WJZ has an interview with Diamonte Fairley, the boy scalded and scarred for life by Shamia Lawson. His grandfather reports that he may have to have toes amputated and "may not be able to procreate without an operation."
"The stupidity of it is astounding." Lamont Thomas Harrell, 23, pleaded guilty to the 2007 murders of Allen Coates and Andre S. Jones and got 50 years for both murders and related gun charges.
Murders of Jarrell Brown, Zechariah Hallback and Willie Joyner in the "Ink," the 2004 cases of Jennifer Fischbach and Leslie Berger were closed, as was the 2007 murder of Byron Dickey.
Probation violation charges will be dropped against accused rapist Charles Carroll.
Burglary and vandalism at Bryn Mawr and Boys' Latin.
The CP has part II of the story of Fred Brooks, the drug dealer who ruined Remington.
"Violence Haunts Cherry Hill Block"
Lots of free time at work today? Check out NYT Mag's Steven Pinker pondering if morality is innate, and the various bloggy ponderings of the issue.
32 comments:
I always thought that Boys' Latin was a really pretentious name for a school.
Jesus, the Zechariah Hallback murder was really cold-blooded. That's why I always make sure I have thirty or forty bucks on me. If some crazed mugger holds me up at gun point I want to have enough cash that he doesn't get pissed off and decide to splatter my brains onto the sidewalk.
Also, if that murder had occured out in the county it would certainly be a death penalty case. Around here the killer will probably get a "life" sentence that gets him parole in ten years, assuming he's even caught.
Do boys need a different kind of latin than girls?
"Non offendo meus testis!"
Different latin, no. Segregated classrooms possibly. I remember in the 7th grade when I learned that impedimentum in addition to meaning impediment, could also mean baggage or "Women". I would have giggled if I wasn't trying to be the tough 12 year old.
I'm sure that in girls latin they would have been much more dignified about it.
The more I think about it, the more the Zechariah Hallback case bothers me. We have an apparently law-abiding, 18-year old man who was murdered execution style while waiting for a bus around 8 PM, and none of the media outlets in the city seem to care. WJZ, WBAL and The Examiner have NOTHING about this murder, and the Sun gives him a brief mention in the blotter (where they misspell his name!) and in a story about a different murder. Except for Murder Ink, that's it. Oh, apparently the Baltimore Algebra Project cared.
"Dear supporters of the Algebra Project:
We mourn the loss of Zachariah Hallback, a wonderful young man who had participated in many Algebra Project events, and who was helping to organize for the action below. Zach was shot Wednesday, Jan. 9 during a robbery while he waited with other Algebra Project youth for a bus across the street from City College High School. He was pronounced dead on Friday, Jan. 11."
:(
ppatin,
I'd agreed with you , but then I went to the link you supplied and the pic at the top of the Algebra Project is a close up of a stop snitching t-shirt. Apethy then set in.
From ZachSowers.com:
(Not sure if this has already been posted on here; if so, it still deserves a "bump")
"Many of you have asked how you can help and I thought of a way you can help. You can help me shed light of the atrocity that is Baltimore City by emailing, calling, writing to other media outlets beyond the Baltimore market. Some of you have already written to Oprah or have written me with other venues to contact but I just don't have time to contact Bill O'Reilly, CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show, etc. So, if you guys can help spread the word of what's going in Baltimore, and if this became national news - not just Zach's story but how this entire city is run by thugs and criminals who pledge the stop snitching, witness intimidating, cop hating culture, maybe there would be more pressure for change. ... Another way to help is to serve on a jury if you're summoned. If you're called in for jury duty, DO IT! Baltimore needs smart, law abiding citizens on its juries. Don't look for reasons to avoid jury duty. It's your civic duty and I ask that the next time you are summoned, to think of the hell I went through with Baltimore City prosecutors so fearful of a Baltimore City jury acquitting the 4 defendants, and take the time out of your busy life to be a juror.
hocojoe:
Yeah, the blog that I linked to sucks, however it doesn't belong to the Baltimore Algebara Project. They were merely reprinting something that someone else had put out.
