Let's Not Commit Crimes in 2010

By Pat Brown

This is the year we should vow not to commit crimes. I am not speaking to the criminals that make our lives less secure or tumble us into a living hell, but to us -- ourselves, victims of violent crime and homicide.

The Lovely Bones, a bestselling book, is now at the movie theaters. The story is told from the perspective of a young murder victim, a teenage girl, who wants to reach out to her family to help them find her killer. But at the same time, she wants them to move on, to heal, to not spend every moment of their lives in anguish, anger, and sadness.

When I have spoken with a mother who has lost her child to homicide, she will tell me she can do nothing except fight for justice and spend every moment on her lost child, even if she has other children in the house. She cannot stand the guilt of putting aside her dead child for an hour, a quarter of an hour, or even a minute. She clings to her relationship, still being her daughter's mother, still "guiding" her "life." Her other children will have to understand their sister comes first, and what happened to her is so much greater than all the mundane goings-on of the present: school that she will never go to again, the birthday party she will never attend, the movie she will never get too see. The mother breaks down, sobbing, knowing she can't bring her daughter back, fully aware that her surviving sons and daughters have become near orphans, and that tomorrow will bring only more of the same pain and dysfunction.

Then, I ask her, if you had been the one murdered, what would you want your daughter to do?

She hardly takes a second to respond. "Of course, I would want her to go on and live life to its fullest. I would want her to have all the things I would have given her, all the joy and excitement life has to offer, all the love she deserves."

"And," I ask gently, "What do you think your daughter wants for you and her father and her brothers and sisters?"

Tears roll down her face and she whispers, "The same."

It's funny, in a very good way, that we care enough about others to sacrifice for them but not want them to sacrifice for us. When I see this in the families of victims, I am actually proud to be part of the human race. I see how deep their compassion runs, how much they are willing to give - even their lives - for the child they loved and still love.

Yet, in a way, they are committing a crime, an injustice against themselves and others they love and who love them. The killer took away their child and damaged them immensely, but they are adding to the destruction. Marriages end in divorce; a parent commits suicide; neglected children turn to negative behaviors, alcohol, drugs, and sometimes crime.

So, I urge those who have lost loved ones to violence, don't become an accessory to the evil being who did such a horrible thing to you. Carry on your fight against injustice (at a pace that is reasonable) and remember your beloved relative each and every day (set aside that special time), and continue to spread the beauty of your lost family member in every positive way you can. And for the sake of those who have gone before you and are looking down at what you are doing, live the life they would want you to live and treat those around you in a way they would want them to be treated. This would be a true memorial to them. This would make them happy.

If you are the victim of a sexual assault or another violent crime, remember that you are not a "leftover." You are not whatever you think the criminal left of you when he finished abusing you. You are still you, a person who deserves a beautiful future, and those around you want you to have it too. You may have issues to deal with, but every one of your friends and family is hoping and praying you will not let what has happened to you dictate you future.

Time is a strange thing: it doesn't really heal all wounds and it doesn't wound all heels, at least not in an imperfect world. What it does do is go on, and you go on with it. Time allows you to use it, for good or evil, for acts of kindness or for cruelty, to others and yourself. Time doesn't change the fact that you are still in the driver's seat, even if you have been broadsided.

Criminals cause enough damage to our world; don't add to the body count. Let's support each other and bring as much positive thinking and action as we can to 2010.

God bless all of you. May this be a year of hope and renewal and brotherhood and sisterhood. And, above all, be good to yourself; you deserve it.

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Deadly Disclosure

By Susan Murphy-Milano

Jamar Pinkney, Jr., 15 years old, went to his mother with remorse and confessed he'd had improper sexual contact with his three-year old half sister. The mother told her son she would get him the help he needed. Later that afternoon, she called Jamar’s father (her ex-husband) to discuss how to get the boy help. Within the hour, Jamar Pinkney, Sr., showed up in a fit of rage. From his hip pocket he pulled out a pistol and began beating his son with the butt.

A few minutes later, he dragged Jamar Jr. outside and down the front steps. At gunpoint, he marched his son to a vacant lot, where he ordered the teenager to strip naked in public. Jamar Jr. begged for mercy: "No Daddy, please, no!" before Pinkney shot him point-blank, execution-style, in the head.

The father's actions show he didn't act in the heat of the passion.

In a Detroit Free Press interview after the shooting, Cherry said of her ex-husband: “I hope he rots in jail.” Of her son, she said: “He did not deserve that. There wasn’t nothing that my son wouldn’t do for his father. He loved his father so much."

"There's no justification for what he did, you know, downright shoot your child," she said. "He didn't rape her or anything. So why did you have to come and take matters into your hands? We said we were going to get him help."

The three-year-old child was later examined by a doctor, who said the girl was fine and showed no signs of sexual assault.

While 1,600 mourners attended Jamar’s funeral, across town Jamar Pinkney Sr. sat in a courtroom with his lawyer, being charged with first degree murder. The judge entered a "not guilty" plea on Pinkney's behalf. Pinkney also was charged with three counts of felonious assault and one count of felony firearm possession.

I was outraged to read comments on numerous websites from supporters of Pinkney's murder of his own flesh and blood. One blog-poster wrote: “In some countries, family problems are still handled in this manner. The patriarch handles the problem, sometimes resulting in killing their own child.”

Maybe we don't need murder laws as long as a family member is involved. Then we can raise-up our society to the level of Iran and live life with that kind of legal system.

Many others commented: "I can see what would make him snap."

I believe it's obvious that the day Jamar Pinkney, Sr., murdered his son, he was of sound mind. He chose to commit vigilante justice, perhaps believing he would escape prosecution.

When we live in a society where murder is justifiable, excusable or even understandable, we will all be at risk: We can shoot each other with impunity, with no need for laws or courts.

Meanwhile, no one need worry about the father. From what I've read on the web, many will donate funds for his defense. Pinkney, a father and former postal worker, has retained a lawyer who is preparing an insanity defense. I doubt Pickney will come close to serving the maximum sentence, which in Michigan is life in prison. The state has no death penalty.

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The Addict, The Enabler, and Us

by Diane Dimond

As Michael Jackson is finally laid to rest, you may ask: Who is to blame when a drug addict dies?

We now know the L.A. County Coroner considers Jackson's death a homicide caused by acute Propofol intoxication and the effects of five other powerful prescription drugs found in his system.

If the L.A. District Attorney chooses to charge Michael Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, it could very well be for manslaughter. Realistically speaking it was more like assisted suicide.

Michael Jackson had flooded his body with drugs for years. He went into drug rehab in 1993, he was often very obviously over-mediated during his 2005 child sex abuse trial, and during the run-up to his massive comeback concert tour this year we've now learned he was engaged in an orgy of drugs and self destructive behavior.

So, doesn't Michael Jackson bear some of the responsibility for his own death?

Before you answer let me tell you about a sworn affidavit, attached to a now unsealed search warrant, which outlines excruciating details about Michael Jackson's tragic final days. In the last hours of his life he was injected by his doctor or given oral doses of no fewer than four heavy-duty drugs. The last medication was Propofol, a drug used as surgical anesthesia. There are indications that when the doctor was not in the room Jackson may have sneaked even more medications in his continuing quest to end his insomnia. It's typical addict behavior.

At Jackson's bedside when he died there was a cornucopia of prescription pills, ordered up by several different doctors using fictitious patient names. It is a federal offense to prescribe pharmaceuticals under an alias. But there they were: Bottles of Valium, Tamsulosin, Lorazepam, Temazepam, Clonazepam, Trazodone and Tizanidine. Drugs used as hypnotic sedatives, to reduce pain, anxiety and muscle tension. Some treated sleeplessness. Others have a relatively high addictive potential and some are frequently sold and abused as street drugs. Finally, there was one prescription to treat an enlarged prostate, a nod to Jackson's over-50 status.

In other words, one glance at that nightstand, and a red flag should have gone up to any trained doctor that this was not a person for whom one should prescribe more drugs. But according to that sworn affidavit several doctors did – a cardiologist, a dermatologist and a general practitioner among them. Others known to have prescribed to Jackson in the recent past include at least two anesthesiologists, a plastic surgeon, a dentist and other general practitioners. Jackson had obviously been doctor shopping – but the doctors were celebrity shopping, no doubt.

Don't the doctors bear some responsibility for Jackson’s death? And what responsibility do the die-hard Michael Jackson fans bear for their blind worship? His drug addiction was no secret, yet the throngs of his followers continued to be dazzled by his stardom. Their continuing admiration sent a signal to both Jackson and his doctors that celebrity trumps all the normal rules. The status quo was working and there was no reason for the superstar to change his ways, no pressure from the entourage, because those who tried to warn Jackson to take care of his health were banished. As Jackson continued to demand more medications there were more people brought in to his long, slow suicidal process. Actually, it's a wonder he lived as long as he did.

Michael Jackson suffered from a lot of obvious maladies, many self inflicted. Not only was he abusing massive amounts of drugs, he suffered from anorexia and a body dysmorphic disorder that compelled him to repeatedly hire doctors to change his face. He had children who didn't know their mothers, he shut out much of his family lest they tell him how to live his life, and he seemed a reclusive, nomadic hermit who was never quite able to shake the taint of his child molestation trial acquittal.

Yet there were legions of fans who sent him the message that he was still the King of Pop! And there were countless doctors standing by to prescribe what he needed to get through his days.

Even in death there is blind adoration. A politician in New York is pushing to get a Brooklyn subway station – the venue for one of Jackson’s music videos – named after him. A U.S. Congresswoman pushed for an official House of Representatives commendation for the entertainer. There has been a movement to get a Michael Jackson postage stamp. What's wrong with this picture?

The truth is record numbers of Americans – tens of millions of them – are using and abusing prescription drugs. They are sick people in need of help, either for their underlying illness or for their addiction to these drugs. While I've always advocated personal responsibility, I've come to realize the responsibility must radiate outward too.

Everyone who's ever enabled a drug addict shares in the responsibility.

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The Injustice of Baby Grace

by Stacy Dittrich

If, after you read this post, you don’t have at least one tear in your eye, become angry, or get a chill and a lump in your throat, please don’t refer to yourself as a human being. In the hype, speculation, and focus of the Caylee Anthony case, little to no attention has been paid to Baby Grace. You remember her, right? The two year old, later identified as Riley Ann Sawyers (pictured left), was found stuffed into a plastic container and dumped into Galveston Bay. When the remains were located in October 2007, the investigators could only refer to her as “Baby Grace.” By the time she was identified, it didn’t take long for the vile details of her death to surface after her mother and her boyfriend were arrested for Riley’s murder. The capital murder trial for Riley’s mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor (20), began last week in Galveston, Texas.

During the trial, Kimberly calmly testified before sobbing jurors exactly what happened on the day of Riley’s death. Prepare Yourself.

Kimberly’s boyfriend, Royce Clyde Zeigler II (25), decided that little Riley needed more discipline. On July 25, 2007, Royce stayed home from work for the sole purpose of instilling "respect" into the toddler. Beginning in the morning, Kimberly and Royce (pictured right with Riley) beat Riley with a leather belt—so hard that Royce’s shoulder hurt—before shoving her face into a pillow. Then, they repeatedly dunked her head into a tub filled with cold water. When Riley couldn't stand up—her legs black and blue from the beatings—Royce began to violently throw her across the room after dragging her by the hair. According to Kimberly’s own testimony, she was able to hear the back of Riley’s skull crack when it hit the tile floor. This torture and abuse lasted all day long. What, according to Kimberly, did Riley repeatedly say to her during the abuse and ultimately became her last words? “I love you, Mommy.”

Feel free to grab a Kleenex.

You're quite a man, Royce Zeigler. . . . I truly hope you get what's coming to you in prison. That will be justice. The suffering and pain this innocent baby endured during the last several hours of her life is indescribable. Any prudent person would believe that a crime as horrific as this that occurred in Texas would be a no-brainer for the death penalty. However, the death penalty is off the table. Why? Because the prosecution didn’t believe that the murderous couple would be a future threat.

Feel free to scratch your head or yell out an obscenity.

These types of injustices are difficult to understand. I wonder, who is the voice for little Riley? It doesn’t seem that there is one. We still don’t know, and may never know, what happened to Caylee Anthony. Did she suffer like Riley? If so, the prosecutors in Florida have a duty to be the voice of Caylee, and send a message to those out there that torture, pain, and death to innocent children is NOT okay. The death penalty would make this voice heard loud and clear.

No future threat? In June 2008, while awaiting trial, Kimberly Trenor gave birth to a baby boy. Royce Zeigler refuses to relinquish his parental rights. Imagine if he were to be released due to a technicality during his trial, which begins soon. Would he not be a threat to an infant that cried in the middle of the night?

Oh, but they didn't mean to hurt Riley! This from Kimberly's defense attorney who claimed she never intended to hurt Riley, but "things spun out of control." Spun out of control? That's how they view it?

It’s truly mind-numbing. Riley Ann Sawyer’s voice was lost. With the upcoming trial of Casey Anthony, we can only hope Caylee’s voice will be heard.

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