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I wrote and published this at KDH on Saturday, and wanted to share it here. ~ Claire

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Of course there are marked differences between who we (the normal public that is) consider to be a hero and who we consider to be a coward.

I was reading this morning the account of the execution of a coward who murdered a hero. The differences in their deaths, and in particular the strength in their stride is what stood out for me.

The Hero:
On the evening of October 29, 1999, Winchester Police Sgt. Ricky Timbrook was shot and killed during a foot chase that led him down a dark alley. Timbrook knew his would be killer, Bell.  He had put him behind bars before for illegal firearm possession, and his criminal history as a known drug dealer. The young police officer did not hesitate to chase this criminal down a dark alley. He did not hesitate to pursue someone he knew would be a threat to innocent civilians. This is what heroes do. They do not possess powers that give them super-human strength. They do not possess mutations that make their flesh impenetrable by bullets, knives and other weapons. What they tend to possess is a love for law, order and the intestinal fortitude to do something about it.

Heroes run toward danger. They don’t do it for the thrill. They don’t do it carelessly. They do it because unless good men pursue evil, then evil will most certainly pursue the innocent. Timbrook’s life was taken by a coward when his beautiful young bride was pregnant with their first child.

Police Officers and Firefighters know all about sacrifice in the line of duty. The loss of a Police Officer or Firefighter is also a huge loss to our Country.

The Coward:
I don’t make it my practice to give cowards much time or space on this blog. I like to devote my time and focus on our heroes. I do have to draw the contrast here though, because this is what hit me in the story this morning.
Remember above when I noted that the Hero’s legs ran toward danger? He ran toward the source of the threat in order to neutralize the danger. Here’s what the coward did when it came his time to face justice:

When the door between Bell’s cell and the death chamber opened, the inmate thrust his hips backward and wouldn’t step toward to the gurney where the lethal injection was administered. Six stocky corrections officers pulled him through the doorway and lifted him onto the gurney.

The hero ran courageously into a dark alley to pursue someone who was a danger and a threat to innocent civilians. The coward refused to take his last steps himself and needed to be carried and lifted to the gurney.

The hero did not deserve death, but he took the threat as a job hazard possibility. The coward deserved death, and even in the face of the last chance to apologize to the wife and mother he made a widow, he refused.

Bell maintained his innocence in the face of damning evidence. He refused his last meal and ate a cheese sandwich because he arrogantly thought that justice would not really knock on his door. I find a little comfort in that scene. Bell arrogantly thought he could kill a hero and get away with it. My only regret and sadness is that it took 9 long years for that justice to be administered.

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