He has always been opposed to the death penalty. He is not sure whether that is because his parents raised him to have moderately liberal political inclinations, or if it is because he has a deep-seated respect for human life. So when he hears that Aaron Echolls has been found innocent, and his stomach knots with an emotion so dark that he does not think it belongs under the same roof as his daughter, he tries to convince himself that it is fear.
There are a number of arguments that he has used over the years to object to capital punishment. It takes away any chance the criminal has at redemption. It is cruel and inhumane. Two wrongs don't make a right. It is unfair to place the burden of the prisoner's death on the executioner. What if a mistake is made and someone innocent is killed? But ultimately, what he objects to most is the fact that the death penalty has always seemed to have more to do with revenge than justice.
He supposes that he has always had the unrealistic, romanticized idea that the legal system is designed to promote justice in a way that no individual could. That somehow the lawmakers, lawyers, judges, and juries will come together to reach a judgment that is just and above petty human motivations like revenge. He has always sort of believed that a well designed system would make up for human weaknesses. The flaw in his logic is that any system made by and run by humans cannot be free of their failings. In the past months every last idealistic view that he had of the legal system has been shattered. He no longer has any faith in the system. He cannot, however, quite let go of the idea of what the system should be.
It should, first and foremost, protect the innocent from violent people. People that are a threat to others need to be separated from the general population and prevented from causing more harm. Whenever possible they should be rehabilitated, but they could not be allowed to harm others. The system should also protect people from false accusations. It should prevent people from having their lives ruined by others' petty jealousies, fears, and greed. The system should look upon all equally, and the system should be directed by law, order, and justice. It should not be led astray by anger, prejudice, a desire to deny the unpleasant, or the thirst for revenge.
So when his stomach clenched with dark emotion and he stepped outside to breath the salty air, he named the emotion "fear." He did not deny the anger. It had been present too long for that. But, a guilty verdict would not have lessened it, and so an innocent verdict had no right to any effect upon it. The verdict was not, in fact, entirely unexpected.
He thought of Veronica and fire. He thought of the rasp of her voice as she recovered from smoke inhalation. He thought of how small she was, how vulnerable she would be. He thought of how much he owed her. He thought of how he failed her. He wondered how long it would be before an accident befell her. Aaron wouldn't be stupid enough to go after her personally again, but he had money and eventually it would occur to him to use it. A real wave of fear washed through him.
He stepped back inside and looked at the phone before moving to quiet his daughter. He did not think of how she had her aunt's laugh. He did not let himself dwell on her namesake as he quieted her, and turned off the webcast that had moved on to speculate on the Echolls' family reunion.
He placed his daughter in her crib and sat by the phone. He looked at it and momentarily wondered if his best friend would ever forgive him for making this call. Then he thought of his friend and a secret that he would always regret keeping. He thought about the fact that his friend was still in high school and would not be eighteen until summer. He though of his friend's penchant for trouble. His friend would never let the matter of Lilly lie. His friend would seek revenge, not justice. One way, or another, Aaron's release would destroy his best friend. Logan was in the most danger.
He thought briefly of carefree days by the pool with his girlfriend, sister, and best friend. Then he picked up the phone. As he dialed, he banished all thoughts of pools. He was doing this for Veronica. He was doing it for Logan. He was doing it for any woman stupid enough to put herself in Aaron Echolls' path. He was doing it to rid the world of at least one monster so that it would be a little bit safer for his daughter. He was not doing it for revenge. This was about justice. It was about keeping a violent criminal from harming anyone else. This was not about revenge. So why could he only think of blood on concrete and the fact that he would never again hear his sister's laughter as she called him, "Donut?"