Let me begin by stating, for the record, that I do not believe in Hell.

I've had varied reactions to this poem. My sister in law, Lee, read it and said to my wife "I don't know that Jim." My brother Doug, and his wife, Tina, read it on the web page while at our folks' place for some gathering or other. As they began reading it, they both looked up and said "This is not a nice poem." By the end, though, they both understood and appreciated the message.

It may be unfair to judge the dead, but these boys were cowards and bullies, and there are alot of people who feel, although they may be reticent to admit it, that it was at least good of them to blow their own heads off and spare the families of their victims what would undoubtedly been a loud and messy trial. What they imagined they might do was far worse than what they did, but what they did was stupid and selfish and horrific enough. If there were a Hell, an actual, physical place in the afterlife where the wicked are tortured for all eternity, this is my impression of what those stupid little jerks might deserve.