To be entirely honest, I'm kind of wary of the Baltimore Algebra Project. They seem like another "gimme more money" organization. The only reason I linked to them was because I couldn't find any other sources of information about this story! I mean, shit, in some places they actually consider it news when an 18-year old guy gets the contents of his head blown out onto the ground, but apparently WBAL/WJZ/The Examiner didn't think it was a big deal...
Hey, what do you know, the Sun actually bothered to print a few more paragraphs about the Zecariah Hallback murder today.
In particular, I am concerned that an organization which is organizing a 'die-in' to assert causation between a lack of, inter alia, a) funding for the arts in schools and b) young black males killing other young black males chooses not to condemn those who committed the crimes, preferring to think of them as if they were victims of 'the Man.'
And while we're at it, how about condemning all those adolescents who choose to throw way their public educational opportunities, rather than excusing that choice.
Has anyone heard Algebra Project condemning the neglectful parents?
It's been my perception that Algebra Project is interested in activism for its own sake and that education is just a useful red herring.
I hope they prove me wrong.
People, who gives a shit about the Baltimore Algebra Project. Is it a great organization? Probably not. What bugs me is that they seem to be the only people in this city who even noticed what happened to Zechariah Hallback.
This murder makes me want to tell the people who live here, the people who govern here, and the people who work in the media here to all go fuck themselves.
Until Ditkoff's column came out, there was nothing on this killing. The Sun couldn't even get it straight as to whether or not the guy was dead.
And because some stupid fucking blog has a "Stop Snitching" picture, or because the Algebra Project is less-than-perfect, we greet the kid's death with apathy and continue to write our snarky and judgmental comments. (And yes, I'm more guilty of that than most anyone here, so I'm an asshole too.)
It's all such bullshit.
There's one thing that Sheila got right: there's not enough outrage. We write our comments, or we stand on a corner with 20 women from our church, or we wrap the governor's mansion in crime tape, but we don't really do anything.
Here's a challenge to all of you: Is there anything that we could collectively do that would benefit this city more than us sitting around and bitching in the comments section about how apathetic we are and how worthless __ is?
Ideas? Thoughts? Anyone want to do something other than talk?
Here's a very simple thing that people can do: when you get a summons for jury duty, go! Yeah, it sucks being press-ganged into sitting around the courthouse all day, and yes the city wastes people's time, but if only morons show up for jury duty then criminals get off.
Also, in case anyone else lives in the Southeastern District, the police community relations meets are on the first Monday of every month. I missed the last once since I'd just gotten back from halfway around the world and was jetlagged as hell, but I've found that those meetings are worth going to.
With a lack of parents acting like parents and a justice system that's able to deliver consequences, you're right that protests and bitching isn't going to do a whole lot.
I've come to think that the only really effective thing anyone could do is to be a foster parent. And to endeavor to be a good citizen yourself.
I invested my life savings into a business in my community, and was recently elected to the community board -- I'm not sure what else I could do beyond that. Any suggestions?
Oh, and I'm raising my son to be a responsible caring citizen and not some moron with an overblown sense of entitlement.
So again...any suggestions as to what I can do with the remaining free time in my day?
There's all kind of action on the Destiny D'Urso thread.
Carol, I think you should take up "Scrabulous."
I've done District community council meetings for years. Response: we don't have enough manpower. So I ask the Commander to go on record publicly that the crime here is due to the failure to staff for decades. He doesn't want to rock the boat.
As for Zechariah Hallback, last week he was shot just blocks from where I'm sitting, as was Willie Joyner (stabbed). It's very local to me and when they talk about 'how safe Baltimore has become', I have to wonder who's on an acid trip, me or them ? 'Cause this place is anything but safe.
Answer: purge the neighborhoods of offenders. Don't counsel them, hold their hands, or otherwise coddle them. Recognize that they are the hazard.
Interesting quote in that regard:
“Over 8,000 ex-offenders come back to Baltimore every year,” she said. “But it’s not what was done in the past, but what we can do to transform lives now. We can put money into this — a lot of money — but people have to be accountable. We have to look beyond our environment and look into ourselves, and not make excuses and not blame the system.”\
Guess who ? - Sheila Dixon !
speaking in Lower Park Heights
OK, so hire cops and associated field operatives to roust the offender population outta here.
