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Put perspective in Tauzer's memory
Community Voices
| Thursday, Oct 19 2006 2:18 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Oct 19 2006 2:18 PM
This item was originally published on Oct. 11, 2003.
As a concerned Kern County expatriate, I have been closely following the Steve Tauzer case via the Internet for the past year. I checked The Californian's Web page for two things:
* To see if Tauzer's killer has finally been caught and sentenced.
* To see if The Californian would portray Tauzer as the kind, caring man I knew, rather than the scheming offender that media sensationalism and Chris Hillis' attorney, Kyle Humphrey, created.
After more than a year of frustration, this week was the first time I was not disappointed.
Not only did Chris Hillis confess to the murder of Tauzer, but also The Californian finally managed to print an article depicting a generous man who will be sincerely missed by family and community alike.
However, as happy as I am to see some truth finally emerge, Hillis' testimony gives rise to an entirely new set of questions concerning Tauzer's last moments.
Humphrey claims Hillis was taunted into killing Tauzer. Tauzer allegedly tormented Hillis about the "nature of his relationship with Lance."
If that were so, it was a grievous fault, and grievously has he answered for it. As my father is quoted in your article, "Given the fact that any statement by the defendant regarding the precise circumstances of the homicide cannot be contradicted, this is a proper resolution of this case. ..."
However, Hillis' accusations concerning Lance Hillis' and Steve Tauzer's relationship seem to be little more than Chris Hillis' last-ditch effort to sully Tauzer's reputation. I would urge the people of Kern County to disregard the ravings of a broken criminal. Instead, I would ask that Kern remember Tauzer's life.
The life of Deputy District Attorney Steve Tauzer can teach us many valuable lessons. Both in the office and outside, Tauzer strove to make the County of Kern a better place to live. As a prosecutor he worked tirelessly to keep Kern County safe.
At home he volunteered for various charities, including the Boy Scouts. However, it was Tauzer's compassion to anyone who might be in need that made him famous.
Even criminals he prosecuted remember him fondly, a true testament to Steve's warmth of personality. His life is inspiring as it teaches us that one person can, indeed, affect the lives of many.
Unfortunately, Tauzer's death also teaches us a lesson. We learned that the world is not the place that he tried so hard to make. Everyone understands that good people die; it is a bit more difficult to accept that good people are sometimes brutally murdered.
All the kindness and generosity in the world seems to mean very little if Chris Hillis is able to make Kern County believe in a monster who shares his name with Steve Tauzer.
I certainly do not want to live in a reality created by the Chris Hillises of the world, a reality in which men are monsters and murder is justifiable.
Instead, I would invite the people of Kern County to help forge a world in which the kindness and generosity of Steve Tauzer is remembered, and, indeed, continued.
Sarah Jagels is a college student in Southern California and is the daughter of Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels. Community Voices is an expanded commentary that may contain up to 500 words. The Californian reserves the right to reprint commentaries in all formats, including on its Web page.