Sikh's family not out for vengeance
Roque's trial shifts to penalty stage
Jim Walsh
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 6, 2003 12:00 AM
MESA - Frank Roque sought revenge for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when he murdered a Sikh gasoline station owner, but vengeance is the last thing the victim's family desires.
In fact, one of the victim's brothers is praying that Roque, 44, who faces the death penalty after he was found guilty last week of first-degree murder and five other crimes, has a better life when he is reincarnated.
Because the Sikh religion stresses personal accountability between an individual and God, the jury's guilty verdict is far more important to Balbir Singh Sodhi's family than the sentence Roque receives this week.
Harjit Singh Sodhi, Balbir's younger brother, said he respects jurors and will accept whatever sentence they impose on Roque as justice.
Although he thinks Roque deserves the death penalty, "even if they gave him five days in jail, I would not care at that point. I would not challenge our community," he said.
"That's the most important part, to see him found guilty. We don't want this guy to fool everybody."
Roque used a guilty-except-insane defense, which was rejected by jurors. Defense attorney Dan Patterson said Roque heard voices from God telling him to "kill the devils" moments before he shot Singh Sodhi, who was wearing a turban, four days after the terrorist attacks.
Roque interpreted Middle Easterners as devils in the wake of the terrorist attacks and mistook Singh Sodhi as an Arab, even though he was an immigrant from India, he said.
Sikh Guru Roop Kaur Khalsa said the religion's central premise is one God, different paths. Sikhs preach tolerance and believe everyone has a right to pursue God in any way he or she desires.
In the Sikhs' belief system, the soul is on a journey from God, through the created universe, eventually returning to God. The soul of a dead person who has been loyal to God and respectful of others merges with God, while the soul of a disloyal or unrespectful person acquires "attachments" or "karma" and must return to Earth through reincarnation and keep trying to reach God.
"We believe there are hundreds of lifetimes," Kaur Khalsa said. "We don't know what it will take for his soul to get clear" and merge with God.
"Whatever the ending, we will look at it and say God is the doer," Kaur Khalsa said. "He works through the judge, the lawyers and the jury."
The jury returns Tuesday for the penalty phase of Roque's trial. If it finds any "mitigating factors," such as Roque's purported mental illness, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Aceto could sentence the defendant to life in prison with or without the possibility of parole.
But if no mitigating factors are found, the jury could sentence Roque to death.
"In his next life, I pray to God that he gets a better life and better sense to understand humans," Harjit Singh Sodhi said.
Arizona State University Professor Nemi Jain, a native of India and a scholar of Indian religions, said he opposes the death penalty and believes that executing Roque is against Sikh values of love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness.
"Balbir Singh Sodhi's soul will be very disappointed if we violate his religion," said Jain, a communications professor.
Jain, who is not a Sikh, led a demonstration against Roque's execution on Thursday, the 134th anniversary of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.
Jain said Sikhs, like other religions, are not necessarily of one mind on the death penalty. He said if 200 Sikh gurus discussed the issue, one-third would favor execution, another third would preach forgiveness and the other third would favor life in prison.
But Harjit Singh Sodhi said he disagrees with Jain, noting that Ghandi's assassin was executed and the law must be followed.
"If somebody is doing something wrong, killing humans, he deserves it," Singh Sodhi said.
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