Ellis Lee Hickman Jr. of Overlea will be in jail for the rest of his life without parole for the murder of Rakiyya States.
A grand jury indictment yesterday against 15 (alleged) coke dealers has Rod J. Rosenstein worried that the state won't be able to house so many defendants.
Blotter: Robert B. Wolfe, 48, charged with stabbing and beating Lauri B. Moore to death and burying her in their back yard; Marijuana in White Marsh.
I just found out, 20 hours prior, that I must (under threat of arrest- TG I don't have a Real Job) appear at the "Victim Room" of the 3rd floor of Juvie Hall tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. prepared to testify about how one Sherrod N. Lloyd yanked on my garage door and stole my bike back in June! There was a "mutual postponement, charges held in abeyance" while Sherrod was supposed to go to school and do community service or something, but apparently he didn't. So I and officer Basile of the Northern, who allegedly caught Sherrod with my "Trek 3500," get to spend some time on Gay Street trying to compel Sherrod to do right.
13 comments:
Cybes, ask for the Death Penalty and negotiate your way down. I'd recommend joining Sherrod's mother/parent in his penalty. That way, the weight of it will be brought upon him, so maybe he'll even regret his choices.
its so disgusting ....so many black men being locked away forever for drugs.
Not murder...where I have a moral opposition to it, but in many cases just drugs (sometimes supposed drugs).
I don't want anyone to think that I am saying selling drugs is right, but some of these sentences are demoralizing to everyone.
We have weakened the whole community with our sentencing guidelines IMO.
Unfortunately, will we probably never get to see what a world full of strong black men could truly offer the world. His perspective.....his true sensibility and not this brut that is often portrayed in all public media.
Also....I think that the world will probably never get to see that a black man should be valued for more than his strong back.
IMO if more highly skilled type jobs or opportunities to earn a living wage were offered to black men specifically....crime would be decreased.
I feel pretty confident when I say....most black men that have been incarcerated HATE it. I also think that at this point we really should re-examine some of the things that Kurt Schmoke used say....one in particular....he pointed out that OBVIOUSLY MORE PRISON TIME IS NOT A DETERRANT TO CRIME. It just incarcerates more people. New criminals are born every day. There is some socio-economic and psycho/socio issues that are not being addressed. Now you have the gangs....these kids all feel like they are going to prison at anytime (some VERY soon) anyway so why not become part of something that will assure my protection later?
Some one is benefitting from all these black men being incarcerated. I just heard a wonderful story on prison industries. Inmates were talking about how they build all this furniture and upholstery for companies for $120 a month....who is pocketing the rest?????
Some one is benefitting IMO when the crime is so high in some of our beautiful historic communities (i.e Harlem Park). Is it because on the low they are buying up all the property?
........... after a while, then coming behind with sweeps to lock everyone up...so they can get their returns on their investments.
Its funny to me that they are worried about the village now.....they know them Upland homes are coming. Village homes are going for $100 - 150,000 and up WTF?
I think the way that they are locking all these young guys up without any real preparation on the part of the prisons to prepare this person for life after release is vicious to EVERYONE.
They are not going to do right when they hit the streets. I don't care how much they hate it in there....out here is a different set of circumstances and for many ...its easier than life out here. They haven't been prepared to suceed out here. I am a focused, ambitious and educated woman and I often don't know how I am going to eat. Thank goodness I paid attention in school and always put education first.
I pray that I will be blessed with money so that I can offer someone's son, father, brother or boyfriend a job. It would seem that its not profitabble to the powers that Be to do so at this time. This for me is gutwrenching.
Sorry to go off...I love your blog, but i often read the headlines a lot different that your typical reader. It hurts me to my heart that so many nameless black men die each year.
well, according to this article, the mother and her todler in PGC were probably killed by a dude from baltimore who got out of prison in 2002 after serving only 10 years for killing his own son and some other guy. great!
Well, Sherrod's just 15, he was stealing bikes with two other boys. They went to school like they were supposed to, one of them did some community service, but he didn't do the things he was supposed to do. So now he might be embarking on a whole lifelong relationship with the criminal justice system. Maybe he'll find out he's better suited to prison life than living at home, and learn some new tricks of the trade.
