"We cannot allow a legal precedent to be established in this city that tells us it is legal for a man to kill us, tell any story he wants, and walks out with the murder weapon," - Al Sharpton.
The following story tells "us" that it is ok for "them" to kill "us" and walk away from any responsibility, with the Governor's blessing in the form of a commuted sentence. The black man shot the unarmed white teen point blank in the face and served only five months.
Black man who killed white teen — sentence commuted
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| John Harris White, convicted of manslaughter of a white child |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. David Paterson commuted the sentence Thursday of a black man imprisoned for the racially charged shooting death of a white teenager on Long Island, a decision in the final days of his administration that infuriated the lawyer who prosecuted the case.
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| Governor Patterson |
Paterson said the five months John Harris White has served was enough time for the emotion-fueled 2006 shooting death of Daniel Cicciaro, 17. Paterson said everybody connected with the case had suffered enough, and White was released Thursday.
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| Daniel Cicciaro was fatally shot in 2006. |
"This is an inspiring example of an elected official using commutation powers for good,” said Benjamin Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The NAACP sought a full pardon.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said that he hoped the families would move toward healing and that the governor “showed great courage and fairness.”
Ben Jealous is an ardent supporter of justice for Trayvon Martin, a teenage boy who was killed by a Hispanic man. He railed against the officials in the case who he felt went too easy on George Zimmerman, the man who shot Trayvon Martin. Ben was instrumental in swaying public opinion on the case. Zimmerman was arrested and now stands charged with Second Degree Murder.
"Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, describes his concerns about the Sanford Police Department in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting and calls for the resignation of Sanford, Fla., Police Chief Bill Lee.
“In Sanford, if you kill a dog you end up in jail the next day. Trayvon Martin was killed, this beautiful boy was killed, and his killer has been allowed to walk the streets for weeks,” Jealous says"
Ben Jealous on Democracy Now: We are demanding three things. One, that Trayvon Martin’s killer be brought to justice. He needs to be locked up, and he needs to be charged with murder.Al Sharpton led rallies, collected money for the parents of the deceased Trayvon Martin - he talked about the case in segment after segment on his MSNBC show and at dozens of rallies:
"We Are Tired Of Going To Jail For Nothing And Others Going Home For Something Zimmerman should have been arrested that night ... you cannot defend yourself against a pack of Skittles and iced tea. Don't talk to us like we're stupid! Don't talk to us like we're ignorant! We love our children like you love yours. Lock him up!"While I am not even sure what that means "going home for something", I do know what the gist of his speech was about. "You can't defend yourself against a bag of skittles and iced tea". Ok I don't know what he was saying there either but the following line about thinking he's ignorant....I get that. But I digress.
Blatant double-standard racism. Why was it ok for this man to serve only five months for killing an unarmed white teenager who never touched the man. Why is it ok that this man took the law into his own hands instead of calling the police? Why was he only charged with manslaughter and not Second Degree Murder? Where the hell were the rallies seeking justice for this young man? I'll bet his poor mother never even thought to copyright his name for extra spending money.
Randy Miller: Teaching TrayvonThis is bigger than Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman; this is an opportunity for America's classrooms to confront the seeds of our nation's racist ideological past and discuss how and why we've reached this point in our current history
