Michael Lenz's wife, Carrie, was one of the 168 officially recorded victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. The night before the bombing, Michael and Carrie had called loved ones to share the news that they were having a baby boy, Michael James Lenz III. The next morning, his wife and child were killed. Lenz asks us for justice for his son as well as his wife: "Should we as people allow that act of violence to remain a victimless crime? No Michael the Third ever mentioned?" he asked Congress. "I don't think that would be right."
One victim or two? The answer is not that hard. Even the criminals agree. After all, when three thugs attacked Shiwona that night, they did not say, "Excuse me, we plan to interrupt your pregnancy." Instead, one of them told her as she pleaded, "F--- you. Your baby is dying tonight."
Survivors' pleas confirm what common sense suggests: When a man attacks a pregnant woman and kills or injures both her and her unborn child, there really are two victims crying out for justice. How can the law perpetuate the callousness of the criminals, or the pain of the survivors and their families in such cases, by refusing to name and prosecute the crimes against both?
Or as Tracy Scheide put it: "Zachariah Nathaniel. My son. Remember his name and face when you decide."