June 10, 2015
Page 7
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the
Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and
story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
O PINION
Fight for Better Policing and Greater Accountability
How many more will we mourn?
C ORNELL W ILLIAM B ROOKS
Freddie
Gray
wasn’t the only
person to die at the
hands of the police
in April. Before Mr.
Gray suffered three
broken
vertebrae
during the course of
his arrest by Balti-
ld J Justus
t
more police, 17-year-old
Howell was fatally shot by an un-
LGHQWL¿HGRI¿FHULQ=LRQ,OO/LNH
the death of Mr. Gray, Mr. How-
ell’s death was ruled a homicide.
On the day that Mr. Gray
was laid to rest and protests and
demonstrations against police
brutality rung out in Baltimore,
a group of local and federal law
HQIRUFHPHQW RI¿FHUV DUULYHG DW
the home of 20-year-old Terrance
Kellom, who was a suspect in a
robbery case. Less than 10 min-
utes after police entered Terrance
Kellom’s home, he was dead, shot
several times by an Immigration
DQG&XVWRPV(QIRUFHPHQWRI¿FHU
who was part of an inter-agency
fugitive task force for reasons that
remain unclear.
Then there was 37-year-old Na-
tasha Mckenna. This 130-pound
BY
woman died after she was taser
shocked
four times by the
s
Fairfax,
Va. police Feb. 3,
F
with
her hands cuffed be-
w
hind
her back, shackled
h
around
her legs, with a hob-
a
ble
b strap connecting both
of
o the restraints. Police say
they
th are still investigating.
More than 400 people
died while in police custody
h have di
this year and the list keeps grow-
ing, according to an online data-
base that compiles news reports of
instances of use of deadly force.
While there is no comprehensive
national database compiled by law
enforcement agencies of police’s
use of excessive or deadly force in
the United States, the number of
people both severely and fatally
injured while in police custody un-
derscores a distressing symptom
of the untested and overaggressive
policing culture that has become
commonplace in communities of
color all across the country.
How many more lives of un-
armed black men and women,
tragically and senselessly killed
by police, will our nation have to
mourn before our country moves
WR ¿[ LWV XQMXVW DQG LQHIIHFWLYH
criminal justice system?
The NAACP says no more.
7KH¿JKWIRUEHWWHUSROLFLQJDQG
greater accountability has been
at the forefront of the NAACP’s
work since its inception, and it’s
D¿JKWWKDWZHNQRZKRZWRZLQ
One of our most recent achieve-
ments: The NAACP alongside its
valiant coalition partners helping
to dismantle the practice of stop
and frisk in New York and lever-
aging a successful collaborative
campaign to pass anti-racial pro-
¿OLQJ DQG SROLFH DFFRXQWDELOLW\
measures. And we have no inten-
tion of slowing down.
Now the NAACP is doubling
down on advocating for body
worn cameras, car cameras and
gun and taser cameras. The avail-
ability of video evidence of police
interactions with civilians can
OHDG WR VLJQL¿FDQW LPSURYHPHQWV
in police accountability and trust
among a community. Additional-
ly, we must deploy the use of inde-
pendent investigation bodies and
the use of civilian review boards.
But we cannot do it alone. Join us
LQRXU¿JKW+HUHDUHWKUHHVLPSOH
ways that you can help.
Join the NAACP: Become a
part of the largest civil rights or-
ganization in the nation. When
you become a member of the
NAACP, you are doing more than
joining an organization; you are
becoming a part of a communi-
ty. Our membership community
is the reason we’ve been able to
SURWHFWGHIHQGDQG¿JKWIRURXU
civil rights and human rights for
over a century.
Help us pass the End Racial
3UR¿OLQJ $FW 7KH (QG 5DFLDO
3UR¿OLQJ $FW KDV EHHQ UHLQWUR-
duced in both the U.S. Senate
the U.S. House of Representa-
WLYHV 7KH (QG 5DFLDO 3UR¿OLQJ
Act comprehensively addresses
the insidious practice of biased
treatment by law enforcement
because of who you are, or who
you are perceived to be, by law
enforcement. Call your U.S. sen-
ators and representative in Wash-
ington and tell them to pass the
(QG 5DFLDO 3UR¿OLQJ $FW 7KH
switchboard phone number is
1-202-224-3121.
Support America’s Journey for
Justice: Last year, our “Journey
for Justice” campaign began with
a 134-mile, 7-day march from
Ferguson to Jefferson City, Mo.,
to join members of the Ferguson
community in protesting the death
of Michael Brown at the hands of
the police, and to provide leader-
Nebraska Executes its Death Penalty
An admission
the system is
broken
M ARC H. M ORIAL
The last time the
state of Nebraska car-
ried out an execution
was Dec. 2, 1997. The
inmate, Robert E. Wil-
liams, was put to death
by electric chair.
