Albert Snyder, of York Pa. lost his son.

Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, killed in Iraq, was buried in 2006.
There was a massive turnout for the funeral.

Also present was the Phelps family of Topeka, Kansas: the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. In case you're not familiar with the Phelps, they travel the nation looking for military funerals at which they can protest.
While families mourn the loss of sons and daughters who gave life for their country, they have to bear the scorn and disrespect of the Westboro Baptists.

Have you had to lay to rest a loved one? Imagine how you would have reacted had a group of people attended the funeral with signs saying thank God your loved one was dead - that your loved one deserved to die.

That has been the burden of hundreds of military families in the last decade - to bury their dead while enduring the jeering mockery of ingrates standing on American flags.

Albert Snyder fought back. He sued the Phelps family - and won.
Well good! we said. Justice served! We celebrated.

But ....
from the Baltimore sun:
Marine's father ordered to pay Westboro's court costs

Lawyers for Snyder say the Court of Appeals has ordered him to pay $16,510.80 to Phelps for costs relating to the appeal, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Court of Appeals' decision.

The high court agreed earlier this month to consider whether the protesters' message is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.

from the York Daily Record:
What the Supreme Court sees in Snyder v. Phelps

in which pompous intellectuals hone their babbling skills on the finer details of constitutional law.

The original decision for Snyder was overturned based on the abused 1st Amendment right of free speech, and Phelps was awarded over 16 grand - to be paid by the family of the fallen Marine.

Somehow, those five words "...abridging the freedom of speech..." have been twisted into "Scum like the Phelps have a right to scream and holler, wave evil signs, stand on your flag and make fun of your dead son."

How did everything get turned backwards and upside down?

I have many suggestions in mind that I would love to propose, but my freedom of speech is, without a doubt, not as holy as the Phelps'. So I'll just relay the following:

A better ending to this chapter of the story:
Rumor is that FOX News' Bill O'Reilly has covered the costs of the Snyders court case.