To the Editor:
The death of one’s child is an excruciating pain no parent should endure. This I know personally.
In the news, we see their anguish again and again. Yet the system that could bring a level of justice in these deaths, perhaps even prevent them, is horribly broken. It reflects the callousness and sometimes simple hatred in our society toward the … poor, the homeless, the mentally ill and people of color or not living in “the mainstream.”
A little research reveals how widespread the pain is across America.“Happy Holidays” are hard to come by for the loved ones of the slain.
For many, Eric Garner’s death, ruled as a homicide by the NYC coroner is the end of our ability to let “business as usual” continue. Yet ANOTHER grand jury has failed to hand up an indictment in the case. Out of some 162,000 grand juries seated in recent times, this happened only 11 times. Watch the video on the Internet as millions have and you have to come to the conclusion that the officers should go to trial. There are too many cases in which charges are never even filed! This must stop.
We are working to fix this. We need laws that mandate the appointment of a special, independent prosecutor in all cases of alleged brutality and/or death at the hands of law enforcement. Currently, the majority of officers and sheriffs, prosecutors and judges are honest and effectively perform their duties. However, the prosecutors are put in a terrible position when they are tasked with prosecuting the people they’ve relied on to control crime. When the public sees this violence not being curtailed it destroys our confidence in the justice system.
It’s time to move our legal system toward justice. Will you be part of the solution and help stop the pain?
Bob Babcock
Davenport
