Purdy’s story should have made bigger headlines, considering that he sexually assaulted 6 of his clients who were sitting in Vernon County jail. There’s even a video of the assaults taking place. The old saying, “Don’t trust a backwoods southern lawyer,” is perfectly suited for Mr. Purdy’s story because it highlights how little our state cares for women. So let’s jump into it.
The ruling from the Supreme Court on ethics came down in March. It’s appalling. With a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court, with its infallible wisdom, and despite the recommendation Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, decided that only a year-long suspension was all that was needed to be placed on an 86-year-old lawyer who sexually assaulted six of his clients on multiple occasions. The craziest part of this ruling is there was a video of the assaults! Yes, you read that right; along with testimonies from the victims, he only got a 1-year suspension on his license to practice law. So, let that sink for a minute. Our State Supreme Court decided to just suspend his license for a short time instead of completely revoking them and referring Mr. Purdy to the county prosecutor. And Mr. Purdy’s defense was “these women were enticing him” from the start of the Ethics hearing to his appeal in front of the Mo Supreme Court. And while that should disgust all of us because it’s victim blaming and shaming. The more disgusting part is that the court accepted it and gave leniency while they cried they had to protect the integrity of the “Court System and Lawyers everywhere”. But if you look at county court houses like Cedar County (which was involved in all kinds of scandals with Agape-Now renamed “The Stone of Hope”), that is par for the course in Missouri.
Neither one of these is a shining example of why we should trust or offer a piece of mind about the system.
What these stories do is prove the “Silent War” on women that the GOP has declared and how this GOP war has infiltrated our most prestigious institutions. We see this war all the time — from how men talk to women on social media to how quickly women are dismissed in our legal system. This GOP war comes from a very puritanical culture that has infiltrated into the homes of millions of Americans since the 1980s through TBN, CBN (Christian networks), and early morning evangelist programs on local stations and even in local radio stations.
I can remember growing up with the voice of Kenneth Copeland before morning cartoons and Sunday morning church services before regular programming. I also remember listening to the gospel hour with my grandpa while we would be working to clear out fence rows. So, the anti-woman stuff wasn’t just in our churches but in our homes being reinforced on a daily basis. And as time went on, the more extreme it got, especially with groups like ISLB (Institute for Basic Life Principles) doing outreach and pushing their materials in every evangelical church known to man. Their “biblical” material completely demeans the role women play in the world.