03/30/2004: "Passion four, alarmists zero"

Not only have there been no anti-Semitic incidents traceable to The Passion of the Christ (one incident in Toronto is still being investigated), there are at least four instances of criminals turning themselves in after having seen the movie:

Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of Christ is said to have prompted a Norwegian neo-Nazi to admit to two arson attacks against squatters.

After watching the film, Johnny Olsen, 41, is reported to have confessed to police about the 1990s attacks in Oslo. (BBC)

A man seeking "redemption" has confessed to a more than two-month-old murder that was originally ruled suicide, say police.

Dan Leach, 21-years-old, of Rosenberg, [Texas,] was arrested on March 23 after voluntarily confessing he murdered 19-year-old Ashley Wilson on Jan. 15. Wilson was allegedly pregnant with Leach's child.

According to the detectives, Leach was moved to confess to the crime after viewing the movie The Passion of the Christ. Detectives say he showed no remorse. (For Bend-Southwest Sun)

In December 2001, James Anderson stormed into a Palm Beach Gardens bank, grabbed an employee and–he now admits–forced tellers to hand over $25,000 in large bills.

Ailing, forever nervous and tired of living in his blue 1995 Toyota Corolla, the 53-year-old walked into the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office lobby in shorts and a polo shirt, saying he was ready to give himself up.

When a sheriff's detective asked him why he gave himself up, Anderson said he was stirred deeply after watching The Passion of the Christ and felt compelled to come clean.(Palm Beach Post)

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ has touched millions of Americans spiritually–including a repentant burglar who turned himself in Sunday in Mesa.

About 3:30 a.m., officers were checking a burglar alarm set off at Yakety Yak Wireless, 1840 W. Southern Ave., when Turner Lee Bingham, 20, walked up and confessed he had taken $80 from the register, police and the store’s owner said.

He also said he was responsible for five or six burglaries at other places. "He had made some mention that after watching the Mel Gibson movie...that was his motive for turning himself in," said Mesa police detective Ruben Quesada. (East Valley (AZ) Tribune)

I'm sure there are a variety of extenuating circumstances in each instance, beyond seeing The Passion, that may have driven each of these felons to turn himself in. But if the movie helped them, even a little, to make up their minds, wonderful.