Innocent citizens wrongfully accused of crimes are often released by courts with no concern for their mental health.
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The suicide of Mr. Kalief Browder, a 22 year-old man who spent three years at Rikers Islands for a crime he didn’t commit, underscores the need for America’s criminal justice system, which is arguably a non-system that embodies cruelty, to provide lifetime therapy, at the very least, for all citizens wrongfully convicted and jailed of a crime.
Mr. Browder acknowledged his depression was initiated by the traumatic experiences he endured while imprisoned; experiences—like violence, rape and squalor—often known to prison officials but ignored.
Therapy, considering the riches America holds in its coin purse, is actually the very least the country could provide when it fails to protect the innocent with the same rigor it pursues the guilty.
Philadelphia’s District Attorney, Mr. Seth Williams, is often heard touting his pledge to protect the innocent while prosecuting the guilty, but he failed miserably on upholding that promise in 2013 when he allowed Mr. Tomayo McDuffy, a teenager who had no criminal record but was given a $500,000 bail because his neighbor accused him of attempted murder, to be dragged through the system without any effort to inquire of his innocence.
Mr. McDuffy’s story is not one that I read about; it’s one that I covered up close and personal. I traveled to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF) to greet Mr. McDuffy when he was bailed out by Mr. Greg Brinkley, an activist and private investigator, and dined at a buffet with his family moments after his release.
I joined his family several times in the courtroom – witnessing multiple attempts to get the teen to cop to a plea deal – and even assisted in promoting a basketball tournament that aimed to raise money for legal fees. I saw, with great clarity, the level of misfortune that the City’s incompetence caused Mr. McDuffy and his family.
But out of everything that I witnessed during my time working the case, what shocked me the most was the lack of humanity expressed by the judge on the day Mr. McDuffy’s charges were dismissed.
The entire process took seconds and never once was an apology extended from the City for their failure to do due diligence. The case against Mr. McDuffy – the claim of a mentally ill blind woman that her neighbor attempted to blow up her home by turning on the stove without lighting the pilot – was significantly flawed, and only a handful of activists actually stuck their necks out to ensure the young man was safely returned to his community.
To this date, Mr. Williams, nor any representative of the District Attorney’s Office, have publicly verbalized an apology to the McDuffy family, the activists who fought on his behalf, and the taxpayers whose money was wasted in court proceedings, despite the evidence which cleared Mr. McDuffy being presented weeks after the arrest.
Mr. McDuffy deserves justice. The family of Mr. Browder, now enduring their own suffering, deserves justice. The countless of others who the system failed deserve justice. If governments really believe “All Lives Matter,” then what better way to show it then by exhibiting a level of dignity, compassion and humanity to those whose lives were ruined and forever changed because the government f*cked up.
*Tune into 900amWURD or 900amWURD.com every Friday evening during the 6 o’clock hour to hear me relive #TheWeekThatWas*
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
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Photo: Mr. Tomayo McDuffy, dressed in a white t-shirt and khakis walking next to his mothers, leaves the jail where he had been held for months on a host of charges, the most serious of them was attempted murder. Photo Credit: C. Norris – ©2015