The Kozlov Verdict

Lyudmila and Oleksandr Kozlov have been sentenced to seven years and three months for abusing their children. Their sentences may be shortened or they may go into an alternative incarceration program and so avoid harder prison time. Their convictions stem from abusing their three children and are shorter consecutive prison terms than were requested, but are still longer than the terms recommended by the deputy district attorneys handling the case. In fact, the verdicts represent the feelings of an obviously pro-family judge and jury. Marion County Circuit Judge Thomas Hart took some time to further admonish and shame the defendants during sentencing.

The sentences also mark the system's frustration with people who claim that God is defending them and who show little or no remorse. Lyudmila Kozlova, in particular, has been portrayed in the media as unbalanced and unrepentant. There is no word on appeals; God rarely moves cases into the higher courts of the land.

Saying that the case is tragic is saying too little and too much at the same time. The entire drama has been a clashing of cultures and politics as the Kozlovs have been misrepresented in the media and by their supporters, who have gathered at the Marion County courthouse in their version of an almost-daily vigil or rally that never sought broader public support and could not coherently explain their version of the case to outsiders. They were seeking God's justice and may well have gotten it. The children involved are the primary victims, of course, and there is reason to be concerned about what will happen to them next. The Kozlov son who made the triggering phone call about the abuse has been portrayed as the strong and sane one in the family. At 14 he is a competent speaker and writer and protected his siblings. The children should not be placed back into an environment in which they are at risk, but they should also not be so removed from their ethnic community that they cannot access the positive support systems that community has in place.

The larger community is not prepared to distinguish between Russians and Ukrainians or between the factions present in those communities. This case, sadly, has given outsiders a distorted view into those communities and factions and it has caused people to say, "Those Russians..." as if that settles the matter. The Russians and Ukrainians here are known alternately as hard workers, car thieves, docile immigrants, bigots and members of subcultures who have no interest in the outside world. Every stereotype is wrong and none fit. At least some people in the local Russian and Ukrainian communities have reacted defensively in the wake of the trial.

One part of the community no doubt supports Lyudmila Kozlova and is certain that they alone know the truth that has escaped everyone else and that the judge and jury have damned themselves with this verdict. These are the people with the clear and far-away look in their eyes. Other factions no doubt want to assimilate to the extent that they can, maintain their religious and communal ties in light of this assimilation, get on with their lives and are embarrassed by this negative publicity. This trial may mark a turning point in social relations and this turning point will probably not be a good one.

Imagine if the Kozlovs had been Black or Latino.

Speaking parenthetically, I appreciate the people on the right who leave their trials in the hands of God. The jails may soon be filled with such people. In the '60s, when such was done regularly by the civil rights movement and the Catholic left, God was at first of a mixed mind when it came to American civil trials and legislation. It had been one hundred years or more since anyone here had asked God to weigh in on court cases involving civil rights and wars and God probably had to consult the relevant texts. In the end, though, God generally backed the left. In the intervening years God has shown little change in direction: S/He still seems to favor the progressives when they sincerely call out for judgement. Next up at bat will be Bill Sizemore and we will soon see what is in store for him.