as a whole. Whereas few people openly condoned the alleged actions of these men, many felt that it was a sort of renegade justice being served in retribution for the acts of 9/11. The NNN group was not favored among Portland residents, but in this instance, had achieved a sort of grassroots popularity for their bold efforts to right the wrongs of the terrorist acts against the US. Anti-Muslim sentiment had almost reached a group-hysteria level, and secretly many people thought that the Quitans had received their just reward for practicing an “anti-American” sort of religion. Everyone present eagerly awaited the jury’s verdict.
The jury had already entered the room, and the bailiff announced for all to rise as Judge Walker followed. As she entered, indicated the court was in session, and rapped the gavel on the stand, the crowd took their seats and looked toward the twelve jurors. The judge looked over to a middle-aged African American man, dressed in a three-piece business suit, who was the jury foreman, and asked, “Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?”
The gentleman fidgeted somewhat as he opened a folded piece of paper in his hand and looked toward Judge Walker. “Yes we have, Your Honor.”
Judge Walker briefly ran her eyes around the courtroom, pausing to look at both plaintiff and defendants. “And what is your verdict, Mr. Foreman?”
Clearly a bit nervous, the foreman saw out of the corner of his eye the three large orange-clad defendants looking menacingly in his direction, then slowly replied, “We find the defendant Ralph Henderson guilty of aggravated assault, and the codefendants, Messrs. Hartman and Stimmel, equally guilty as accomplices. We also find all three defendants guilty of arson in the burning of the Quitan home, Your Honor.”
Almost immediately, a mixture of growls and cursing emanated from two of the defendants as well as the large group of NNN members seated behind them. The sole and very noticeable exception was the third defendant, Buzz Henderson, who sat motionless, with his head down and his face buried in his hands, where no one could see his reaction.
Immediately the judge rapped the gavel and called for order in the court. “Very well, Mr. Foreman. Will the defendants please rise?” As the three orange-clad men got up from their seats and stood, handcuffed before the judge, two glared directly at her, while Buzz continued to hold his head down and stare at the floor. “Gentlemen, you have been tried in a court of criminal law and found by a jury of your peers to be guilty as charged. Your sentencing will take place in this courtroom two weeks from today.” As she raised her gavel to signal the end of the proceedings, Judge Walker was stopped with the gavel in midair by a sound coming from the plaintiff’s table.
“Your Honor…”
The sound came from Mariah Quitan, who had risen to her feet. As the judge hesitated, gavel in the air, looking over toward her, she repeated, “Your Honor, I have something to say.”
Judge Walker glared at Mariah and stated unhesitatingly, “Ms. Quitan, this is highly irregular. The time for any statement from you is well past.”
Mariah glanced down at her father, who was totally puzzled by her behavior, and whispered, “Father, you may not agree with me, but this is something I have to do. I hope you understand.”
Looking back up to the judge, she continued, “Your Honor, I am aware that I am completely out of order here, but I have to say something that is very important, if you would please give me just a brief moment.”
Judge Walker looked at Mariah with an expression somewhere between aggravation, puzzlement, and utter curiosity. “Very well, Ms. Quitan, if you insist, but please make it brief.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. This will only take a moment. I waited until now to speak because I wanted the defendants to know what it felt like to be convicted of crimes that would cause them extensive imprisonment. I wanted them to know how it felt to have hope taken away and nothing to look forward to other than a life behind bars.” As she spoke, Mariah moved away from the plaintiff’s table and now stood directly before the defendants. Buzz had raised his head now, with tears clearly visible on both cheeks. Bear and Blood looked harshly at her, wondering what it was she had to tell them. Mariah continued, “All three of you were excited about having some sort of revenge—humiliating, raping, and murdering a young girl you hardly knew—calling me a Muslim whore, when in fact, I was no more than an innocent virgin following in my father’s footsteps, trying to make the world a better place. My father and I are no more responsible for 9/11 than you are for whatever steps your country will take to devastate the Middle East in retaliation. Hatred, killing, and revenge can only bring about more of the same. As a quantum physicist, my father has taught me that we are all connected by an underlying energy field, so that hurting another person or place is in fact hurting our own selves. We are United States citizens, just like you are. Other than the American Indians, everyone here came from another country, including yourselves. That has created the strength and diversity we proudly call America. People here come from all over the world to call this country home. The United States has always stood for tolerance, freedom of speech, and religious freedom. It is an organization like yours—riddled with hatred, malice, and bigotry—that is un-American, not simple people like my father and me, who quietly practice our religion and strive to make our community and nation a better place to live. I respect the legal system in this country, and am pleased that it found you guilty of the crimes that you committed against us.”
Mariah paused for a moment and moved squarely in front of the defendants.
“But that is not why I am speaking to you and to this court. Someone has to stop this endless cycle of retribution. It clearly won’t be terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, or even governments like the United States, and most certainly not groups like the NNN. It has to start with people like you and me. I can’t begin to tell you the grief that you have caused our family—every possession we had was destroyed by the fire you set. If you had succeeded with your plan, you would have brought even more suffering and pain to one of the world’s most brilliant scientists, who, unbeknown to you, had already lost his beautiful wife and my mother to a similarly senseless terrorist act. Look at me, all of you,” Mariah snapped with an uncharacteristic fierceness in her eyes. “I am a kind, loving young girl that your prejudice made into some soulless monster worthy of humiliation and death. I have never done harm to you or anyone else. Right now you should get down on your knees and thank God that you only succeeded in burning our home. If you had killed me, and I were not standing before you right now, you would most likely have received the death penalty rather than an extensive prison sentence. But here is something you didn’t count on…something that you can be even more grateful for,” Mariah added as she turned and faced the judge. “Judge Walker, before you sentence these men, I wish to drop all charges against them. I understand that this is highly irregular, but I would rather be responsible for their redemption than their incarceration.”
Swirling back around, she touched Buzz on the shoulder, as the tears continued to cascade down his cheeks. “Buzz Henderson, you put a knife to my throat and threatened bodily harm to me.” As her own eyes began to fill with tears, Mariah struggled to continue. “I forgive you for that. Please forgive yourself. Look inside and see who you really are—a divine part of the consciousness that connects us all. Wake up! Be the person you came here to be, not some pawn of these hateful organizations. I see your soul and know that God is within you and that you are perfect!”
Mariah raised her hands and wiped the tears from his cheeks. As her eyes met his, she spoke softly words that he would never forget. “Make this horrible event count for something good. I believe in who you really are. Go from here and become that person,” she smiled, as if she had known him for eons. As Buzz returned her gaze, a smile came over his face, and he felt a strange and wonderful connection that he had never before experienced in his life. A sense of utter gratitude poured over him as he looked into Mariah’s eyes and began to remember….
Mariah
