Kelly Olsen testifies during trial for being a Christian.
Sentinel photo by Ed Langlois
A jury of peers convicted Kelly Olsen earlier this month, deciding she is guilty of Christianity.
The public trial spanned two weekends as witnesses — including friends, teachers and the parish priest testified about the 15-year-old’s life. In the unscripted adversarial proceeding held in a darkened church, teen legal teams grappled with the question — what makes someone Christian?
The Christian trial is the brainchild of Mike Ashland, a youth minister for 35 years who is the new director of confirmation for St. Clare Parish in Southwest Portland. The project is part of formation for two dozen St. Clare teens who are preparing for the sacrament of confirmation. The purpose is to explore social justice as part of living a Christian life.
Even Olsen’s mother had to testify. Pressed by the defense, she admitted that though her daughter owns a bible and a rosary, she has not been seen using them.
But the bulk of testimony painted a picture of a young woman who has helped homeless people, attends Mass and can “light up a room” with her kindness and generosity. The Wilson High School freshman, witnesses said, acts like a follower of Jesus. That, argues prosecutors, proves the point.
But the defense tried to raise reasonable doubt in the minds of the eight jurors. Olsen was baptized out of tradition, not by her own choice, the team said. Seeking to save the girl from the “death” penalty, defense lawyers prodded witnesses as authoritative as Father Tom Farley to say that it is possible to be baptized Catholic and carry out some functions of being a church member without actually being Christian.
But the jury could not spare the defendant, given the preponderance of testimony about the way she actually lives out her tradition.
The three-judge panel, which included two confirmation students and Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Julia Philbrook, could have condemned Olsen to “death,” the punishment believers received at some points in ancient Rome. Instead, the panel sentenced the red-haired girl to “live and die as a Christian.”
The youth lawyers spent much of the second day of the trial examining the death penalty. Both sides agreed it is an unjust punishment. Philbrook says she has never presided over a capital case and hopes she never has to.
At moments, Olsen was afraid that she might be found innocent of being a Christian. But she learned more about how others see her, that her actions are seen as in keeping with the Christian way.
The experience, she says, will affect the way she lives in the future.
“It’ll make me think about things more,” she said shortly after the trial. “I’ll always ask myself, Am I still being a Christian?”
When confirmation classes began last year, Ashland began discussing the Christian trials. No one else volunteered to be the defendant, so Olsen raised her hand, mostly being a good sport. She did not know fully what she was getting herself into. But she has no regrets.
“This is in a way dangerous for Kelly and her family,” Ashland said before the hearings. “Her life is laid bare.”
Brian Walsh, father of lead prosector Emily Walsh, says the experience has been helpful. It has made the teens proud to be Catholic and also raised the minutiae of what it really means to live as a Christian disciple.
“It’s a good way to teach the details of faith and good works and how it all is tied together,” he says.
Tina Coleman, mother of judge Joey Coleman, says the process has been valuable because it has prompted original thought about faith and practice.
“They are seeking answers instead of having some authority tell them what it is,” Coleman says. “It engages them all in a way that it wouldn’t otherwise.”
The youths plumbed questions like: If you think you are Christian, is that enough to make you one? Does one need to follow every church rule to be a Christian? If one has ever stopped practicing, is one a lesser Christian?
On the witness stand, Ashland himself said under questioning that he rejects Christian just war theory but is still Christian.
Father Farley said from the witness stand that the ability to forgive is a key part of the teaching of Jesus and so is a constitutive part of being Christian.
Jaye Fraser, a legal counsel for SAIF Corporation, advised the prosecution.
“It’s not just us telling them what to believe,” Fraser says. “They are having to come up with ideas. This works because this is breaking down what it really means to be a Christian. It’s not just something you say.”
The trial includes prayer. “Give us strength to admit our own mistakes,” prayed defense lawyer Abigail Gary. “And not to put people on trial for their beliefs.”
