A Dish Best Served Cold

It has been said:  Revenge is a dish best served cold.  I don’t think I fully understood that phrase until just recently.  As my friends and family can tell you, I am a True Crime addict.  I watch it on TV, I read, and I am even writing my first True Crime book; something I have been seeing a lot of on the shows lately is cold cases that have gotten solved after 10, 15, and even 20 years.  Those are called “Cold Cases” because you just don’t have any “hot” leads any longer and it takes a really good detective with some really good eyes to see what was missed that long ago to solve these cases. 

I love it when they get down to figuring out who done it and this person has changed their lifestyle.  Let’s say they are being accused of killing someone in 1990 and that that murder was the last thing they ever done wrong or against the law … imagine their surprise when the detectives show up at their door to talk to them about a case from way back then.  Here they are in a home, with their wife and kids (all of which came after that bad time period of their life) … and the cops want to talk to you now.  Wow, that just has to be a shock.  You know you did it … you know the evidence is there if they looked hard enough … but you thought you got away with it when they didn’t come see you back then.   Now, they are going to rip your life apart just as you done that person’s back in 1990. 

If I was a friend or family member of that person that was murdered, I would want them to let the suspect run free as long as he can to start this new life.  I want him to be set up and have a cradle that can fall.  I would want to devastate his life the way he devastated my friends or family member.  Of course this would only work if the person tries to turn their life around.  If they don’t, then go ahead and arrest and charge him … but if he shows signs of turning his life around, yes, definitely wait as long as you can.  Let’s face it, people just don’t get life or even the death penalty for murder any more … most of the time, they may only get 10 or 20 years … wouldn’t you want those 10 or 20 years to come at the worst time possible in their life.  I know I would. 

That is just a thought I had today.