The head of the Optometrist PAC, who gave former speaker Jim Black blank checks, which Black in turn gave Representative Michael Decker (some says as a bribe for Decker’s vote) entered an ‘Alford Plea’ in court last week.

The News and Observer described how an ‘Alford Plea’ works in another case, involving a school teacher accused of having sex with a student: She “entered an Alford Plea, meaning she plead guilty because it was in her best interest given the charges but didn’t admit the charges were true.” It’s sort of like saying, I’m innocent, but I’ll accept the punishment.

In a sense that’s no more than a fig-leaf. But it does sound a bit like the description of the church in Laodicea in the New Testament: Thou art neither hot nor cold. It’s an odd definition of justice: Allowing defendants to both plead guilty and deny the charges against them at the same time.

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