In the Dog Pound

I have been somewhat fascinated with Dog the Bounty Hunter since the first time I saw his television show on the A&E Network. Maybe it was his ridiculous hair due, his generic prayers followed by bouts of extreme profanity or maybe it was just his WWF looking wife who seemed to have Dog on a very short leash. Nevertheless Dog is one unique cat.

Who is the “Dog”? Duane Lee Chapman, a.k.a. Dog the Bounty hunter, is a reformed criminal. According to Wikpedia "Chapman was raised in Denver, Colorado. His father, a Navy welder, was verbally and physically abusive. His mother was a missionary and minister for the Assemblies of God. Chapman subsequently joined a motorcycle gang, the Devil's Disciples, that had a blatant distaste for blacks, although Chapman himself once claimed not to be a racist on the Montel Williams Show. According to Chapman another gang member, Donny Kirkandall, murdered a pimp and drug dealer named Jerry Lee Oliver, a crime for which Chapman was found in complicity by a Texas judge. Chapman has reportedly been arrested at least 20 times. In 1977, Chapman was sentenced to five years of hard labor on charges related to the murder of Oliver, and served 18 months before being paroled in 1979. Before his sentencing, Chapman had married and fathered at least one child. His wife Lafonda filed for divorce while he was in prison on the murder charges. Because Chapman owed money for child support, the judge in charge of handling the child support case asked Chapman to catch a fugitive for $200. This is considered the beginning of his bounty-hunting career.On June 18, 2003, Chapman made news with his hunt and capture of cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who had been convicted in absentia of poisoning and rape after fleeing to Mexico. Chapman was assisted by his "hunt team", consisting of Tim Chapman, and Duane's son Leland. The team was ordered by Mexican authorities to transfer Luster over to the Mexican police. When the hunt team refused, they were charged for breaking extradition laws. On July 3, 2003, they were officially declared fugitives by a spokesman for the Mexican Government, after they left Mexico without obtaining permission from the presiding judge.On September 14, 2006 Chapman, along with his son Leland Chapman, and business partner Tim Chapman (unrelated), were arrested by United States Marshals and jailed in Honolulu. All three are charged with felony restraint involving the 2003 capture of Andrew Luster because they refused to surrender Luster to Mexican officials. Bounty hunting is a crime under Mexican law, and they each face up to 4 years in Mexican prison if they are convicted. After spending one night in the federal detention center, Chapman told reporters: "The federal marshals treated us with great respect. But let me tell you, you never want to go to a federal prison, because it’s terrible." On September 15, 2006, Chapman appeared in a packed Honolulu courtroom, his ankles in shackles. Although the magistrate agreed that the men were not a flight risk, he ordered that they each wear an electronic monitoring device around their ankle. The three men were released on bail ($300,000 for Duane Chapman, $100,000 each for Leland Chapman and Tim Chapman). A conference hearing has been set for November 16, 2006, where both sides will present evidence and witnesses. An extradition hearing could take place before the end of the year. Dog speculates that his arrest was due in part with a prisoner exchange between the Mexican and American authorities. According to Dog, the Federal agents 'sold him out', by trading him in for a convicted Mexican drug lord."

So what's my beef with Dog? There is great irony in this whole story. First of all Dog and his overbearing matriarch wife Beth profess to be Christians. They make a living at hunting down law breakers and bail jumpers. But are they themselves above the law? Does the greater good justify the lesser evil? This is question to which men like Norman Geisler would say "yes" the greater good (catching the serial rapist) cancels out the lesser evil (bounty hunting in Mexico). They knew that bounty hunting was illegal in Mexico and they should have also known Romans 13:1-2 "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves."

This is the slippery slope of situational ethics in which the circumstances and the goals determine what is good, right, true and moral rather than the Bible. This has become the American way of dealing with our neighbors. I sincerely hope that the Chapmans are able to work this out with the governments involved and avoid jail time. Either way I believe that the Lord is going to use this in Dog's life to bring about repentance in his family. It's time to stop playing games with God. Jesus is not your personal genie in the sky.

On the 09/19 A&E special Dog was quoted as saying "I am just hoping that justice will prevail." Dog, you don't want justice to prevail you want mercy to prevail. Justice demands the punishment of law breakers.