Conscience Cleaners

[W]e are free from the unsupportable burden of an accusing, tormenting conscience,—a misery that none can bear: and therefore let us praise Him for His preventing grace, and say, Every misery that I miss is a new mercy.

Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler (Part I, Chapter XXI)

Esteemed members of the Grand Rectification Council, my intention today is not to revisit what my client Mr. Henmore has done. His prior actions, however heinous, belong to an irretrievable and unalterable past. It is not our place to fixate on what cannot be changed – to remain in thrall to events that have hardened beyond our powers of correction. If our objective is justice, our focus must be the present, and what can be accomplished in this still malleable instant to ensure that the days to come will promote less cruelty than those we leave behind.

To this end, I am about to ask you to accept a proposition that at first may seem too radical even to countenance. But I trust that, if you consider the particulars of this case, you will agree that my request is consistent with the Council’s ongoing pursuit of a fair and just world. Further, I am hopeful that you will be moved to grant what I request without delay. I stress that this is no mere stunt in service of legal legerdemain. The Devil has enough advocates. I am here to appeal to your better angels.

The facts in the matter before us, none of which are in dispute, are these. Decades ago, Mr. Henmore committed a crime affronting the laws of state and human decency alike. He was tried for this trespass in accordance