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Back in March, District Court Judge James M. Honeycutt said he would remove all religious references from his courtroom, from swearing on the Bible to oaths that end "so help me God," and the traditional invocation, "God save the state and this honorable court."

"I believe that the burden should not be on those individuals to speak up and request an oath that does not mention God or use the Christian Bible," said the judge, a lifelong Southern Baptist and former deacon.

He retreated from those plans for a while, but now they're back.

And back with force. Local sheriffs are the ones to give the invocation, and they say they'll keep giving it. One sheriff was told that if he did so, he'd be found in contempt of court, and, one supposes, forced to arrest himself.

Today, the sheriff and two county clerks of court will file a complaint against Honeycutt, asking the Judicial Standards Commission to investigate and either censure or remove the judge "until such time as he comes into compliance with the Constitution, laws and public policy of the State of North Carolina."

"For now, Davidson County clerks are not swearing in witnesses … leaving the task to Honeycutt," reports the Winston-Salem Journal. "County bailiffs are adhering to the judge's policy because they are in his courtroom, but if they object, another bailiff will open court, said Capt. Steve Hedrick, who oversees the county bailiffs."

But the Journal suggests that today could be the end of this story: "Last year, 275 complaints were filed [with the Judicial Standards Commission], and 258 were dismissed without inquiry."

Focus on the Family reruns
Sometimes pack journalism makes absolutely no sense. One of the big news stories of the day is Focus on the Family "offering recordings of David Berkowitz." As Weblog writes, Google News counts "about 101" press outlets covering some version of the story.

Eh? What Focus is offering are recordings of three broadcasts of the Focus on the Family radio program "David Berkowitz: Son of Hope," where the "son of Sam" killer gives his testimony. The radio broadcasts aired nationwide in early March without a peep from the mainstream media.

Now, according to the New York Daily News, the New York Department of Correctional Services is launching an investigation into "whether Berkowitz or the religious group is profiting from the recordings."

"If Berkowitz is in any way profiting, we will take the money," department spokesman James Flateau said. In an interview with the Associated Press, Flateau said, " I'm just incredulous that a church group would try to make a buck on a serial killer. … If Berkowitz is in any way involved, he would be violating the prohibition on inmates running a business out of prison. The Son of Sam law affects him. Heck, the Son of Sam law was named after him."

The Rocky Mountain News of Denver says family members of Berkowitz's victims are outraged.

Focus producer Scott Welch explained that the interview isn't what some seem to be alleging.

"We're not charging anything, so it's actually not a purchase," he told the News. "We'll send it to people whether they send us a donation or not." As for the content, he says, "It is a fascinating story about a man's life that has been changed. We wanted to relay a message of hope to our listeners, that God can change anyone's life."

Let's make it simple: Focus isn't "cashing in" on Berkowitz any more than the 100+ news outlets running this story.

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June (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48