In a stunning vote last
month—a vote that may signal a
growing, national discontent with
capital punishment as a feature of
our nation’s criminal justice sys-
WHP²1HEUDVND EHFDPH WKH ¿UVW
Republican-led state in more than
four decades to abolish its death
penalty.
A bipartisan group of state law-
makers—the majority of them Re-
publicans—voted to strike down
Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts’
veto of a bill to repeal Nebraska’s
death penalty—a bill that has been
introduced in the legislature every
session since 1981.
For those lawmakers, and for
all those in favor of re-examining
BY
capital punishment or repealing
it all together, the landmark vote
was not only a stinging indictment
of the practice, but an admission
that the system that determines
who will or will not be put to
state-sponsored death in our
nation is fundamentally bro-
ken.
While a large majority of
Americans continue to support
the death penalty, that support
has steadily declined to almost
historic lows. A recent Gallup poll
reported that 56 percent of Amer-
icans now support the death pen-
alty, this from a high of almost
80 percent in the mid-90s. Mean-
while, opposition to the death pen-
alty has increased from a low of
18 percent of Americans in favor
of abolishing the death penalty to
38 percent.
For hundreds of years, outspo-
ken opposition to the death penal-
ty, by a diverse collection of indi-
viduals and organizations, has put
a spotlight on a method of punish-
ment many feel neither align with
their personal values, nor the val-
ues of this country.
There are many experts who
contribute much of today’s sea
change in attitudes towards cap-
ital punishment to the growing
number of conservatives coming
to the frontlines of the opposition
movement to the death penalty,
TXHVWLRQLQJLWVHI¿FDF\DQG¿VFDO
soundness.
After Nebraska’s vote, Marc
Hyden of Conservatives Con-
cerned About the Death Penalty
released a statement saying he
was not surprised that conserva-
tives led the death penalty repeal
effort in Nebraska and predicted
conservative opposition would
become more commonplace in
the future. He also noted that, for
conservatives, the death penalty
violated “the core conservative
SULQFLSOHVRI¿VFDOUHVSRQVLELOLW\
limited government, and valuing
life.”
But even more has changed
since the politics of capital pun-
ishment began to shift. As of this
writing, 153 men and women have
been exonerated from America’s
death rows. In April of this year,
Willie Manning became the 153rd
person added to the Death Penalty
Information Center’s Innocence
List—the charges against him
were dismissed after spending 19
years incarcerated for crimes he
did not commit.
When cases are revisited, or de-
IHQGDQWV DUH ¿QDOO\ JLYHQ SURSHU
representation in court, a different
story can sometimes emerge, one
that questions our criminal justice
system and its ability to judge all
Americans in a fair and equitable
manner.
For far too long, we have been
challenged with proof of racial dis-
crimination in arrests and sentenc-
ing, and we have also seen DNA
ship to the predominantly young
activists, participants in democ-
racy. This year, we are continuing
our work with America’s Journey
for Justice - a trek along the 850-
mile route from Selma, Ala., to
Washington, DC - through Geor-
gia, South Carolina, North Car-
olina and Virginia - to highlight
the need for criminal justice and
voting reforms because our lives
matter and our children deserve
to live.
Every American deserves the
opportunity to grow and thrive
and reach their full potential. And
every American child has the
potential to become our nation’s
leading scientists, entrepreneurs,
scholars, lawmakers and law en-
IRUFHPHQW RI¿FLDOV ,W LV XV ZKR
must protect them. The NAACP
remains committed to this prom-
LVH¿JKWLQJWRHQVXUHWKDWFRP-
munities of color, our children
especially, are judged by the con-
tent of their character and not by
the color of their skin in the eyes
of the law. For 106 years, this is
what we have stood for and we
will not waver.
Cornell William Brooks is
president and chief executive
RI¿FHU RI WKH %DOWLPRUHEDVHG
1$$&3
evidence prove the innocence of
those once deemed guilty. These
problems and disparities should
give every American reason for
pause. No matter where you may
stand on the death penalty debate,
where is the value in maintaining
a system that could likely execute
an innocent man or woman?
As long as questions of equi-
ty, fairness and fallibility persist,
we must stop executions and give
death row inmates every chance to
prove their innocence.
Marc H. Morial is president
DQG FKLHI H[HFXWLYH RI¿FHU RI WKH
National Urban League.
The Law Offices of
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd
Portland, Oregon
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
Facsimile:
Email:
(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com