Death and Forgiveness…

Eric Wrinkles, a father of two, was in the middle of a nasty divorce and custody battle when his estranged wife, Debbie, went to live with her brother and his family. On July 21, 1994, Eric broke into his brother-in-law’s home at 2 a.m. wearing camouflage and armed with a .357-caliber Magnum. In a rage, he shot and killed Debbie, her brother Tony and his wife, Natalie. Four children were home at the time of the crime.

He will be executed here in Indiana tonight at 1 a.m.

You might have heard about this, because the children, Kim and Matt who were present the night that Wrinkles murdered his wife, Debbie, and the children’s parents Natalie and Tony, were on Oprah recently, along with their grandmother, Mary, who raised them.

Mary, Kim and Matt oppose the death penalty for Wrinkles, and cite their Catholic faith as the reason why.

“Mary, Natalie’s mother, says she didn’t raise Kim and Matt to hate Eric. “It’s because of my faith. Because when you give thanks to God, God carries [you]. And He gave us peace,” she says. “[Natalie’s] in heaven, so I have a lot to be thankful for.”

Mary says she doesn’t believe Eric’s story, but she still forgives him. “I pray for you that you ask God for forgiveness, because that’s where it’s all at. And I ask everybody to write the governor to stop the death penalty because we’re not here to judge. You deserve to be in jail, but we don’t want you to die.”

If you’d like to read more about this case, you can go here, to Oprah’s website. Please pause tonight to say a prayer for the repose of the souls of Debbie Wrinkles, Tony, Natalie, and Eric Wrinkles.

Also, I’d like to pray in thanksgiving to God for the gift of forgiveness He gave to Matt, Kim, and Mary.

Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord…