“I Would Like to See the Ocean”

                                       

I grew up in eastern Massachusetts, close to Boston and the Atlantic Ocean, and now live in Maryland where the ocean is further away, but still very much a part of the heritage of this state. During World War ll, it was often said that large numbers of men joined the Navy from the landlocked Midwest because they wanted to see the ocean and sail some of those seven seas oft-told in literature. To me, the ocean has always just “sorta been there” but the hypnosis of the waves, the sound of the surf, and the moon over the sea still are pleasures that do not age. I am proud to have touched my toes into the waters of the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean over my many years of life on this earth.

Yet still, the words spoken by the wrongfully imprisoned, but just released prisoner Kevin Strickland, from Missouri, struck me with both the sincerity and poignancy of their content. Upon his release, part of what he said he wanted to do was: (paraphrased)‘To get a little house out from a city and have some dogs and be near a place to fish and to have some time alone.’ To be alone after many years in the cacophony that is the shared prison life is quite a valid dream. He also added that he wanted to see the ocean because “How are you going to live on planet earth when you don’t see the ocean one time?” I hope some of his dreams are realized.

This was a case where a teenager was imprisoned after wrongly being identified from a lineup after a violent triple murder, despite evidence from many others, including those who committed the crime, that he was not there. When the traumatized witness tried to correct her testimony, she was told that they would charge her with perjury if she did so. Surprisingly, the other men convicted of the triple murders, and who admitted their guilt and his innocence, have been out of prison for several years.

Strickland spent many years claiming his innocence and writing petitions to the courts, the governor, and whomever he could find, hoping someone would listen. Even after prosecutors acknowledged the wrongful imprisonment for Strickland and others, the state refused to release the men (lacking DNA evidence), stating that the time for any appeals had expired even though the evidence showed them to be innocent. Finally, his case was taken up by the innocence project. After he spent 43 years in prison, the law changed in Missouri and allowed the case to be revisited by the prosecutor and heard by a judge and the court ordered him released. However, he cannot ask for damages because of wrongful imprisonment, as Missouri law does not allow that. They jailed him at such a young age that he never paid into social security, so he cannot qualify for any retirement benefits or Medicare. Concerned people set a “go fund me site” up, and it has so far collected over 1.3 million dollars on his behalf. The innocence project is providing financial advisors to help him learn to budget and handle his money, as he has no banking account or use of credit card experience. The world he finds now differs greatly from that which he left.

Although Strickland has been freed and others have in recent years been released after work by outsiders, this should not have to be the case. This is not true justice, nor are these the reasons we have a court system. Although people have been wrongfully convicted for generations, the authorities should not use the system against the innocent. The governor and attorney general in Missouri both insisted that they should not release him because of a formality in the law. So, what is a person entitled to? I contend that standing on procedure and the letter of the law when real justice is on the other side is wrong. Does the fact that both of the cases in Missouri were for Black men with few resources who were jailed when they were young make any difference in the way the law was interpreted? That is a question that I cannot answer, but I can wonder just how many other men have spent decades in prison because they could not pursue their innocence. How many lives have been damaged in this manner? We need real reform for our justice system throughout the nation, as I am certain Missouri is not an isolated case. Recently, Maryland released a prisoner and paid compensation after many years of wrongful imprisonment.

Just this month, the Oklahoma governor lifted the death sentence for a prisoner, Julius Jones, whom many think was not guilty, but refused to commute his sentence and release him, or even allow him the possibility of an appeal, despite the uncertainty of the validity of his conviction. While much of the civilized world has stopped executing prisoners, the United States, at least in certain states, has continued the practice. The Death Penalty was stopped recently in Virginia, which historically had executed the highest number of prisoners, but it remains on the books as an option for 27 states, although five states no longer use it. With the number of cases being revisited for improper sentencing, there remains the possibility still that innocent men (and they are almost all men) will be put to death.

