I like to believe we live in a country where one has the right to a fair trial with our judicial system. One in which justice is served when it’s a case involving a death. Over the years, there have been many high-profile cases that caused a big divide. These cases have been based on race, wealth, gender, and mental status. But it is truly horrible when beating a criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter charge results in a public outing with a presidential elect and a television interview as a celebration. Because in the end, someone still died. The case I am speaking of is the killing of Jordan Neeley.
According to the news, Neeley, who was homeless and had a mental illness entered a NYC train aggressively and verbally threatened passengers. One of these passengers decided to place him in a chokehold to protect the passengers. The problem with this is that the chokehold lasted more than 5 minutes and resulted in Neeley’s death. Last week, the defendant in the case was found not guilty of the charges placed on him. It’s unfortunate how it ended for Neeley because he did not deserve to be held in a chokehold for that long to lose his life. But, to be publicly celebrated for beating this case is a slap in the face to so many who lost their life before as well as for Neeley.
In this season of love, may we remember all those lives lost in these divided cases. This holiday season those families can’t celebrate the season of love with them because their life was cut short. May the future in these cases show more justice for them. May each year bring some peace to the families during the holidays.
And the list goes on…