I'll be interested to see who shows up to support the young Mr. Lloyd.
C Love,
If we're going to discuss this, we'll have to separate fact from fiction.
While it is not at all difficult to get arrested in Balto. City, getting prosecuted is another matter. The first couple simple possession charges are generally null prossed and the next few will get community service. Incarcerated convictions for drug offenses are generally part of a larger set of charges, more serious ones. The State's Attorney will drop weapons and distribution charges in exchange for a plea on drugs. Thus, an inceration for drugs frequently means you were doing much more, for which proof was perhaps inadequate.
So, the YAAMs are not being sent up 'just for drug use'. By the time they're facing any real time, they're already way into the lifestyle.
The real problem is that these guys are in an environment where 90% of the signals point to a bad place. Where I was raised, just the opposite was true. You had to screw up time after time to end up a criminal, because it wasn't the norm. You had to want that outcome. In Baltimore, it IS the norm, you see. All you have to do is emulate your homeys and you'll be in prison, which has the character of a badge of distinction here. In my town the 'bad boys' were understood to be vivacious losers, while most of us planned to be really boring winners: accountants, actuaries, etc.
I don't think you should expect good outcomes for these kids, except perhaps where a strong parent reviles and ridicules 'street culture'. If a boy grows up despising the gangsta hoodies on the corner (who will be dead by the time they're grown.) for the losers they are, he will probably embrace a more mainstream trajectory, such as school. For this reason, we should probably reject the notion that Gangsta is a cultural expression, like country music or high hemlines or slam poetry. It's just destructive. Not necessarily, but statistically so.
Most of the successful guys I know who grew up in the hood are very arrogant in that regard. They don't hesitate to denigrate a locally popular norm. In the mainstream culture, that is considered a defect. In the 'hood, it's probably your salvation.
Oh, the other thing I forgot to mention...
Once we establish that an individual chooses to be a hoodlum, the role of prison is no longer to deter future misconduct: it's to lock him in a box where he cannot damage me and to showcase his sorry ass to kids who haven't made their life choices yet. It's not remedial.
On one hand I understand black men have been selected for lousy treatment for hundreds of years. On the other, the divisiveness of talking about cimre like it's just about black men doesn't seem to help.
Drug addiction, crappy parenting and a lack of skills are problems that affect a lot of black men in Baltimore, but statewide and nationwide affect white people and women, too. I don't think black men need a special solution.
On the other hand, I think all teenagers between 14-18, especialy males, need help fast.
Kids are burning up with energy and drive at that age, and instead of letting them develop their passions they have to sit still and memorize things in school to prepare for tests. With no physical activity all day. No wonder they're going psycho en masse.
I feel you when you say everyone needs help....but no other race is losing a large segment of their population every year in the same way that black people are. Millions of Black boys and men being incarcerated may not impact your life in anyway...in fact, it may make you feel that your life is better or safer, but it affects my world tremendously.
One way........AIDS is killing black women in staggering numbers each year .....I believe that there is a direct correlation between increases in the prison population and new cases. Men go in clean and come out positive....then come out and give it to us. This is not being addressed....this is a public health issue.
But.........no one seems to care.
I appreciate the fact that you talk about it, but at the end of the day.....you are not in a position to change things. Most of the ppl in the position to change things...won't and my question is why?
Heard on NPR last night that there is some discussion about offering the Iraci men jobs as a means of decreasing violence. Mmmmmmmmmmmh what a novel idea.
Why is it that this type of program will only work in Irac?
The community at large is coming down on the US govt. regarding the violence in Irac..... so now its a priority to fix it.
....when is the number of young black ppl that die and go to prison each year going to be an issue (not just fodder for bloggers)?
My heart goes out to all victims of crime...it really does, but you must address the prevailing attitude of hopelessness that many of today's youth feel if you want to produce productive members of society.
Negativity begets negativity.
Is this an issue of nature of nuture? Unfortunately, the paradigm is nature and that's why things will continue to get worse - EVERYDAY!!
Lots of people like to think that hip hop has no value.....but if you would only listen to words....many of the answers to how to make this world a better place are contained within.
Step #1: Improve the educational system.
