{"id":41437,"date":"2015-04-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/district-attorney-apologizes-for-wrongful-conviction\/"},"modified":"2015-04-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T00:00:00","slug":"district-attorney-apologizes-for-wrongful-conviction","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/district-attorney-apologizes-for-wrongful-conviction\/","title":{"rendered":"District Attorney Apologizes for Wrongful Conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Attorney A.M. &quot;Marty&quot; Stroud III, of Shreveport, Louisiana was the lead prosecutor in the December 1984 first-degree murder trial of Glenn Ford, who was sentenced to death for the death of a Shreveport jeweler. Ford was released from prison March 11, 2014, after the state admitted new evidence proving Ford was not the killer. A year later (March 2015), Stroud wrote a brutally honest apology for <em class=\"citation\">The Shreveport Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>In 1984, I was 33 years old. I was arrogant, judgmental, narcissistic and very full of myself. I was not as interested in justice as I was in winning. To borrow a phrase from Al Pacino in the movie &quot;And Justice for All,&quot; &quot;Winning became everything.&quot; &hellip; [As a result], Mr. Ford spent 30 years of his life in a small, dingy cell &hellip;. Lighting was poor, heating and cooling were almost non-existent, food bordered on the uneatable<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>After the death verdict [was handed down], I went out with others and celebrated with a few rounds of drinks. That&#39;s sick. I had been entrusted with the duty to seek the death of a fellow human being, a very solemn task that certainly did not warrant any &quot;celebration.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>In my rebuttal argument during the penalty phase of the trial, I mocked Mr. Ford, stating that this man wanted to stay alive so he could be given the opportunity to prove his innocence. &hellip; How totally wrong I was. &hellip; I apologize to Glenn Ford for all the misery I have caused him and his family. I apologize to the [victim&#39;s family] for giving them the false hope of some closure. I apologize to the members of the jury for not having all of the story that should have been disclosed to them. I apologize to the court in not having been more diligent in my duty &hellip;<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p><em>Possible Preaching Angles: This is a great example of confession, confessing sin, repentance, and so forth. Stroud&#39;s admission of wrongdoing is so clear and honest. He makes no excuses for his behavior and fully understands the consequences of his sin.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[446],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3408,3425,3663,3664,4164,4264,4788,4804,4805,5022],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-41437","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-ambition","tax_ctp_tags-apology","tax_ctp_tags-confession","tax_ctp_tags-confession-of-sin","tax_ctp_tags-honesty","tax_ctp_tags-integrity","tax_ctp_tags-regret","tax_ctp_tags-repent","tax_ctp_tags-repentance","tax_ctp_tags-sorrow"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>District Attorney Apologizes for Wrongful Conviction - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/district-attorney-apologizes-for-wrongful-conviction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"District Attorney Apologizes for Wrongful Conviction - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Attorney A.M. &quot;Marty&quot; Stroud III, of Shreveport, Louisiana was the lead prosecutor in the December 1984 first-degree murder trial of Glenn Ford, who was sentenced to death for the death of a Shreveport jeweler. 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