Beyond the Headlines: The Search for the Real Steven Nelson

Softly, I met Steven Nelson.  There were no lights.  There were no reporters.  There were no cameras.  There was only us.  Immediately, it was clear that he was much quieter than the headlines I’d read about him.  Of course, I’d encountered misleading headlines before.  It’s just that the discrepancy was so stark in this instance.  Headlines don’t often lead to deeper truths.  Most of the time, when you trust them, they lead you far from both the human and divine.  If one wants to know the truth, they must always go deeper.  Immediately, it was clear that Steven had been hardened by a lifetime of broken promises and dreams.  That’s where I found him, but that’s not where we stayed.

Before we ever talked about the headlines, Steven told me about a car accident.

“The night was dark.  I was sitting in the backseat.  Of course, I didn’t have a seatbelt on.  I was just a kid.  I didn’t know the importance of such things yet.  I saw the headlights out of the corner of my eye.  Before I knew it, the car slammed into the backseat.  I doubt they ever slowed down.  The grill of the car came within inches of my face.  I literally could’ve kissed it.  There was no reason I should’ve walked away from that accident.  When that happened, I knew there was a God.”

Then, came knowledge of the headlines.

In a highly publicized trial, Steven was convicted of the brutal robbery-murder of Rev. Clint Dobson and the assault of church secretary Judy Elliott at NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas.  In addition, Steven committed a variety of infractions while imprisoned at the Tarrant County Jail, and was also a suspect in the murder of a fellow inmate.

The difference between the two Stevens bounced around in my head like marbles in a glass jar.  The stories didn’t make sense.  How could a child that God saved turn into a murderous monster?  Truth is always more complicated than our dichotomies.

I’m thankful Steven has chosen me to be his spiritual advisor.  I’ve done this work for a long time.  Upon first meeting, I don’t go directly to the crime.  Who would want to begin a relationship talking about the worst thing that they’d ever done in their lives?  Truth be known, I care more about the person than I do the crime.  That’s my job.  But the crime does always come up.

Of course, the crime that Steven described is very different than the one the headlines describe.  Instead of being the lone perpetrator, Steven describes himself as the lookout.  He recalled only seeing the bodies of Rev. Clint Dobson and Judy Elliott one time, when he went in to steal a laptop out of the church.  Indeed, Steven said that he didn’t even know that Dobson had died until he saw it on the news.  Such a story is a far cry from the ruthless barbarism that prosecutors pegged him with.  With regard to the numerous incidences in the Tarrant County Jail, Steven described himself as someone desperately trying to resist the oppression and injustice that surrounded him.  Lastly, Steven said that the guy who died in the Jail committed suicide and that he had absolutely nothing to do with it.

So, what’s the truth?  Are we to believe that Steven is someone that God saved in a car accident so that he might live long enough to later live to kill Rev. Dobson?  That doesn’t sound right to me.  Maybe a better way of saying it is…that’s not the type of God that I believe in.  The type of God that I believe in is known for grace and mercy…not murder.  While I doubt any of us will ever know the complexity of what happened, I do know that truth is always found beyond sensational headlines and that killing Steven won’t make any of us any better…only love can do that.

Truth be known, I’ve found Steven to be a beautiful person.  I’m sure that people are always going to be different depending on when you meet them.  But people are always capable of love.  I’ve found that capability in Steven.  In fact, I’ve found him to be amongst the more capable people that I’ve ever met.  Despite his circumstances, he chooses to believe that deeply intimate human interactions are worth the risk.  Why destroy such capability?

Steven is scheduled to be executed on February 5.  With such a date looming, God is calling us to listen.  Rev. Clint Dobson still speaks.  Can you hear him?  The words of Jesus reverberate from his life.  Particularly, these paraphrased words of Jesus in the Gospel of John (8:7), “Let the one who is without sin execute Steven Nelson.”