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Poetic Justice?
Posted By devonscott
You’ve undoubtedly heard about the case in a Washington, DC suburb that has garnered national attention. A 19-year-old named Ronnie White runs over a police officer with a stolen pickup truck and is arrested. He’s placed in solitary confinement, with guards checking on him every 30 minutes. The next morning Ronnie White is found unresponsive. His death is ruled a homicide by the ME’s office the following day.
The 19-year-old was black. The police officer he allegedly killed, a father of two named Richard Findley, was white.
Those are the facts and they are not in dispute.
Here, on the other hand, is some fiction for you to ponder.
Imagine a society where criminals, regardless of race, are dealt with using an almost vigilante system of justice that viciously doles out punishment. No more expensive, protracted trials funded by law-abiding taxpayers. You kill a person in cold blood, you are certain to die a gruesome death while in police custody. You rape a child, then without a doubt you’re history. Someone will get you. It could be the Good Samaritan who witnesses your heinous act or the guard processing you into prison.
In the fiction I’ve conjured up, it no longer matters that you’re presumed innocent until proven guilty. Let’s face it. Some cases are open and shut. Like the grand jury in Texas that recently cleared a man of shooting two men who had burglarized a neighbor’s house. The men were coming onto his property when he opened fire with his 12-gauge shotgun. Both men were shot in the back and died. They were illegal immigrants from Columbia. The shooter, who was cleared of any wrongdoing, is white. Texas law said he was justified. You may cry racial foul play but the bottom line is this—those men were burglarizing someone’s home. They were criminals, plain and simple. And criminals, in the fiction I’ve dreamed up, deserve what they get.
Our society is quick to play the race card when it comes to these type of cases. We do it all the time. Remember the three detectives acquitted in the shooing death of Sean Bell, the man who was to be married when he was gunned down in a hail of bullets? Or Mychal Bell, the 17-year-old and member of the Jena 6, who was jailed over a high school fight? Or how about Rodney King? We all know that race played a factor in every single one of these cases.
And now we’re doing it again with Ronnie White. But before you lament over this young brutha held down by the System, take a look at his rap sheet: he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and to drug possession. He was also charged with first-degree assault and armed robbery, but that case was dropped. Last November, he was sentenced to more than a half-year in prison, but it’s unclear how much time he actually served.
In my fictitious society, race wouldn’t bubble to the top in cases like this. Instead, we’d focus on the crime committed and on the choices the criminals made. Families of criminals wouldn’t be able to sue. No more hundred million dollar wrongful death lawsuits. Why? Because families of criminals would have no rights. You live by the sword, you die by the sword.
Back to the here and now: Black people are already up in arms over this one. Ronnie White’s family is outraged. They’re calling for an “exhaustive investigation.” Expect Al Sharpton to get involved any day now. A lawsuit against the police department and Department of Corrections is a foregone conclusion. At the end of the day, someone in the White camp is going to get paid.
The real tragedy here? No, it is not that two families’ worlds have been shattered, although that is certainly the case. The read tragedy is that there are thousands of Ronnie White’s among us. Our community turns the other cheek to their destructive and illegal behavior every single day. No one seems to give a damn until it’s too late.
It is time for black people to stop lamenting over the injustices against our race and instead hold our own responsible for their actions.
Should Ronnie White have been killed? It’s not for me to say. But the fact that he is dead has nothing to do with him being black, and everything to do with the way he chose to live his life as a black man.
Devon Scott is the author of Unfaithful, published by Dafina Books. You can find him online at www.devonscott.com/blog.
Jul 2nd, 2008
I have to say that I agree with you, Devon. Ronnie’s color has absolutely nothing to do with what happened to him. While I do not condone vigilante justice, Ronnie should have expected that this is the way it would all end. They say that in prision, there are three things most prisoners hate, wife beaters, child molesters, and animal abusers, and that those prisoners mae sure justice is served to those who fall into those categories. So if you so fall into one of those categories, please do not expect to have an easy time in prison. But if you are a cop killer, well, chances are you are not even going to make it into prison. Again, I do not agree with this, but that’s the way it is. And Ronnuer should have known that, whether he was white, black, or green. And any whiner who says that Ronnie was deprived of his rights would best whine about something changeable in our spciety, because that kind of vigilante justice will not change any time soon. In fact, Ronnie was given his full rights, I mean last rites that is.
That writing was really great. I wish more people could be as open and insightful as you!! As an African working in an all white office, I am constantly compared to other people my skin colour. Next time my boss or co-workers ask me why “black people do the things they do”, I will print out your writing!!
Hello Devon:
After reading your “Poetic Justice?” piece yesterday, I just had to send a note and prayer that you never experience the death of a love one at the hands of law enforcement. My 22-year old son was killed within less than 48 hours of being arrested. Like Ronnie White, he too was in a separate cell away from other inmates.]
…And now we’re doing it again with Ronnie White. But before you lament over this young brutha held down by the System, take a look at his rap sheet: he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and to drug possession. He was also charged with first-degree assault and armed robbery, but that case was dropped. Last November, he was sentenced to more than a half-year in prison, but it’s unclear how much time he actually served.
