The Sad Case of Stephen Lee Kristic
Photograph by e³°°°
My intention for this post was to bring a little light hearted fun into this realm with an interview I did with graphic novelist Alex Robinson. However, a bit of really bad news pinged its way into my consciousness first thing this morning. I would be remiss not to mention it, and alas - how I feel about it.
Yesterday in my run down of news in the hypno world, under the category of ugly, I mentioned Stephen Lee Kristi, who was charged with counts of inappropriate sexual conduct. He allegedly did this to female clients (and a couple of his employees) while they were in a state of hypnosis.
Unbenounced to me while I was diatribing the story, Mr. Kristi had apparently committed suicide. His body was found at hotel by police this past Saturday. Concerned about him, his wife had called the police and told them of her worries and that he had gone to a hotel.
I cannot express enough sympathy for all who are involved in this. I cannot image what Mrs. Kristi must be feeling at the moment, let alone those who brought the charges against him. Now mind you, I do not condemn those who brought the charges up, but I cannot help but imagine some of the things they must be dealing with currently. The whole thing is bloody awful.
I also have mixed feelings about the writing involved with this sort of case. I do not exclude myself from this for I did make mention of it and put it under my “ugly” category (are my hands stained with blood now?). Today I cannot help but wonder what purpose reporting such a case before the final verdict occurs serves. He had not been to trial yet. The articles just say he was accused of the crimes. I lament the lack of innocent before being proven guilty. What are the purposes of reporting a crime before the trial happens? Is it so others can get involved (oh, right, I went to so and so for hypnosis and he must have sexually molested me, too or I went to so and so for hypnosis and know without a doubt so and so would never do such a thing)? I am sure there is more to all this than I could ever know, but why do I even need to know about this until he is or is not proven guilty? Perhaps, Kristi used video to record his sessions (I do for my own protection) and it shows up on those? But still, he had a right to a fair trial.
Now I am left shaking my head. I am rethinking the whole “ugly” section of my blog. Maybe I should not publish such things until the trial is said and done? What do you think?
Source: http: www.timesrecordnews.com
January 13th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
How very sad for all who are involved. It’s a lose-lose situation for all involved. As far as reporting is concerned, being arrested for something is news but it depends on how you report it. The sad thing is the press often makes a “big deal” when someone is arrested but barely reports it if they are acquitted.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Thanks for commenting, Preston. In really thinking about this, I have begun to use the vulture metaphor for such cases - they give us the remnants of death (the ruin of a person before the true death or destruction). I keep asking, why is this news?
April 27th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Mrs. Janet Kristic is actually my counselor. She works at the same clinic as her late husband had. I haven’t seen her since before the incident as they canceled my following apointment. They had one son, and had been married for a very long time something close to 30-40 years, I believe. I can’t imagine her and her sons pain.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Thanks for the comment, Jessica. It is a terrible thing that the family has to go through.
February 10th, 2011 at 3:22 am
I haven’t seen her since before the incident as they canceled my following apointment.