These men were locked away from their lives for 20 plus years. They have missed birthdays and had to morne family death in prison. Why’d they end up in this situation, because they were forced.
Darrell Cannon and Shaw Whirl were forced into giving false statements because they feared for their lives. "I used to try to imagine how black people felt in Mississippi and
Alabama back in the days when the Klan used to terrorize them, and I really couldn't get a good feel for what they must have felt, but November 2, 1983 allowed me to get a very good feeling [about it].” These two men were tourchered for hours being shocked, taunted with guns, and were being called racial names.
So What?
These men were in jail for 20 plus years for a crime they were forced to plead guilty to. These men were taken into police custody and abused so much that the men finally gave in because they were physically and emotionally tired. The men in blue are suppose to be a sign of relief for the innocent. Neither of these men were able to get a chance to voice their innocence.
How?
How is it possible that the people who enforce the law are able to perform these acts of assault and racism. The whole system is corrupted, it wasn’t just one officer but the man in charge of a whole team of police. Police Commander Jon Burge ran a whole team of officers who he allowed to use torture and be profoundly racist. Burges went undetected for years before he was called out. How was it possible to be able to fake a whole trial and go undetected by the judge and the jury. It’s shocking because he has been doing it for so long it’s not just Whirl and Cannon who have experienced this type of treatment there are 120 cases of Burge’s team torturing African American men. And there are currently 12 victims still in prison today.
What needs to be done?
Before anything else is done the 12 men who are still imprisoned need to be freed because they have suffered long enough. Then we need to start thinking about what our judicial system is here for and if the system is holding up to it’s expectations. These cases so far have only be present in Chicago, but look how long Burges team went undetected. Who is it to say that there are not more teams like Burges out there torturing African American men to commit to a crime that they did not do. Also think about how many other victims can be in jail missing birthdays and mourning over family deaths trapped and not being heard.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shawn-whirl-free_561e87b9e4b028dd7ea60da7
I agree that these men were treated unjustly, but unfortunately in a society like the one we live in not everyone gets justice. Cases like this has been presented so many times yet there is no resolve to them.
ReplyDeleteI am not aware of the crimes that they were punished for it would have been more understandable if I was aware or if some type of link was connected to this case. although I was unaware I got a sense of what the blog was about. I liked how you added a "what needs to be done section".
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