Joseph Hatchie, who had no criminal record, stayed at home with his four children and took time to stop by his mother’s home for morning coffee, his family said, and was a neighborhood handyman who helped people repair cars, fix televisions and get computers working again.
“We’re all shocked and upset that he felt that desperate,” his wife said. “What he did was wrong. He made a dumb mistake. But there aren’t many people in this economy who find themselves in that position and don’t feel desperate.”
In 2000, Hatchie lost his job as a regional manager for a telecommunications company. He was in financial trouble by Christmas when his landlord delivered an eviction notice. Then Kim Hatchie lost her job at a grocery store.
The family asked for help from a church his wife had once attended.
But Kim Hatchie said the officials at the church told her the family was “unworthy.”
“Everything just seemed to hit a head right now,” she said. “I think he just didn’t know what to do.”
I doubt there will be charges brought against the clerk, which is only right. He did right for the situation he was in and the knowledge he had. And it was dumb of Joe to do what he did, no error. Still, I've been in similar shoes myself, and the constant dread really does muddy your thinking. Doing dumb, panicky things is a lot easier when the Sword of Damocles is hanging over you.
As for the church, I don't know the story, but if it's true that they turned these people away because they were "unworthy," then I hope there will be charges to face before a much higher authority than the State of Idaho.
No comments:
Post a Comment