black…MYstory

As many of us know, six suspects are now in jail for the week-long torture of a black woman in Logan, WV. When the feds stated that the six would not face hate crimes charges, prosecutors stated that they might still face more state charges.

It seems, now, that prosecutors intend to make good on that statement and are considering additional kidnapping and sexual assault charges against these suspects.

We should expect to hear more today about these charges. Personally, I hope they throw the book at them and that these people (and I use the term loosely) end up under the jail.

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Okay, let’s just put this out there and be done with it…O.J. Simpson has been arrested in relation to an alleged armed robbery in Las Vegas.

He and a group of men stand accused of breaking into to a hotel room and robbing a man at gunpoint for O.J. Simpson memorabilia. Simpson says he was just getting his property back and that no guns were involved. Regardless, of the use of guns, the way in which the went about getting the memorabilia (back) is suspect.

Thanks for indulging me on this one. Hopefully, I won’t be bringing this up, again.

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I still remember how the story of Erica Michelle Marie “Precious Doe” Green affected me. In death, this child received the love that she should have received in life. It all started when I read the story of how a community sort of “adopted” the child whose decapitated body was found dumped in a Kansas City park in 2001. Activists, not knowing her name, dubbed her “Precious Doe” and kept on the fight to bring her killer(s) to justice.

Four years later, on a tip from a relative, the child’s mother, Michelle Johnson, and stepfather, Harrell Johnson, for her killing. According to the details from the investigation, Harrell Johnson, high on drugs, kicked the child for not going to bed. They both left her to die and, later, decapitated her and disposed of the body.

Now, Michelle Johnson has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in relation to the child’s killing. This is part of the plea deal she struck in exchange for her testimony against Harrell Johnson. Prosecutors plan on trying him for first-degree murder and are seeking the death penalty.

So, there is justice, of sorts, for little Erica Green. But, in a really just world, she would still be a little girl with a long life ahead of her.

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I’ll admit that I don’t know the ins and outs of federal hate crime legislation but, I am wondering how every last one of the 6 people in custody for the week-long torture, beating and sexual assault of a black woman in West Virginia will get away with not being charged with a hate crime.

It was revealed, today, that one of the suspects, Bobby Brewster, has a previous relationship with the victim. Because the crime was not “random” in nature, this, apparently, negates the use of federal hate crimes charges.

However, the state has said that it will pursue stiffer charges for the suspects. Detailed below are the list of charges:

Frankie Brewster, 49, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information during a felony investigation.

Bobby Brewster, 24, also of Big Creek, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.

Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding.

Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville was charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony.

Burton’s daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, and George A. Messer, 27, both of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery.

The victim, Megan Willams, 20, is currently recuperating in a hospital and may be released in a few days. In the meantime, the suspects are all currently in custody in lieu of the $100,000 bail for each.

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There’s some more “good” news on the Jena 6 — another young man has seen his charges reduced.

Robert Bailey saw his charges reduced to aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Bailey pleaded not guilty to these charges.

This leaves Bryant Purvis as the only member of this group who was charged as an adult who still facing second-degree murder charges. The charges related to an unnamed youth in the “Jena 6″ have not been revealed.

Again, I am grateful to see the heat being turned up on Jena. Justice is supposed to be blind or, at least, colorblind.

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How deep can hate run?

In West Virginia, a 23-year-old black woman was repeatedly beaten, stabbed and sexually assaulted over the course of at least a week. The black woman was abducted and taken to a home where this torture occurred.

Currently, 6 people are in custody in relation to this crime. The suspects include a mother-son pair and a mother-daughter pair. At large still are two suspects who authorities believe drove the woman to the place where the crime occurred. The suspects are Frankie Brewster, 49 (Brewster owns the home where all this happened); Bobby Brewster, 24; Karen Burton, 46; Alisha Burton, 23; George A. Messer, 27; and Danny J. Combs, 20.

The apparent motive is racial as the woman was called racial slurs during her attacks. Also, one of the suspects, Karen Burton, allegedly told the woman that this was happening to her because she was black.

What happened to this poor woman is simple unspeakable. According to the report, in addition to the beatings, stabbings and sexual assaults, she was “forced to eat rat and dog feces and drink from the toilet” and ” had been choked with a cable cord and her hair was cut”.

I find it hard to keep my emotions in check as I read this. When people tell me we don’t need hate crime legislation, I keep in mind that things like this still happen. It’s not just about a guy calling you the n-word after pushing you down. There are people with evil intentions who, as it appears in this case, target people strictly based on color.

I fully expect things to get hot in Logan, WV. A crime this heinous cannot be allowed to just go by without a very strong, vocal response from Black America.

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Over the last few weeks, in Cincinnati, the world’s turned upside-down. We have seen two cases which, once again, call into question issues of race and class as they pertain to law enforcement in this area.

