[337 words]
Joe Munch is believed to be sentenced to the shortest prison sentence in history, one whole minute.
In 1906 while serving in the army he was out on leave and drank too much passing out on the street. A policeman found him in this condition and he was arrested. The court sentenced him to thirty days for being drunk and disorderly and fined $100 — the equivalent of more than $3,000 in today’s dollars. Munch thought that was excessive and appealed to the Superior Court.
The judge there agreed, citing his “pretty thorough physical chastisement at the hands of the police, and that he had also spent several days in the city prison before his case came up for trial”. Finding that Munch had already been “sufficiently punished”, the judge was not about to uphold the lower court’s sentence, but, since he was still technically guilty he needed to be sentenced to something. So, the judge ordered a one-minute prison sentence.
But maybe it should have been longer.
Later that same year Munch was on a transport ship when he got unruly and assaulted a sergeant. The sergeant shot Much in self-defense. It seems his minute in jail didn’t teach him much self-control.
In Romans 2:4-5 we read: “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” People have a bad habit of seeing mercy as acceptance. Instead of gratefulness in receiving mercy we exhibit a stubborn pride that continues doing what we did to get us in trouble in the first place. Don’t see God forgiveness as an excuse to continue in continue in sin. God’s mercy should make us change, not think we got away with it.
If we don’t learn from our mistakes we are doomed in repeating them.
Barry Haynes
Hope Church of Christ
Hope, AR