Young Jeezy is a platinum artist.....he brags about only making it to the 8th grade. He is celebrated. Black ppl don't won the media organizations.....and this is the image that is being pushed on the kids. What do you expect? How do you think the kids are going to be productive when they all think they can be rappers...not doctors or lawyers or preachers.....they want to be the ppl they see on TV and around them.
You will never stop thinking gangsterism is the way to be if thats all you see around you. I lived in the "hood", but was exposed to other things.....it made all the difference. I am a living testament to the benefit of offering children options.
Why would a child believe that he she can leave the hood with no money or opportunities if they don't know of anyone else that has done the same. Its not enough anymore to say....go to school. There is a lot of life between 4:00 PM and 7:00 AM. A lot of these kids aren't guaranteed dinner at night....so to tell one "go to school for 15 + years and you can get a good job"....LOL! especially when you have no clothes or money for transportation.
sounds hillarious to me.
A lot of these YAAMS (i am not sure what that means...sorry) have not seen (and interacted) with as many black professional men as they see drug dealers. Drug dealers are the ones with cars...not their mother who works everyday.
I know I really sound like a liberal...LOL! I pray for a safe and productive Baltimore.
I know you can't help everyone, but at this point...helping the perpertrators of crimes is really the key to fixing things.
Locking people up is just decreasing the diversity and creating future generations of fatherless children (it don't stop......)
Also.....
I say black people...because I honestly don't know as much about any other group of ppl's problems and not because black ppl are the only ppl I care about.
again....thanks for the dialogue. I won't use up any more of your bandwith...LOL!
I'm not saying conditions aren't horrible, but there are a lot of ways out for smart, motivated kids, and a lot of people who want to help. The private schools are actually having a hard time finding scholarship kids who qualify to apply... but the kids who would do best with a lot of attention and sports often don't have parents with the wherewithal to get them through the application process.
So many parents do not see the value of education ... the only way to break the cycle of poverty. And too many parents of every class are too dependent on schools to teach their kids what they need to know to get along in the world.
How to NOT break the cycle: having kids mentored by ex-cons!
I had a great idea for an after-school program, by the way-- Mandarin lessons taught by local immigrants. If you're fluent in Chinese (and English) you'll always be able to get a job in the world of the future!
If anyone knows anyone who speaks Mandarin and at least a little English and wants to give lessons, drop me a line...
I like the fact that you're thinking constructively. Better than me.
One criticism: the curriculum would have to be demanding: incorrect Mandarin is not a job-getter, only really very precise grammar will do. Our kids have real difficulty with the proposition that there's a right way and a wrong way. The Chinese, on the other hand, don't question it at all. And it is they who will be the employer.
Golden Rule: the guy with the gold makes the rules.
C Love, Young AfroAmerican Males (YAAMs) need to stop thinking of the world as something that happens to them. They have choices every day. Good ones. Bad ones.
Maybe other people get easier choices because they have greater resources. Doesn't matter. I don't believe in handing out free money so some kid won't jack me in the alley. That's called extortion. If that's his mindset, I want him in a cell. For a while.
If YAAMs really want a job, don't look to government. It doesn't do jobs, just handouts. Look at Sheila Dixon. If they want jobs, go to the private sector, but remember the Golden Rule (above).
Something I've never understood about "We need more recreation centers to cut down on crime.".... Football and basketball were part of my upbringing, but they were hardly essential components. If I had to identify the most important 'tools' in life, they would be reading and math, plus some sense of right vs. wrong and 'how things work' technologically. Basketball is hardly at the core of my life. I do think that positive male role models are a good idea, but it's not always clear that you get those in a city rec.
News update: Sherrod and his mother never showed, so I spent three hours of my life reading year-old copies of Glamour and GQ, having vending-machine Twizzlers for lunch.
Apparently Mrs. Lloyd was the one who wanted to press the charges after Sherrod didn't do right... good for her. I'll probably never find out why the defendant didn't show up. Supposedly there's a warrant out for him now, so them what happens? They catch him in three years and I get called to testify then about my bike, which I got back before I knew it was stolen?
I get a feeling "Mary J Victim) won't hear anything about that incident again soon...
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