It ain't gonna happen with slogans on billboards.
Dixon's brother was one such career offender. Almost everyone here has relatives who are serious offenders. That's not normal. They need to be exported or incarcerated, but we cannot get anywhere when offenders & kin are about the largest demographic group in Baltimore.
I very much endorse standing warrants if found within Baltimore City as an inducement to leave and go assimilate (like, lawfully) into some other place with a far lower criminal prevalence.
Suggestion: tonight is taxpayers' complaint night at city hall - must have registered by 6:30 to speak.
Galt:
I'm sorry to hear that the Northern District commander is an ass (you live in the Northern, right?) Back in November the Southeastern's commander was more than happy to say that they were short on manpower, and that they had trouble retaining experienced officers. Patricia Jessamy was there as well and she seemed more than happy to spew BS and excuses, however all the cops I heard from seemed like good guys who weren't afraid to tell the truth. I can only assume that means their Baltimore City PD careers won't go much further :angry:
Carol:
My suggestion:
I don't believe folks in Washington Village can be sustainably safe if Poppleton and Rosemont harbor huge offender populations. The police use community groups to figure out where they can get away with underserving, but an adjoining community being underserved (so that you actually get better coverage locally in your community) always comes back to bite you in the @ss.
Some hoodlum who doesn't belong in Pigtown will nonetheless bring tragedy to your doorstep. It's just a matter of time, unless we really get down to the resource requirements to purge all the neighborhoods, not just the well-organized ones. That doesn't mean revitalize all neighborhoods; some just need to be eliminated. Baltimore will never again be able to attract a million viable, productive human beings and we must eliminate the capacity to shelter nonviable, counterproductive ones. Downsize.
That resource requirement is big.
My neighborhood statistical area contains about 9% of the citywide total of offenders (5.4% of the statewide total). If we had 5.4% of the statewide total law enforcement personnel, I'd be happier'n a pig in sh!t.
My area has about 10% of what we should even without additional hiring. Where are the officers? Down by Ravens Stadium, protecting tourists. At political events, making a show for bureaucrats. The only time I see a bunch of officers is when all the upper middle-class white folk come running through the 'hood during the marathon. And once the race is done, so is the coverage.
It cannot be about "What will it take to make my block safe?"
To tackle the big problem, you need a totally differently oriented government. No more freebies, cannot afford them. No more no-show/low-show municipal jobs, cannot afford them.
Start by telling your councilman to vote down a budget which is 'business as usual'. Cut off the money which feeds the beast.
Oh, and insist on no more Ethics Panels which see nothing wrong with the City Council President sliding her sister $500,000 without a bid contract. Your councilman should submit a resolution in support of the State's investigation.
To fix the crime issue here in Baltimore, there's a few monsters that we need to keep in mind:
1) Baltimore is full of criminal sympathetic citizens: Not just those committing the crimes, but those who are related to those committing the crimes, or even those who are victims of it.
2) To really fix the problem, it will cost money. And I'm not talking a little bit. You'll need a lot from top to bottom. More for cops, a strong prosecution office, massive jails and staff, even judges to put them away. And for those who probably could stand for a different treatment (for some of you, you might say a pothead is a good example), you'll need to build a vast infrastructure to monitor and bring them back to society. Most importantly, you'll have to dry up the benefits that come from engaging in criminal behavior through a powerful an efficient force that can eradicate crime. Perhaps a start to this would be conceding that this battle is lost here and ceding police power to the Department of Justice...
3) The criminal justice system will have to impose strict penalties as well, something which the population in Maryland seems to be opposed to, at least in Baltimore. To me, the penalties would have to be borderline draconian, coupled with a strong enough justice system to mete it effectively.
4) I know a lot of people buy into the whole education issue and to some extent I would agree with that as well. While fifty years ago blue collar, lower classed individuals had more industrial fields to work in if they didn't have education, the rise in cost of living combined with the departure of these kinds of jobs have made it harder to make a living as a high school drop out. The goal, to me, should be to make sure everyone can earn their own money without having to steal or commit crimes to do it.
At this point, I doubt that you'll get two of those things, and know its utterly impossible for the three or more.
