As a former federal prosecutor, I was trained to focus on “what a defendant did, not what he said he did.” Defendants would often start with statements such as “I only,” “I barely” or “I never.” And at church, I learned that even the devil can quote Scripture for his purpose. On March 16, Robert Aaron Long allegedly killed eight people at three spas in metro Atlanta. He drove a stretch of 40 miles between locations in two counties, choosing spas with Asian employees. Six of the eight murder victims were women of Asian descent. This apparent targeting of Asians and women raises the possibility that the crimes were motivated by race and/or gender hatred.

But, according to Cherokee County law enforcement, he claims that the killings resulted from his sex addiction and murderous desire to remove “temptation.” Maybe he is reporting the truth, describing his truth, or devilishly quoting Scripture? Should his statements be believed? We must consider that saying something is true doesn’t make it true. Justice is better served by assessing all the facts and circumstances to determine whether his alleged murders were alloyed with racial hatred and gender animus. We must allow the evidence to lead our way, not his words. 

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