In Need of a Higher Court
Shuree Jefferson is doing the right thing by trying to get answers about what happened to her brother that night ["Shots in the Dark," July 29, 2011]. I truly hope that she is able to take this case to a higher court, because it's clear that the person who killed Jamelle Swanson didn't act in self-defense. It's so easy for the police to close cases when they have to do with young African American males growing up in the 'hood. Thank you for this article, and for letting this family have a voice.
Ms. RDC
A Handy Guide for Voters
I hope to God Jamelle Swanson's family gets justice. Where else would the public accept a police department so lazy that it can do no more than accept statements from witnesses who come in voluntarily? Shame on Bill Mason! This failure to act in conformity with his duties should be burned into the minds of every voter.
Madeline
The Glitches With Snitches
Snitching was and is a way of life in the criminal world — even Danny Greene was an informant [Lake View, June 22, 2011]. Northeast Ohio has had some notorious snitches, from Jackie Presser to Angelo Lonardo.
The notion that "snitches end in ditches" is a myth perpetuated by writers who fantasize that the criminal world as it truly exists is something akin to what Hollywood portrays in the movies. It simply isn't. "Gangsters" end up in prison, and for long sentences. It is those sentences and the life associated with prison that scares them into testifying against "those they have lured into their criminal webs," as you so well state it.
Under the federal criminal system, it is simple: The first one on the bus gets to pick his seat.
Ed Davila
