No Turning Back

Minutes before, the prosecutor had made his opening statement projecting only hatred and contempt toward my father, a missionary charged with rebellion. The police had arrested him the night before by covertly setting a trap. The press had already shamed and ridiculed him nationally and internationally, proclaiming his guilt on headline news before the hearing had even begun. The cold demeanor of the judge terrified us and the odds seemed to be undeniably stacked against my dad. I looked at...