Patin:
The Northern Commanders have always been willing to admit (privately) that they do not have enough officers to keep up with our herd of criminals. What they will not do is to confront the Commissioner:
"Sir, this job is not feasible without substantial and timely reinforcements. Our department has not done its duty, our citizens are unreasonably jeopardized by continued manpower shortages. The ball is in your court."
cc: Mayor, City Council, BaltoSun
Instead, they are expected by higher-ups to play the shell game with manpower across neighborhoods, robbing Peter to pay Paul. Basically, they play the communities against one another, shooing crime back and forth, but never really away.
As I've demonstrated, the 911 police emergency call volume has remained essentially unchanged over the past 12 years. That's the best measure of how much real residents think crime has changed.
Zero. Same ol' Baltimore, just different players.
I particularly like the idea of making Baltimore a special federal territorial jurisdiction under the Department of Justice, because it would facilitate using the current federal District Court's jury plan, which draws not from just Baltimore's polluted population, but from other northern MD counties as well.
That way, a prosecution for breaking the basic criminal laws results in ... (voila!).... an actual conviction for real (as opposed to 90% suspended) prison time!
Note: we could accomplish the same thing by amending Md. Code Art. 8 - $201 to permit Baltimore City Circuit Court to adopt a jury plan drawing from MD counties outside Baltimore City limits. Easy fix.
Can't someone just shoot this f#@ker ??
"Man Convicted In 4 Murders Attempts Prison Escape"
A fine example of why capital punishment is good. Some people will be a threat as long as they are alive.
Well now I'm totally overwhelmed. Aside from making suggestions to my city councilman, I can't do much beyond that to make any changes in our government. I wish I could, but good grief I'm just one person.
I have to start small. And yes, that means with my block...and then another...and another...
Believe it or not, my neighborhood isn't the violent crime mecca that people think it is. We've had very little violent crime here in Pigtown - I believe there was 1 murder in 2007. Most of the crime here is property crime. Burglaries...car break-ins -- that sort of thing.
Indeed, I'm only seeing burglaries and theft from auto in your immediate environs. In fact, robberies and agg. assaults don't show up until you get into Union Sq.-Poppleton. (Right by the vacated District Police HQ on Pratt Street, as it turns out.) That's what happens when cops disappear.
As for me, a third of our murders to date this year (2008) took place within a few blocks of me. I'm just real anxious to go for a leisurely walk around here. I'm not much more afraid after dark, though, because around here we get stabbed to death in broad daylight, too.
Now, as for legislators, your councilperson appears to be Agnes Welch, who is quite involved in services for the elderly and... services for the elderly,... and yeah, you got the idea.
Have you got any octagenarian muggers? Didn't think so. Well, she might not be so helpful. Your Delegate appears to be Carolyn Krysiak, who is into workers' compensation. You, being a cafe owner, are probably more into owners' compensation.
LOL -- no, my councilman is Bill Cole. Agnes Welch's district is further up Washington Boulevard in the 21223. I'm 21230 on the east end of Pigtown. I'm confident that Bill will be able to shake things up -- he's new, young, and his family is from Baltimore. Locust Point, to be exact. His school-age kids attend the same school as my son, and he and his wife have always been very active in their community. Super-nice people, too.
Small world, Carol - I know Bill Cole, he's a great guy. Pretty well spoken as well. I'm sure he'll do some great work on the Council.
He's a very good candidate for looking into this ethics mess. If we could get the unethical officials out of City Hall, maybe the two or three remaining folks in that otherwise empty building could get some actual work done.
Cole is well-versed in the theory of government. Maybe you can ask him how he feels about an audit of the crime stats, which appear to exhibit irregularities, and maybe a policy making it a crime for police personnel (including the Mayoralty) to make misrepresentations or otherwise manipulate or conceal official crime information. This happens a lot when they either downgrade or refuse to document incidents. It's part of why UCR Part I crime appears to have declined citywide.
chuck:
Last year, I thought about really getting involved in the crime situation here in Brooklyn; nagging the cops, bothering my elected officials, etc. But I don't want to devote my life to beating my head against the massive, unresponsive, and corrupt bureaucracy that is Baltimore City government.
I want to devote my life to actually, you know, living it. That's why I'm leaving Baltimore.
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