Today I spent a great deal of time thinking about the trial of Arthur Freeman, the man who dropped his daughter Darcey off a bridge in Melbourne. The Jury found him guilty of Murder on Sunday and he now awaits sentencing which will most likely be life in prison.
Even now, I find it hard to read the events of the crime without getting emotional. The betrayal of trust of a loving child and ensuing terror that must have been felt.
The defence lawyer when opening at the trial asked the Jury to determine whether Arthur was 'Bad or Mad' and argued that he was mentally impaired at the time of the crime.
Obviously the Jury decided that they didn't agree. I don't envy the emotional and taxing experience all of them must have been through over the last few weeks.
I have found the whole case very taxing as well even though I didn't attend court or have to make a decision that the broader community was sweating on.
I found it taxing as I went to school with Arthur. I knew him pretty well at High school and University.
We knew him as Ardy, not Arthur Phillip Freeman the convicted murderer.
What I can't reconcile through all of this is that Ardy was pretty harmless at school and definitely was not a bad person. He wasn't even mad although one could argue that the sheer amount of bullying and rejection he received constantly could repeat itself on him later in life as he became an adult.
Life is littered with tragic stories of those who have been abused and bullied from a young age not coping as adults.
I enjoyed reading Patrick Carlyon's 8 page article in the Herald Sun today http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/trying-to-explain-the-inexplicable-how-could-a-dad-kill-his-daughter/story-fn7x8me2-1226029860679
It really brought out some interesting points and I was impressed at how he was able to get his information from such a broad range of people. Especially around what school was like. We literally had groups of thugs at our school, they would get the pack mentality, a bit like wild dogs and would make you feel very lonely and afraid if you were on the receiving end of it. They could do some terrible things.
As I said before, Arthur was not a bad or mad person growing up but obviously something happened along the way that led him to either one of those or both which drove him to do what he did.
Something inside tells me Arthur isn't a bad person but was very sick. It wasn't in his nature to hurt maliciously when I knew him. Maybe that changed but I guess I will never know, I haven't seen nor heard from him since 1997 when I finished University myself.
As I have seen photos of him in the news and on TV, all I can think of is that this isn't what was supposed to happen to my friend from school. We were supposed to go on to have careers and find happiness in life.
As the Jury deliberated over the 4 or 5 days it took them to find a verdict, part of me was hoping they would find that it wasn't his fault, that there was some strange kind of reason for this horror, but deep inside I realised that wouldn't be the case.
I have read many of the comments that people have posted, many compassionate, more angry and vengeful. I can understand both of these views and I am glad that people are horrified by the act that took place. It would worry me more if there wasn't a strong reaction.
What it did bring home to me though, is that the community needed closure on this horrific event as well. The verdict that came down will allow this to happen and people can move on. Justice according to Australian law has been satisfied.
As for me, I will always think of Arthur Phillip Freeman the convicted murderer not as he is, but as he was Ardy my mate from school.
Was he Mad? Bad? don't know, all I know is that this is just tragically sad.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Wednesday 23 March 2011
First Rant - Look out World!!
Today I decided to join the world of the Blogger! Yes, this much self-impressed opinion of mine will now be let loose on the world.
Those close to me will suggest that the term 'now' should be changed to past tense but too bad!
With the AFL season about to start I wanted to talk about how I feel Eddie Maguire (President of my beloved Collingwood Football club) may have made one of the most common yet fundamental mistakes of Leadership. Decision based on self interest due to emotional feelings towards an individual.
In 2009 Eddie and the Collingwood Board decided to put in place what we in the corporate world would call a succession plan with the coach by appointing the Favourite son Nathan Buckley as the heir apparent in 2012 to current coach Mick Malthouse.
Buckley a superstar of a player, extremely professional and disciplined individual but unproven coach was being pursued by other clubs and Eddie just couldn't bare the thought of his beloved "Bucks" at another club.
The plan was for him to be assistant coach for 2 years under Malthouse and have him take over with Mick on a yet to be defined (superannuation) role for 3 years helping Bucks out.
Now at the time it caused a stir but most Collingwood people were not too upset as Mick had been at the club for 10 years and hadn't delivered the ultimate prize to the club.