On August 23, Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, a school Vice-Principal, left her 2-year-old child in her car while she went to work. According to Nesselroad-Slaby, she broke from her normal routine and stopped to pick up doughnuts for her staff. She stated that the child had fallen asleep and that she simply forgot that her child was in the car when she went into work. The child died in a hot car where the temperature exceeded some 100 degrees. Interestingly enough, while she didn’t remember leaving her child, she did remember the doughnuts she left in the car. Video shows her going back to the car for the doughnuts but leaving her daughter in her car seat.

Nessleroad-Slaby was not charged in her daughter’s death.

Now, Some might say that this is just an accident. I would counter that this was an accident waiting to happen. Nessleroad-Slaby had previously left her daughter unattended in her vehicle on three separate occasions. Prior to the child’s death, the most recent had been the same week in which the child died — Nessleroad-Slaby left the child alone in the car for 10 minutes. In fact, she had been warned by a former administrator of her other daughter’s preschool about the dangers of leaving the child alone in the car when another parent saw the child had been left alone in the car this past winter.

To contrast this, let’s look at the case of Lavonn Smith. Thankfully, today, she was released from jail. Who did she kill? A better question would be what did she kill or, better yet, what died in her yard?

Well, a pit bull that was tied up in her back yard died after being hung up on a tangled chain. So, Smith was convicted of animal cruelty and failure to register the animal. However, it may very well be the case that it was her 14-year-old nephew that tethered the dog in the yard, which he says was a stray animal that just wouldn’t leave. It is very likely that Smith did not even know the animal was there. In fact, Judge Russell, herself, said that she did not believe that Smith left the animal but, that she was still responsible as the property owner. The dog had been there about four days before it was discovered.

Prior to today’s release, Smith had been in jail for nearly 3 weeks after being denied bond by Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Heather Russell. However, heat from family, community activists and the local NAACP must have swayed the opinion because now she will not serve any more jail time (she was facing up to six months in jail and a $1000 fine). Smith is a single working mother of two-year-old twin boys who could still lose her job and the place she rented.

If you haven’t surmised, Nessleroad-Slaby is white and Smith is black.

So, they question is — why send a mother to jail over a dead dog but not over a dead child, particularly when the latter had a history of leaving the child in a dangerous situation?

UPDATE: I see that I am not the only person who believes that Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby should have faced charges.

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I imagine the national exposure on the town of Jena, Louisiana and its questionable legal system is getting the best of prosecutors there because, today, two more of the young men saw their charges reduced from attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy (if you haven’t heard about this case, check out this post as a starting point).

Carwin Jones’ and Theo Shaw’s reduction in charges follows an identical reduction for Mychael Bell who has previously tried on the original attempted murder charges and was found guilty by an all-white jury.

It has not been disclosed as to whether or not the remaining defendants, Robert Bailey Jr., Bryant Purvis and an unidentified juvenile, will receive similar reductions.

However, I am heartened to see that the focus on the goings-on in this town are being put under a microscope because the futures of six young men depends upon it.

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Ohh, they just keep making this so easy!

North Carolina Republican mainstay, Coy Privette, is the latest in this parade of shame. Privette spent eight years in the state house and another nine as a county commissioner. Also, Privette is a retired pastor and, until very recently, was president of the Christian Action League.

Okay, this is already not looking good, right?

Well, the Privette drama began to unfold in May when a woman tried to cash a blank check with Privette’s signature on it and another check of his in the amount of $4000. Thinking it was fraud, the bank alerted Privette. He told the bank these where lost checks and the bank refunded him his money.

The police began tracing the checks and the trail led to one Tiffany Summers. It turns out that Privette has paid for her services six times in the last 6 months. In relation to this mess, Privette pleaded guilty and, after serving 48 hours of community service, will have his record expunged.

Privette has resigned his position with the Christian Action League. But, much to the chagrin of his fellow Republican commissioners, he has not resigned from his job. Now, his compatriots are working to force him to resign.

Stay tuned. Somehow, I don’t think all of this will stop at Part 4.

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Often, I intentionally refrain from high-profile stories because we get beat over the head with them enough. Instead, I normally choose those stories that get overlooked in the media in order to help give them more visibility.

I’m breaking with my normal M.O. to share some thoughtful analysis I read in regards to the Michael Vick situation and our reaction to it.

Jamele Hill, in writing for ESPN’s Page 2, reminds us of how easily we lose what my mother would call our sense of “priority and proportion.”

Hill reminds us that Ravens’ linebacker was never this vilified when he stood accused of being involved in the killings of two people (he later plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice). She also looks back on how Rams’ defensive end Leonard Little was treated with kid gloves after he actually struck and killed a woman while drunk-driving. Little got an 8-game suspension and got to serve a 90-day sentence at a time that was convenient to him. So, here we see instances where human lives were lost and there was less public outcry than this Vick circus.

Hill also lets us know about contemporary stories that are being ignored while we talk about Vick. Specifically, she speaks on how we are ignoring the plight of the “Jena 6″, which we as black folks should be greatly concerned. Here we have young men who could languish in prison for decades over what should have been, at worst, a simple assault case.

Vick deserves punishment for his crimes, no doubt. However, what more important issues are we ignoring while we focus on this mess?

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