05/31/2026
There was a time when the Sunday edition of The Tuscaloosa News was a staple across West Alabama, featuring memorable columns from writers like Ben Windham, Tommy Stevenson, Robert DeWitt, and many others.
In that spirit, the Association is proud to introduce a new Sunday feature: a weekly column by Loyd Baker, longtime Association member and current Chief Deputy of the Sheriff’s Office.
We hope you’ll join us each Sunday as Loyd shares stories, reflections, and observations from a lifetime of service to our community.
“It had been a long week of courtroom testimony. I sat at the prosecutor’s table as the jury considered the guilty man’s fate. He was already convicted of capital murder. Now, jurors deliberated his sentence. Due to the heinous nature of the crime, the death penalty was on the table. The defense attorney, however, worked hard to persuade the jury against it.
The lawyer stood and made an eloquent plea. He admitted his client murdered an innocent victim but claimed the defendant didn’t deserve to die himself. Then he said something that didn’t sit well with me. He told the jury they should not recommend death because the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” I bristled because it twisted the meaning of the verse.
The sixth of the Ten Commandments forbids criminal homicide, not the state’s use of capital punishment as a means of justice. I wrote a note on a scrap of paper and slid it over to the District Attorney. It came from Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” The DA read it and ignored it. In the end, however, the jury recommended the death penalty.
The most dangerous deceptions are often just slightly twisted truths. A little lie wrapped in mostly true statements. It’s like the counterfeit money that showed up at a yard sale a few years ago. The buyer paid with several real bills and one fake twenty. The seller recognized the counterfeit only because he knew what a real twenty-dollar bill looked like.
I don’t need to know what every lie looks like, as long as I know where to find the truth. Jesus said God’s “word is truth.” (John 17:17) Knowing what God says about a matter is the best defense against deception. So, when a lie presents itself, I need only to compare it to the truth of God’s word.
The days ahead will most likely present more deception, not less. We live at a time when deception is rampant. It can be difficult to insulate ourselves from the myriad of lies the world throws our way. Jesus, however, has a promise. He says, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) I’ll choose freedom any day.”
