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In Memory of NELSON JOHN MINTER September 15, 1957 - December 3, 1993 Kenneth L. Claggett was arrested for Nelson's murder Friday morning, May 4, 2007 He pled guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter on November 27, 2007. He was released immediately following the hearing after having served a 223 day sentence. Link to Washington Post Article
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After Claggett's guilty plea and immediate release from jail in November of 2007, Nelson's mom received this letter:
Thanks for sharing those with us Mary Jane. I guess there are a lot of folks that share my opinion and anger. I have been thinking over the past few days (that is still a dangerous thing – Nelson put me on thinking restriction “until further notice” and never had the chance to take me off restriction. So technically, I am still not supposed to be thinking – hope he doesn’t mind) Seriously, I learned a great deal about life and living from Nelson. I was thinking back to one of his lessons. He referred me to page 449 in the big book of AA quite often. That page deals with acceptance. I have read it several times over the past few days. He often reminded me that it was not necessary for me to approve of things that may happen, however, the quality of my life would be improved if I could learn to accept things that I had no control over. I have been struggling with that concept, but I know that he was right. One of Nelson’s favorite quotes for me was “All the world is a stage and we are but players --- stop trying to write the script!” This isn’t the script that I would have written, but I am trying to continue to follow his advice. He also hounded me to always look for something to be grateful for. It took a couple of days before I could come to be grateful for the fact that there has finally been some closure and at least an admission of guilt. Nelson’s lessons continue to guide me today – even through this chapter of a script that I would have written differently – and for that I am forever grateful. You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Bill
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