Finding God vs. finding sobriety: Mike Huckabee and rapist Wayne DuMond
“I am born again. I will never again commit rape, or any other crime.”
Paraphrasing, so said Arkansas state penitentiary inmate Wayne DuMond about ten years ago, after having served over a decade for rape. Then-Governor and current Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee believed him. Reportedly responding to pressure from Huckabee, the parole board released DuMond who, less than a year later, murdered a mother of three. Today, misunderstanding the root cause of crime threatens Huckabee’s campaign.
Like most people, Huckabee appears to think that crime is a result of Godlessness or other moral failing. If this were the case, the religious would never commit crime, while murderers, rapists and thieves would consist of only atheists and agnostics.
Wayne DuMond may have sincerely intended to keep his promise. But for the addict, only staying off the drug can all but guarantee this outcome. An ankle bracelet and regular and random testing is more effective in the long run at keeping an addict clean than religion or even AA, which makes it a far safer solution for the criminally-inclined addict.
A more accurate statement is, “I got sober. As long as I stay clean, I will never again commit rape, or any other crime.” The recovering alcoholic who has proven to society and himself that he can act in criminal ways when under the influence would do well to ask the court to monitor him in every technologically feasible way for the rest of his life.