[Regardless of what crimes were done by an individual, does that give law enforcement the right to kill him/her? Does the person not deserve the right to appear before a jury? It’s so easy to be negative about a situation when you don’t have all the facts.]
In my fictitious society, race wouldn’t bubble to the top in cases like this. Instead, we’d focus on the crime committed and on the choices the criminals made.
[What about x-criminals such as Judge Greg Mathis? Chef Jeff Henderson? Writer Nathan McCall? Being able to go through the justice system and LIVE, these individuals were able to become contributing members of society.]
Families of criminals wouldn’t be able to sue. No more hundred million dollar wrongful death lawsuits. Why? Because families of criminals would have no rights. You live by the sword, you die by the sword.
[And what about those men who were on death row and later proved innocent based on DNA evidence? Again Devon, it’s soooo easy to point fingers, pass judgment and make subjective Rambo statements when you don’t have all the facts.]
Back to the here and now: Black people are already up in arms over this one. Ronnie White’s family is outraged. They’re calling for an “exhaustive investigation.”
[I think any caring parent would want to know how and why their child was killed… Perhaps you’re not a parent…]
Expect Al Sharpton to get involved any day now. A lawsuit against the police department and Department of Corrections is a foregone conclusion. At the end of the day, someone in the White camp is going to get paid.
The real tragedy here? No, it is not that two families’ worlds have been shattered, although that is certainly the case. The read [real] tragedy is that there are thousands of Ronnie White’s among us. Our community turns the other cheek to their destructive and illegal behavior every single day.
[Another opinion or is this statement based on facts?]
No one seems to give a damn until it’s too late.
[Then why are there numerous non-profit organizations and individuals reaching out to our youth? Seems like you’ve not done your homework on this subject…]
It is time for black people to stop lamenting over the injustices against our race and instead hold our own responsible for their actions.
Should Ronnie White have been killed? It’s not for me to say.
[WOW!! I hope your blog on this topic doesn’t impact negatively on your book sales. Of course he should not have been killed in an environment that is suppose to protect. Regardless of his crime(s), he had a right to a trial…]
But the fact that he is dead has nothing to do with him being black, and everything to do with the way he chose to live his life as a black man.
[Let’s hope you never end up in the legal system…that you never have to experience what Ronnie’s parents are enduring at this moment; because based on your blog and insensitive statements – you have no clue!
Dear Marcia—Thank you for taking the time to write me. I want to respond to your comments. First I want to say that my sympathies go out to you in regard to your son. No parent should lose their child, for whatever reason.
The purpose of my commentary was to get people to think. I am passionate about the state of black America, and it angers me when our people seem to rally around certain causes, instead of dealing with the real issues within our community.
To your specific points: I agree with you that law enforcement should never have the right to kill a suspect under any circumstances. I never stated that they should have that right. Does a person in this country have a right to justice? Of course. My point was simple: If you are a criminal and live by the criminal code, then understand that there will be consequences to your actions. I am not being “negative about a situation when you [I] don’t have all the facts.” I’m merely pointing out that one of the consequences to criminal activity is being dealt with by law enforcement, especially when it involves murdering a cop in cold blood.
To your point that certain “x-criminals,” as you call them, go through the justice system and become contributing members of society: I never argued that criminals could not be rehabilitated. I was making the point that if you chose to live by the sword you may die by the sword, and personally I would not be surprised if something bad happens to you.
Your comment about me pointing the finger, passing judgment, and making “subjective Rambo statements when I don’t have all the facts” has no merit. I chose to comment on a situation based on information as presented to date. The fact is that Ronnie White was a convicted criminal with a long record. He chose to steal a pickup truck and accelerate it into another human being. I have no sympathy for the way he died—then or now. That’s my opinion. You don’t share it, and I’m perfectly fine with that. The purpose of my blog is to express my opinions and provide a forum for debate. You, and others did that, and I’m delighted that we can exchange our ideas in this way.
You suggest that I am not a parent because “any caring parent would want to know how and why their child was killed.” I am, in fact, a parent, and I couldn’t agree with you more. But again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, that wasn’t my point. Where was the family when Ronnie White was committing first degree assault? Where were they when he possessed a firearm and committed armed robbery? My outrage is at black people who cry foul because Ronnie White’s rights may have been violated, but choose to shut their eyes to the very behavior that leads to violence and tragedy every single day. Do not patronize me by suggesting that there are “numerous non-profit organizations and individuals reaching out to youth.” I stated my opinion very clearly—many in the black community seems to not give a damn until it’s too late—and I stand by that statement. Are there organizations and individuals attempting to make a difference? Sure. But what I witness every single day is the average person in their own little world not giving a damn about what goes on across the street from them. That’s the reality.
To your final point “let’s hope you never end up in the legal system…that you never have to experience what Ronnie’s parents are enduring at this moment.” Yes—I hope you are right. But at the end of the day, I am a man who takes responsible for my actions and decisions—and I realize that every single thing I do (or may not do) has a consequence. The same goes for my children. Ronnie White should have thought about the consequences to his actions before he got behind the wheel of a stolen truck and made a conscious decision to run over another human being. Perhaps if he had he’d still be alive today.
Regards,
Devon Scott