Bob CollinsAfter your relative has killed two little boys, apparently because one of them drew a picture of daddy driving and mommy (whom is missing and presumed dead) in the trunk, and set fire to the house to which they were lured, it’s probably not the best time to issue an indictment of the Internet and the legal system.
Relatives of Josh Powell, the man suspected of killing his wife and, subsequently, both of his children and himself, issued a statement today blaming the tragedy on the system.
The dead kids merited a “PS” in the statement:
We are grievously saddened at the loss that the Cox and Powell
families have suffered. There is no justification for the loss of two
innocent children, Charles and Braden.
Josh had asked us to step in and offer our support in helping him as
the next patriarchs of the family with the absence of Steve, his
father. We were also asked by Josh if we would offer a safe haven for
his sons should the need arise; our answer was absolutely yes.
We felt that Josh represented himself using a great deal of restraint
with patience and dignity at his children’s custody hearing, even
though it did not work out in his favor. Our family’s suggestions to
Josh both before and after the hearing were that if he had any
credible facts, no matter how disturbing, he should present it so that
due process would be possible. We believe that Josh continued to use
this restraint because of the fear of losing his sons and the love he
had for all of his family members that he so desperately tried to
protect.
When we arrived in the state of Washington we believed in America’s
legal system. After witnessing how broken the system was and the
events that took place before our eyes, both inside the court room and
outside, we left for home in disillusionment of the legal system and
concern for our family’s posterity.
In our hearts and minds we feel that this family tragedy was set into
motion from the beginning due in part to the various questionable
government agencies’ practices, religious bias, the internet kangaroo
courts, and sensationalized news media, all of whom have circumvented
the laws that protect all of our rights to due process. We believe
that the stewardship of the responsibilities that have been entrusted
to those organizations and individuals has been completely
compromised.
America, this is not only a tragedy, Sunday was a dark day for all of
our families.
Uncle Maurice, Aunt Patti
P.S. Josh, Susan, Charles, and Braden, you will always remain in our hearts.
There is one system that clearly did not work: The 911 system.
