Print Story
E-mail StoryRelative says he's ready to forgive
| Thursday, Sep 27 2007 10:26 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Sep 27 2007 9:59 PM
Eddie Harper Sr., son of Earnestine and brother of Joanie, said his family believes justice was served.
Brothers Trial E-mail Alerts
Stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the Vincent Brothers mass-murder trial.Sign up for the Brothers trial e-mail alerts
To view video for this story
please update your Flash player
Photos:
An unidentified women hugs Eddie Harper after he leaves the courtroom after Kern County Superior Court Judge Michael Bush sentenced convicted murderer Vincent Brothers to death Thursday.
Eddie Harper, right, Earnestine Harper's son, hugs Lisa Green before Vincent Brothers received the death penalty in September 2007.
Poll
Do you agree with the judge's decision to sentence Vincent Brothers to death?
"We don't wish for Vincent to die. That will not bring our family back," Harper said. "We are just grateful that the law, in its due process, has convicted the right man."
He said he does not believe Vincent Brothers carries any remorse for his actions, but that the Harper family stands ready to offer him forgiveness if he asks for it.
"I hope that one day he will reconnect with his conscience, before he leaves this world," Eddie Harper Sr. said Thursday. "God doesn't forgive us until we are ready to repent, ready to change. If he were to ask for it today -- if he asks for it five years from now -- we would forgive him."
Asked why he thought Vincent Brothers committed the murders, Eddie Harper Sr. declined to speculate.
"I don't think we'll ever know why. I just have a feeling that he will probably take that to the grave with him," Harper said.
He said the Harper family loves Vincent's mother, Margaret Brothers, and her family, even though they disagree on Vincent Brothers' role in the deaths of his family.
"That's her son. I would not expect her to say anything other than, 'he's innocent.' The court knows different. The jury knows different," Eddie Harper Sr. said. "We believe, as the evidence shows, that he was guilty. And we respect the law in that the sentence is just."
Eddie Harper expressed great respect for Margaret Kern, Vincent Brother's only surviving daughter.
"To know her father has done this has got to be horrendous. I don't know how she survives. But we embrace her. She is part of our family. We love her as Joanie and our mother loved her," he said.
Asked if he would want to attend Vincent Brother's execution, Eddie Harper paused to think hard.
"I don't know if I would want to be there. I don't think I would want to be there, at this point. Twenty-some years from now? Who knows?" he said.