A Maryland man and now-former judge killed himself just as FBI agents were closing in on him outside his home on Friday morning.
Jonathan G. Newell , 50, was wanted on suspicion of sexually exploiting several children. On Thursday, federal charges were filed against him in Maryland. The next day, Newell was found dead.
“This morning agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation went to the residence of Jonathan Newell, age 50, of Henderson, Maryland, to arrest him on a federal criminal complaint filed on September 9, 2021,” the U.S. Department of Justice noted in a statement late Friday. “Upon entering the residence the agents found Newell suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 6:43 a.m. Maryland State Police will lead the investigation into the apparent suicide.”
According to federal court records reviewed by Law&Crime, the case against Newell was unsealed and subsequently dropped on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
What is disappointing? The fact that his victims and family will never get justice/closure now? The fact that this man killed himself when he could’ve just done his time and possibly reformed during imprisonment?
Forgive me if I misrepresent you, but I could’ve sworn I saw you in another thread express the opinion that (and I could be completely misremembering, a thousand apologies) it’s such a shame whenever a powerful figure (politician, celebrity, officer, etc.) is exposed as a predator and they ultimately commit suicide to avoid facing judgment/punishment (or out of guilt/shame/humiliation). Is that why you say “disappointing” here?
Again, many apologies for potentially misremembering and misrepresenting you. Shoulda bookmarked it…!
Both. Part of what bothers me so much about when those accused of crimes, especially in such high positions of power such as this take their own life is because there IS a level of social value granted by the justice system, especially from a judge.
In theory, what makes the justice system to effective is when the facts are all laid out and guilt is determined based on that. When someone like a judge takes their own life before being brought through it, it represents a lack of faith within that system, as opposed to simply fearing the consequences.
Justice is about setting things right, not about mere punishment.
I see. I agree. I dunno if you’d agree with me, but suicide is deeply upsetting to me, even when it happens to somebody who arguably “deserves” it (not that I personally believe anybody necessarily deserves to die). In this case, the man wasn’t even convicted, only accused of allegedly having done something. That was enough to take his own life. Some would take this as an admission of his guilt and a selfish need to avoid consequences. But for all we know, he just figured his life was over either way due to the stigma of even just being accused of exploiting children…
Either way, I hate seeing people so backed into a corner they do this, even if they themselves did something horrible. And you’re right: what we ought to seek is justice. Vengeance is NOT justice, and there’s a fine line between them. But sadly, humans are tribalist apes who resort too quickly to violent solutions, and in doing so cause much unneeded suffering, while conveniently ignoring the actual root of the issue.