| After a few weeks, they
brought three men in. I heard the doors to open. Heard it close. I didn't know
who they were. The next day when the cells opened, and all four of us came out for that
one hour, they looked at me, and I looked at them. And I realized in the
indictment, these were the three men who took the contract that tried to kill me.
I read in the indictment that they came to my house a number of times and planted remote
control bombs under my bedroom window. And every time they pressed the remote control, the
bomb wouldn't go off. They would take the bomb out to the field some place, press
the remote control, and it would explode. They'd come back the next day with another bomb.
And this just confirmed to me God's Word, "no weapon formed against
me will prosper", not even remote control bombs. But, when I, these
men saw I was there, they just ran back into their cells. I went back into the
cell too. And all that day, I stayed awake, all that night, I began to cry. I said,
"God, I'm going to spend the rest of my life in this prison for a crime I didn't
commit." I said, "I can't do that. You know my heart. If I'm guilty, I'll take
whatever punishment I have. But, I'm not guilty, and I'm going to jail for 140
years." I said, "God, I don't know You'd be able to forgive me. But, I'm going
to kill these three men. And then, I'll understand why I'm going to spend the rest of my
natural life in this prison." and this??? as I walked out of the cell, one man ran inside, two stayed out. All that came out of my mouth, "I know you tried to kill me. I forgive you. And I love you. And let me tell you about my Jesus." When I was done, the two men got on their knees, accepted Christ, and I led them in that same Sinner's Prayer that my pastor led me in. The third man came out of the cell. I had known the third man very well. He was a hired hit man, a killer " ..." He said, "Tom, you know I'm a killer." He said, "But, do you think if I gave God my word that I would never kill again, that He would love me and save me that way that He loves and saves you?" And I said, "Yes." And I reminded him of the thief on the cross. And he too got on his knees with a broken heart, cried.".... It's not jailhouse religion, 'cause all three men are still in jail. All three men have one of the largest Bible studies in the prison system. The one man who was a killer is also the chaplain's clerk. And I thought that was the end of it. I went back to my cell. I said, "OK, God, I've done want You wanted me to do. Now, get me out of here." AND NOW WE SHOW THAT THE "THIRD MAN" COULD not HAVE BEEN IN THE CELL: BYLINE: By Gail Epstein Staff Writer Charles Oliver Brown, who according to court testimony was employed as a hit man by convicted racketeer Carl Coppola, was denied bond Tuesday after prosecutors introduced evidence that Brown had changed his appearance and was living under an assumed name. Brown, 44, was arrested Jan. 3, 1988 in Holly Hill, Fla., by U.S. marshals. He had been a fugitive since the unsealing of an 11-count indictment on May 9, 1986, which charged Brown, Coppola and 10 others with federal racketeering and drug violations. Brown, his brother Darrell and Coppola were accused of conspiring to kill Coppola's former bodyguard, Thomas Papanier. Darrell Brown was acquitted and is serving an unrelated assault sentence in Virginia. In May, Charles Brown eluded federal marshals and local and state police in a chase in suburban Washington. Deichert said a motor home seized at the time contained a copy of the indictment allegedly inscribed with notations of who was cooperating at the trial. It is believed that Darrell Brown sent the indictment to his brother, Deichert said. Brown also was being sought for violating probation on a prior, federal gun-possession charge. He has prior convictions for armed robbery and marijuana possession, Deichert said. |