On another subject, the three men in Georgia charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery were convicted by a group of 11 white jurors and 1 black juror. Although there were claims made for self-defense and for a citizen’s arrest (only allowed when a crime has been viewed) the prosecutor destroyed those defenses by showing the video that the men themselves made. They showed no crime before the pursuit of Arbery by the armed men, and the only confrontation came when he was hemmed in by their trucks. So, this time, here, justice was done. What might have happened if there was no video; how could there have been a conviction?

Two prosecutors declined to prosecute, allowing a citizens’ arrest, as they knew some of the men and had worked with them; when the state moved another prosecutor in to look at the case after protests from the Arbery family, then charges were set. So, we cannot assume that a similar case might have the same result if it were lacking video. In Wisconsin, the jury decided that a teen with a semi-automatic gun was not an aggressor, even with a video showing that others tried to disarm him when he killed protestors, so who knows? Once again, justice is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. Some progress has been made in Georgia, that citizen’s arrest law, originally written to capture runaway slaves in the 1860s, has been voided and repealed in the name of Ahmaud Arbery.

But the defense, in this case, was appalling, complaining (some said to create an appeal basis) against the presence of Black pastors in the courtroom and outside the courthouse. The pastors came to support the family through the proceedings. One attorney even claimed that the victim wore no socks and said Arberys’ toenails were long and dirty. Yep, he was running, and I bet that his skin was also black, just in case no one in the jury has noticed their other slurs! Who acts like that–obviously these defense attorneys have no moral center. It is said that they will appeal, but I cannot see where they have a reason to do so.

Before I move on, I must mention Eugene Robinsons’ column in the Washington Post on Sunday about the urgency of passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. He demands that Democrats (he singles out Senators Sinema and Manchin who want to keep the filibuster) get this done and if it takes circumventing or eliminating the filibuster, then take that action. The time has passed where a bill will get a hearing on its merits and voting will happen to right a wrong; he states as party-line votes cover everything and the GOP tilts the playing field in its favor. He concludes by saying: “This isn’t about saving the Democratic Party. It’s about giving all Americans a vote and thus a voice in electing our leaders. Senators, do the right thing.”

Let’s get this done!

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Just when we were hoping to be out and about, flush with our Booster shots, the Covid variants had other ideas. A new variant, named Omicron, has been identified in South Africa and Hong Kong. It is described as being easily transmissible and having more virus spikes than earlier variants. Currently, scientists think that the vaccines in use can curtail this variant, but are testing to see if they need to further adjust the vaccine formulas. As yet, there have been no cases in fully vaccinated patients. Others warn this variant results from not fully vaccinating large parts of Africa, but credit the South African clinics on isolating this. Although this variant has not yet been identified in the US, it is assumed it is or will be soon. The US also does not do as much testing as other countries, so may lag in this ID. Several nations have identified the variant on airline passengers from Africa. The US has moved to restrict airport arrivals from several African nations. We should send them vaccines as fast as possible.

Meanwhile, Delta is still causing problems in the US, which is still only listing 59% as fully vaccinated and shows a 25% increase in cases over the last two weeks. Michigan, Massachusetts, and Illinois lead in percentages of recent cases. Maryland is still stuck at 67% of its residents with vaccinations. All case numbers are expected to increase after the Thanksgiving holidays due to increased traveling. We have now passed over three-quarters of a million in total deaths in the US, with almost 50 million total cases.

COVID Totals- NY Times:

US Totals: Total Cases: 48,190,676. New Cases: 83,979.

                  Total Deaths: 777,390. New Deaths: 961.

Maryland Totals: Total Cases: 584,370. New Cases: 874.

                            Total Deaths: 11,186. New Deaths: 9.

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Right-wing commentators attacked VP Kamala Harris for buying expensive cookware (under $500) in Paris when she made an official visit there. Any American food magazine and many Maryland kitchens, I would bet, feature some similarly priced cookware items. And, after the extravagance of Melania and her ugly $5000 Gucci caftan, cookware seems pretty normal to me!

Holiday wishes for those celebrate Hanukkah!

‘Til next week–Peace!