Comments at Lay's Funeral: Please Don't Go There

But alas, they did go there. You know, I'm not going to begrudge anyone having kind words being spoken at his or her own funeral; it's certainly not a forum during which equal time should be given to supporters and detractors. But these are kind words for a convicted criminal who helped bring about the economic ruin of many former employees, and then died while awaiting sentencing, vacationing in Aspen (it's a tough life for white-collar criminals!) - not exactly the answer to "What Would Jesus Do?":

The Rev. Bill Lawson, pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, likened Lay to James Byrd, an African-American man who was dragged to death in a racially motivated murder near Jasper eight years ago.

"Ken Lay was neither black nor poor as James Byrd was," Lawson said. "But I'm angry because he was the victim of a lynching." Lawson, who also spoke at Lay's Colorado memorial service, likened the businessman to President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jesus — all of whom, the minister said, were wrongly victimized.