In his book, Beneath the Crops of Jesus, A. Leonard Griffith tells the story of a young Korean exchange student, a leader in Christian circles at the University of Pennsylvania, who left his apartment on the evening of April 25, 1958, to mail a letter to his parents. As he turned from the mailbox, he was met by eleven leather jacketed teenage boys. Without a word, they beat him with a blackjack, a lead pipe, and left him lying dead in the gutter.
All of Philadelphia cried out for vengeance. The district attorney planned to seek the death penalty for the arrested youth and then, this letter arrived signed by the boy’s parents and twenty other relatives in Korea:
Our family has met together and we have decided to petition that the most generous treatment possible within the laws of your government be given to those who have committed this criminal action....In order to give evidence of our sincere hope contained in this petition, we have decided to save money to start a fund to be used for the religious, educational, vocational, and social guidance of the boys when they are released...We have dared to express our hope with a spirit received from the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ who died for our sins.
"You Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you."
- Psalm 86:5 NKJV
"You Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you."
- Psalm 86:5 NKJV
