Closure: the most overused and misunderstood term in television news

Every time I start to watch a package about some crime followed by a trial, I know it's coming.

Person murdered, criminal convicted, interview with family member.

And then the "C" word.

How many times must we hear these gems?

-The family has now achieved closure...

-They are looking for closure...

-Now that the trial is over, there's a sense of closure...

Let me tell you a little about closure. It doesn't really exist. Because the past never goes away.

I have a good friend who had a family member murdered years ago. Man who committed the crime went to jail forever. Yet every year on the day of the crime, he turns into an exposed nerve. Closure? Not hardly. Sure, the guy is in prison for life, but does that bring back the victim?

Stop and think a minute about something precious you've lost. Maybe it's a parent, a beloved pet, a friend. Maybe it's a true love who went off and married someone else.

You may have moved on, but you haven't achieved closure.

People we love leave invisible fingerprints on our souls. When they're gone, it leaves a hole in the heart... and no amount of justice or revenge or time can repair it.

Closure doesn't exist. Find another word to use in these stories. Sure, people feel better when the bad guy's in jail, but that doesn't bring things back to normal, and never will.

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