The Damage Is Already Done

First let me say that this article is not to defend Bishop Eddie Long but to give him the benefit of the doubt. Personally I have always thought he was too flashy for a minister, but that's not a criminal offense. Obviously a lot of people in Atlanta don't agree. To the contrary he has used his flashiness to build a 25,000 member congregation. When I first heard the allegations surrounding Bishop Long and the two young men, I was ready to hang him like most people are doing now. Then I stopped overlooking the obvious and noted some key points that were plain to see.

This lawsuit is being filed in civil not criminal court, thus putting Long and his defense team on the offense. The plaintiffs have taken a page out of the O.J. Simpson trials and went straight for the money. You can't build a criminal case with only circumstantial evidence but you can a civil. Which appears to be all they really have. They have said from the beginning no criminal act took place other than the burglary commited by one of the plaintiffs. So what is there to gain from this?

I think the Bishop has been set-up by the lawyer and some young men in search of a big payday. Why has this obscure female attorney all of a sudden went to the head of the class? Is she a criminal attorney who ran across a goldmine while defending one of her criminal clients? The worst thing about this for the Bishop is the damage is already done.