VICTIM
OF THROWN TURKEY

Topics: Compassion; Consequences; Foolishness; Forgiveness; Grace; Mercy; Pardon; Suffering; Values; Youth

References: Matthew 18:21–35; Romans 12:14–21; Galatians 6:1–10; Colossians 3:12–14

Victoria Ruvolo, forty-five, of Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, was driving to her niece’s voice recital when she passed a car driven by Ryan Cushing, nineteen. Cushing was with five other teens and had just used a stolen credit card to go on a spending spree. One of their purchases was a frozen turkey, which Cushing decided to toss into oncoming traffic. The twenty-pound bird smashed through Ruvolo’s windshield, crushing her face.

Ruvolo survived, though it took ten hours of surgery to repair her face and months of painful rehabilitation. On October 17, 2005, Ruvolo attended Cushing’s sentencing and asked his judge for leniency. Part of her statement read, “Despite all the fear and the pain, I have learned from this horrific experience that I have much to be thankful for. Each day when I wake up, I thank God simply because I’m alive. I sincerely hope you have also learned from this awful experience, Ryan. There is no room for vengeance in my life, and I do not believe a long, hard prison term would do you, me, or society any good.”

Cushing, who wept and expressed remorse for his action, was sentenced to six months in jail. He could have gotten a twenty-five-year prison sentence if Ruvolo had not intervened.

—Leah Ingram, “Compassionate Victim,” beliefnet.com (December 2005)