Disgraced Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris has plead guilty to five counts of Lewd or Indecent acts to a child. Under the plea arrangement, Morris was sentenced to ten years with all but six months suspended.
Morris was indicted March 13th for his actions in 1982 against Cindy Clemishire when she was 12 years old. Morris committed these acts at a time when he was a traveling preacher, which allowed Oklahoma’s “cowboy laws” to be wielded against him where the statute of limitations would otherwise have expired. Morris alluded to the acts against Clemishire in his book, though omitting her age at the time. The sentence is the maximum amount for a single count under Oklahoma law, stacked concurrently. He will have to register as a sex offender.
Gateway Church, meanwhile, has been sued for defamation and has suffered massive fallout in the aftermath of the Morris scandal. Back in May, they announced Daniel Floyd as their full time replacement for Morris after using Max Lucado and others as pinch hitters.
Analysis
While one could debate the legitimacy of such “cowboy laws” where for a resident of Oklahoma such conviction would not have been permissible, this plea bargain is truly a compromise which allows all parties to walk away with something, even if it is fundamentally unjust. Prosecutors can claim a conviction wherein the maximum penalty was imposed upon the criminal, albeit 95% suspended. They can posture as tough on sex crimes, even though they clearly compromised on a case where few, if any, facts have been disputed, despite how long ago it occurred. The prosecution likely believes that it is not interest of justice to have a prolonged trial over this incident when there are more recent cases that require attention, so a plea bargain is an effective use of resources and that it is a fair sentence, considering the crime did not amount to rape while the overwhelming portion being suspended acknowledges that it is counterintuitive to incarcerate a man who is not a threat to society at the age of 64.
Clemishire has publicly stated that “justice has finally been served, and the man who manipulated, groomed and abused me as a 12-year-old innocent girl is finally going to be behind bars.”
Morris walks away with a considerably light sentence while at the same time accepting responsibility for his past, something he has alleged to have wanted. He gets whatever remains of his life back but will live out his days as a disgraced pastor.