2010 turned out to the be year of the Pie however and now Mick has a flag under his belt and another one on the radar for 2011. You can just imagine the distraction this may become for the club and the men in charge.
Now why am I writing about this when most of the Melbourne Media already has?
Basically every time I have seen a leader make a decision based on personal preference or emotional attachment, it has come back to bite the individual. I have a few bite marks myself to be honest and I can't understand how a club, with a board and such a large stakeholder base can allow this to happen.
The comment that Leadership is a lonely place is true not because there aren't many Leaders but because to be a true leader you must be prepared to turn your back on what your emotional "self" desires, and do the right thing.
The cause for which you are leading needs to be stronger then the return for self interest. Another words if you would compromise the interest of those you lead for the benefit of self interest no matter how short sighted, it is best you reassess how you are approaching your role as a Leader as it will most likely have negative consequences.
Fundamentally Leadership is built around two core capabilities: Firstly, a leader must be able to get the people they are leading to buy into a vision, direction, goal or philosophy. They don't need to be the author but must be able to help people see it and set the direction to it.
The second core function of a Leader is to keep the people motivated to follow the vision, direction, goal or philosophy. Management is the tools or processes used to get there. (Distinctly different and another blog).
When self interest becomes apparent and the leader is compromised it makes keeping the followers motivated much more difficult and the role of the Leader becomes exponentially harder until it is potentially untenable and perfectly good directions are questioned.
So let's hope Eddie knows something that we all don't about the Mick and Bucks situation as once the Pies lose a few games this year, he will need to prove that he hasn't compromised our ability to go back to back.
That's my rant for today
Those close to me will suggest that the term 'now' should be changed to past tense but too bad!
With the AFL season about to start I wanted to talk about how I feel Eddie Maguire (President of my beloved Collingwood Football club) may have made one of the most common yet fundamental mistakes of Leadership. Decision based on self interest due to emotional feelings towards an individual.
In 2009 Eddie and the Collingwood Board decided to put in place what we in the corporate world would call a succession plan with the coach by appointing the Favourite son Nathan Buckley as the heir apparent in 2012 to current coach Mick Malthouse.
Buckley a superstar of a player, extremely professional and disciplined individual but unproven coach was being pursued by other clubs and Eddie just couldn't bare the thought of his beloved "Bucks" at another club.
The plan was for him to be assistant coach for 2 years under Malthouse and have him take over with Mick on a yet to be defined (superannuation) role for 3 years helping Bucks out.
Now at the time it caused a stir but most Collingwood people were not too upset as Mick had been at the club for 10 years and hadn't delivered the ultimate prize to the club.
2010 turned out to the be year of the Pie however and now Mick has a flag under his belt and another one on the radar for 2011. You can just imagine the distraction this may become for the club and the men in charge.
Now why am I writing about this when most of the Melbourne Media already has?
Basically every time I have seen a leader make a decision based on personal preference or emotional attachment, it has come back to bite the individual. I have a few bite marks myself to be honest and I can't understand how a club, with a board and such a large stakeholder base can allow this to happen.
The comment that Leadership is a lonely place is true not because there aren't many Leaders but because to be a true leader you must be prepared to turn your back on what your emotional "self" desires, and do the right thing.
The cause for which you are leading needs to be stronger then the return for self interest. Another words if you would compromise the interest of those you lead for the benefit of self interest no matter how short sighted, it is best you reassess how you are approaching your role as a Leader as it will most likely have negative consequences.
Fundamentally Leadership is built around two core capabilities: Firstly, a leader must be able to get the people they are leading to buy into a vision, direction, goal or philosophy. They don't need to be the author but must be able to help people see it and set the direction to it.
The second core function of a Leader is to keep the people motivated to follow the vision, direction, goal or philosophy. Management is the tools or processes used to get there. (Distinctly different and another blog).
When self interest becomes apparent and the leader is compromised it makes keeping the followers motivated much more difficult and the role of the Leader becomes exponentially harder until it is potentially untenable and perfectly good directions are questioned.
So let's hope Eddie knows something that we all don't about the Mick and Bucks situation as once the Pies lose a few games this year, he will need to prove that he hasn't compromised our ability to go back to back.
That's my rant for today
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