have happened if the police would have found these two people? How far was she willing to go with her lies? I ask again, where was her compassion when she was spewing these outrageous lies? Where was her compassion for REAL victims of rape and of kidnappings? She didn’t have any for them, and I don’t have any for her.
Somehow she, and a lot of other people seem to think that she shouldn’t face any consequences for her actions. This is a 32 year old woman, not a child. It’s one thing to get cold feet. She had every right to leave. However, she committed a CRIME when she spewed her twisted lies about being raped and kidnapped.
As part of her “community service,” she shouldn’t be allowed to work the medical tents at the state fair. She lied about being raped and kidnapped, so here’s what I believe her “community service” should be. She should have to work at a center for rape victims, and should be made to sit there and listen to their stories. She should also have to work to help find real kidnap victims.
Rafael Daniel:
I reread your comments several times to try to figure out why something didn’t seem right. Then it hit me. You quote all the right scriptures, yet, you yourself sound very judgmental and unforgiving of the people who have commented here. If it’s wrong for them, why is it OK for you?
Do you think some people might say they are forgiving and compassionate when something else is at work? I remember a woman whose only criterion for whether she liked someone or not was “He/she was always nice to me.” She would “forgive” anyone for anything if they were nice to her.
In the book “Zero at the Bone,” the wife of a man who was molesting their daughters claimed to be a Christian and stayed with him under the flag of “forgiveness.” If he can be believed, the day he killed his entire family, including his daughter and his child/grandchild by her, his wife pleaded, “Don’t kill ME! Don’t kill ME!” I guess he didn’t just appreciate her “forgiveness.”
Redbeard, we are commanded to be perfect (mature) as our Father in heaven is perfect. Yes, we are frail compared to Him, but if we are in Him, He infuses us with His ability to do what He has commanded us to do. I KNOW it isn’t easy, but that isn’t an excuse. For any of us. We MUST forgive, no matter how illogical it may sound/feel/be.
As for penalties, we all eventually reap what we sow. So, any legal penalties that she has to deal with will be her own fault and she should bear any repercussions with dignity and grace (hopefully). God forgave David for his drama many times, but didn’t let him off the hook, so to speak. If you remember, the first child he fathered with Bathsheba DIED. Actions beget consequences.
By the way, I think that you displayed excellent parenting in regards to your son and the glue on the carpet. You showed him love by chastening him for his actions. Just like a father should do. You didn’t make him sleep on the street after what he did. You loved him enough to teach him an important life lesson that I am sure he will NEVER forget. I respect that more than I could ever properly express.
Yes, render unto Ceasar…
April, April, April!!! The lack of compassion she showed isn’t the issue here. Her crimes (you will notice I didn’t write “crimes”) have been well documented. No doubt she was wrong. No doubt. I am speaking about OUR collective response to her.
I will NEVER say she shouldn’t face consequences. In the fulness of her time, I hope that she will understand what she has done, honestly regret it and truly repent. Her (future) wholeness depends on it, I believe. I’d love to see her move forward in life in a positive fashion, even though her life probably will never have no real impact on my own. I also don’t begrudge you your opiniuon of what her community service or other punishment should be. You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I am just coming from a completely different place.
If you fail to have compassion, I feel for you dear lady. I don’t know if you believe in the same God I do, but I know He requires it from us. It certainly is counterintuitive to our human nature. To that I say like Paul said, let God be true and every man (and woman) be a liar. Love rules. Period.
Evon am I judging or am I pointing something out? My heart HURTS behind this, because I have seen and heard too much hate from people that I KNOW know better. Evon, I expect better of humanity because I know humanity is capable of it. What is at work in me is a strong desire to see the gospel LIVED. That requires love.
Am I supposed to shed tears in silence or am I allowed to exercise my right to speak? You accuse me of being unforgiving. You are wrong. My tone isn’t harsh or strident. I did say that the lack of love and compassion was appalling to me, and it is. The same with the perceived hate. I have implored the folks I was responding to to show a little compassion. I will stand on that exhortation.
One last thing Evon: if I am being judgmental in your view, I’ll accept that. After all, it is your opinion. However, I am more than willing to be judged on the very basis on which you say I am judging. I endeavour to let the love and life of Jesus the Messiah overtake mine everyday. The chalk line that I draw on the sidewalk isn’t for the rest of the world: it is for ME, first and foremost. I read that in a Book somewhere :-D. I’ll take whatever comes with doing my level best to live as I am commanded. If that means speaking out in defense of love, then I MUST do it. The lumps I can handle. Peace.
Please don’t feel for me Rafael because I’m never going to show any compassion for this woman. I’m entitled to think and feel whatever I want.
And yes, compassion is an issue. Many people, and I’m not talking about on here either, have said “Where’s your compassion for this woman?” I ask again, why should anyone show her some compassion? My opinion has nothing to do with God, although I do hope when it comes time for her to face God, she can’t talk her way out of what she did. Like I said before, where was her compassion for real victims who are raped and kidnapped? She made a complete mockery of true crime victims by doing what she did. Boo Hoo for her that she couldn’t handle the “pressure” of eight wedding showers and a 600 guest wedding, or that her fiance was a born-again virgin as he puts it and wouldn’t sleep with her until they were married.
Why doesn’t she get a REAL problem like not knowing if her job is safe, not having a job, having to decide between eating or getting her medicine, not being able to heat her home, being homeless, etc. Need I go on? Her utter lack of compassion for anyone else is truly disgusting. This woman knew exactly what she was doing. She was methodical and sick, right down to her graphic details of her “kidnapping” and multiple “rapes.” And for her, we’re supposed to have compassion because God requires it from us? I think not!! On judgement day, if God asks me why I didn’t show compassion for Ms. Jennifer Wilbanks, I will say exactly what I think. She doesn’t deserve it. If that gets me a one-way ticket to see the devil, so be it!!
April, all I can say to you is “Wow”. And I will feel for you, because I am concerned about anyone that exhibits a lack of compassion, which is to me a lack of love in action. You DO have the right to feel how you feel and express that. On that we agree. I only hope as you grow and mature (and we all NEED to to whatever degree), you will become more malleable to the leading of the Holy Spirit of God in regards to this love/compassion thing. He DOES run this thing, you know. You are OBVIOUSLY thoughtful and intelligent. We just don’t see eye-to-eye on this. Then again, I am 6′2″ :-D. Peace and Love.
I don’t defend her actions, although I am a lawyer, but the law is the law and she has not committed any crime in Georgia. There is nothing illegal about a grown woman running away. Her only crime (for which she won’t be charged) was making a false statement to police in New Mexico (which the police never believed).
Insensitve? Stupid? Irresponsible? Yes! Yes! Yes! But NOT criminal (at least not in Georgia).
If this indictment stands, I will lose all faith in the justice system.
Whenever the police investigate a “missing person” they know that there is always the possibility that such person is not actually “missing”, but does not want to be found. The problem is that the media thought it had found the next Laci Peterson and became invested in the story. And, now, the public, having felt so bad for this woman, now feels hoodwinked. I guess we’d feel better had she been brutally murdered.
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