Category Archives: murder of the innocent

Charles Fredrick Warner Fights For His Life

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…but who fights for Adrianna?

For the last 3 years I have written about the utter–and I do mean utter lack of legal protection afforded the children of this country.

The massive outcry over the fates of convicted rapists and murders (of children), Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner speak volumes about this terrible sin of omission.

Every major news outlet in this country has had a banner headline about these cases. Most focus on the convicts fighting for their rights.

Only one or two mention the brutal crimes these men committed against children.

Lockett tortured and murdered a teen.

Warner raped, savaged, and murdered a baby.

The way we defend the rights of child rapists and murderers matters.

The way we ignore their victims matters more.

Kayleigh Slusher, Girl in the Refrigerator

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This is a test. Read just the following sentence then follow the prompt:

3-year-old Kayleigh Slusher was murdered in San Francisco shortly after police responded to reports of violence and abuse at her home.

Her body showed signs of sexual assault and blunt force trauma.

Okay. Deep breath.

Now. What do you think?

How long will Kayleigh’s untimely death remain in your thoughts?

I ask because Kayleigh’s violent death allegedly at the hands of mom and mom’s boyfriend coincides with the death of Kevasia Edwards, the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and a flurry of editorial opinions about Dylan Farrow, abuse survivor.

If you want to take my test a step further google each of these stories then scan for how much air each story has gotten.

Hoffman’s death is a tragedy, no doubt, but while police in New York and San Francisco are scrambling to punt responsibility for Kayleigh and Kevasia, people have been arrested for selling drugs to Hoffman.

Don’t get me wrong. People got arrested for the deaths of the two little girls. People who were known to be dangerous parents? People who had already incited the scrutiny of neighbors, authorities?

What should have been done to save them?

And why wasn’t it?

Should a grown man choosing to engage in deadly behavior warrant more intervention than helpless children? Helpless because we turn away.

Forget.

Don’t want to get involved.

Kayleigh was a citizen of Napa, California. Early reportage placed her brief life and tragic death in San Francisco.

Kevasia Edwards

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Bear with me here….

It is possible to be a poor parent and never run afoul of the law.

It is also possible to be a decent parent and have to submit to the scrutiny of a caseworker.

But the stories that are the hardest to bear are the ones like Kevasia Edwards.

Little people whose whole lives have been marred by pain, hunger, violence, and the state walks into and then out of their lives only to do nothing.

Until it is too late and they have been murdered.

http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/02/8/queens-mom-sentenced-to-17-years-in-death-of-2-year-old-daughter.html

Byreon Hunter

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Little Byreon Hunter was an abuse and murder victim before anyone began to look for him.

The details of his abuse, torture, and slow agonizing death are more than any of us want to face.

But face them we must. Humans, parents, bad boyfriends do unspeakable things in our midst.

This is America. And if we don’t like what happened to Byreon Hunter then we must insist that his murderers face the full force of the law.

Knowing, as we do, even that would not be enough.

Reann Murphy

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What we know is scant:

A little girl plays in the snow
In a trailer park
In Ohio

She goes missing
They look for her
Only to find
Her too late.

Years ago I lived and worked in a community where a little girl was found murdered and discarded in a dumpster.

This seems to be defining: how do we respond to any story of any child murdered and treated like trash?

Do we mourn? Do we demand justice? Do we search for answers?

Or do we distance ourselves from our poverty–moral or tangible, and say,

not my kid, not my problem?

Childhood Cancer Awareness

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It is and should be a popular cause to support cancer research for children and children who endure the shocking ordeal of cancer.

No child should have to endure cancer. Ever. It is a tragic function of our scary, broken world.

But what if there were “better” and “worse” ways to get cancer?

And what if some of the worse ways had to do with enduring other things that children should not have to be exposed to? Second-hand smoke? Meth labs in their homes? Physical abuse? Or sexual exploitation?

The terrible truth is that some people do get cancer from being sexually exploited and physically abused.

People like Robbie Middleton.

Kids you will probably never see on a poster for cancer research because our society systematically marginalizes child abuse victims.

Imagine. Imagine the hell of that kind of abuse–that it could result in a boy’s death.

Then imagine you and I were the ones who looked away because it was too hard to bear.

Too hard indeed.

Who Killed Antonio Santiago?

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I remember being shocked and outraged by the original story–an unsuspecting mama is accosted by a couple of African American teens and her baby is murdered .

Appalling, right?

When the story re-surfaced meme-style as a defense for racism and murder I left it alone. I thought–tragic, but the assailants were charged.

Then my fellow child advocate, Miranda Yonts posted very quiet updates on the story.

It seems that there are other suspects in the case–the baby’s parents. Both tested positive for gunshot residue.

When you go back to the original story something stands out–the original suspects were tagged based on truancy records. Mama says–two black teens and the system finds two black teens. They might be guilty of nothing more serious than skipping school.

Four suspects. A terrible story. Who do you believe?

Gizzell Kiara Ford

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I went to the Vietnam memorial with my father once. He never said much about his time in the war but I knew it was a game-changer. He combed the wall in silence looking for a name, names…when he found the one he was looking for he touched it in silence. Memories of the dead.

This is my Vietnam memorial. Gizzell Kiara Ford is on it. Beautiful child. Lost.