"I'm not a monster. I don't belong on this list."
And with that said, Governor Charlie Crist delayed the decision to pardon Virgil Frank McCranie.
Married for 10 years to his wife Misty, he was 19 and she 14 when the two had sex.
That's about the time McCranie's life snowballed. And rolled downhill fast.The couple met through their parents, who were friends, when growing up in Jacksonville. McCranie's wife, Misty, now 28, said she became angry and jealous when he developed a relationship with another woman. She told her father she'd had sex with McCranie and they went to the police.
McCranie, 34, told Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet, sitting Thursday as the Florida Board of Executive Clemency, that being on the sex offender list has caused him to lose at least 17 jobs in the last several years and that his four children, ages 7 to 14, have shared his stigma.
McCranie, who now has a retail sales job in Panama City Beach, asked for a pardon to lift the cloud over his life caused what's known as a "Romeo and Juliet" case.His name, picture, address, a map showing where he lives, a description of his vehicle and tag number and other information are posted on the state's sex offender Web site for all to see.
"I just want a chance to just be a regular person again," McCranie said.
Crist delayed a decision, saying he wanted more time to think about it and study the facts.
"It's a difficult case," Crist said. "I'll make my ruling based on what I believe to be true."
To get a pardon, an applicant must receive approval from the governor and at least two of the three Cabinet members: Attorney General Bill McCollum, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson.
With McCollum and Sink running for Florida's governor and Crist seeking the Senate I'd say McCranie has a snowball's chance in hell.
But hell, we can always hope for snow.
McCranie said he's never been accused of any other crime and has worked in a series of stores where he frequently has contact with families and children without incident. He said, though, he has been repeatedly fired after some customers and other employees have found him on the sex offender Web site and complained to his bosses.
Originally charged with rape, McCranie pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious behavior with a child as part of a plea deal.
He was placed on probation and the judge withheld adjudication. McCranie said he later violated probation "for monetary reasons" and wound up serving about a month in jail.
"My prison's out here on this Web site," McCranie said after the meeting. "Yeah, I've done about 14-15 years of hard time, believe me. I'd been better off in prison, probably."
We believe you.
Good luck from all of us here at Smashed Frog.
Read more here.
