A Sheriff’s Apology

Tom Will Lane was the sheriff that Edward Michalec told about in the December 22, 1996, “Awake!” article “Strengthened to Face Trials Ahead.” In the story, Michalec related:

“The sheriff of Wharton, Texas, U.S.A., was furious. Taking me off to jail for the fourth time, he yelled: ‘Why don’t you comply with orders?’

“‘I have a perfect right to do this,’ I replied impulsively. This enraged the sheriff even more, and he started beating me with a blackjack. Other officers joined in, hitting me with their pistol butts.”

Recently Mary Perez, a woman who worked for Sheriff Lane in the early 1960’s, wrote: “He knew I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He told me of how he had persecuted Ed Michalec. He asked me to tell other Witnesses that he was sorry for his actions. He said he was ignorant of the fact that the Witnesses were good, law-abiding people. He was sincerely sorry.”

Mary added: “Although the sheriff died some years ago, I hope that this letter will convey his apology.”

She then described how she became a Witness: “Brother Michalec’s persecution happened in the early 1940’s. Because of this I was determined to listen to the Witnesses when they came to my door. Soon we started studying the Bible. My husband and I were baptized in 1949.”

This is yet another example that illustrates the far-reaching effect that a person’s stand for Christian principles can have on the lives of others. How many, for instance, have been deeply affected by the courageous stand taken by Peter and the other apostles in the first century?—Acts 5:17-29.

[Pictures on page 31]

Ed Michalec and Mary Perez, in the 1940’s