The media coverage of Anthony Sowell has left me angry, though not for the reasons you might think. It was almost 30 years ago when I first entered the world of serial killers who rape and serial rapists who kill (yes, there is a difference). I have interviewed the perpetrators, their families, their victims’ families and the handful of survivors.
Local journalists have seemed more concerned with beating each other to any tidbit of information that might improve their ratings than presenting an accurate picture of what has and has not occurred. For example:
ALLEGATION: Somebody should have warned the neighborhood that a sexual offender was living in its midst. FACT: Somebody did warn the neighborhood — all neighborhoods. For several years, the Cuyahoga County sheriff’s office web site has provided a complete list of registered sexual offenders like Sowell. You can type in the city, the offender’s last name or your zip code. You will have pictures of every registered person and their known addresses. Some fail to report moves, but Sowell had been in full compliance for years. Familywatchdog.us, which I find difficult to use, covers the nation.
The primary duties of law enforcement do not include visiting to alert you that someone who has served his or her time lives in your neighborhood. You have to take responsibility for checking. You also have to remember that these are individuals not currently wanted for any crime.
ALLEGATION: The smell of decaying flesh permeated the neighborhood, led to countless calls to government officials and turned the street into a real-life version of the last scene of Poltergeist. FACT: When a handful of reporters finally began demanding accountability from the councilman, police and health-department officials, it turned out that there were almost no calls made in the last two or three years. Those that were made could not list a specific address (leading to speculation that the source was a nearby sausage factory). Investigators smelled nothing because decaying flesh is not disgusting for long. That’s one of the reasons cadaver dogs are used to find bodies.
This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2009.
Who do you work for? Law enforcement? You have just presented what the police will say when they are questioned regarding their accountability for failing to notice something was amiss on Imperial Ave. Apparently, you are unaware that there exists a digital divide in the U.S. Yes, there are actually ppl in U.S. who are not technologically savvy nor do they own or use a computer. Which is why law enforcement, when alerting community of missing children or important information, must utilize more than one type of media to disperse information. I’m on the computer everyday, however my mother has never used a computer. If info about a serial killer or rapist was on the internet, she would never get the info. If some of Sowell’s victims were not even reported to police as missing, why would you expect ppl who did not lodge a missing person report to be online looking up sexual predators? It would be a better approach for local law enforcement to inform the people that there is a sexual predator in their midst. And even if residents of Imperial Ave. had learned that there was a sexual predator on their street and called police, would the police have acted on the information? The one group we know for sure was aware of Anthony Sowell was law enforcement. That’s who knew there was a sexual predator on Imperial Ave. Law enforcement also should have detected a pattern with the missing women from or near Imperial Ave and the fact that there was a convicted sexual predator on that same street. Law enforcement is not at fault for every mistake in this case, but they certainly dropped the ball when it came to upholding their oath to serve & protect.
Ted, you are angry for all the wrong reasons. Your bias towards these women resembles the exact bias they were subjected to by Cleveland Police Dept while they were living and are now subjected to in death. I have walked into police stations to report a problem and encountered callous attitudes and little help. I am not on drugs nor am I scantily clad. Yet, the lack of concern and assistance was discouraging. In fact, at this point, I try to avoid calling the police if I can help it. Most of my encounters w/ police have been creepy. In Pittsburgh, there was a serial rapist known as the East End Rapist. Information about the East End Rapist was dispersed via our three local papers and the television. Somehow, local law enforcement determined there was a pattern of late night break-ins into homes of single women, both black and white, which ended in rape but not murder. Now, it’s possible that since the rapes were occurring in middle/working class neighborhoods w/ a strong tax base, officials acted in a professional manner and did their job, which is to serve & protect, not ignore and deflect.
I cannot believe you actually reported what was said in an Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Have you no decency? The rooms are supposed to be a safe place to share the shameful things one has done while in the grips of addiction. The info shared is not to be used to titillate readers. Ask any member of the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous and I’m almost sure your reference would be unappreciated. Totally uncool.
These women are not only victims of Anthony Sowell, but also victims of law enforcement and the entire system. What is the reason no one was able to determine where the putrid odor was coming from on Imperial Ave? In the U.S., and other countries. people who are low-income are expected to live in foul-smelling, rundown & poorly kept neighborhoods. The public services delivered to poor neighborhoods is not the same services delivered to affluent/middle-class neighborhoods. I manage property in a low-income neighborhood and garbage pick-up, street cleaning, vacant lot maintenance leaves a lot to be desired. In my neighborhood however, public services are excellent. In my tenant’s neighborhood I see clear disparities in the delivery of services. Why? My neighborhood has a larger tax base. What the people on Imperial Ave. experienced is known as “Environmental Injustice” You said that neighbors hadn’t called about odors in a year or so. Well, what do you expect? If you called and called and nothing happened, would you keep calling? There are records indicating that calls were made. The fact that the Sausage Company invested thousands into cleaning sewers to eliminate odors is proof that not only residents were aware of smell but also local businesses. The trained professionals who visited Sowell’s house and stood on porch should have recognized the odor of decaying bodies, after all that is their job as law enforcement and health inspectors. You are blaming victims who lacked the financial or political resources to combat bias attitudes toward women w/ addictions, environmental injustice and clear incompetency of law enforcement, health inspectors and political leaders who failed to do their jobs. Isn’t that why voters elect public officials so that they will have a voice in governmental decisions that impact their lives. What public official was advocating for a better quality of life for residents of East Cleveland? What law enforcement member put the puzzle together that women were missing from same street where convicted sex offender lived? What Health inspector determined that smell was that of decaying bodies and not sausage? Sowell knew from experience that he could get away with killing black women. Sowell knew that even if family members filed a missing persons report, he would not see these black women’s faces or stories on Nancy Grace or even the local news. And how did he know that? Because he has been killing black women for years and years, and no one seemed to notice or care…. He selected the perfect victim. One law enforcement and media, like yourself, were sure to belittle, undervalue as human beings and dismiss as worthless because they had a criminal record or history of addiction. You ultimately blame the women and their families while giving Anthony Sowell, law enforcement and officials pats on the back for doing a good job.
Do you live in Cleveland? I doubt it. I am a former Clevelander. Myself and about a dozen my friends moved out. Believe me when I say the police do eveything possible to discourage you from reporting crime. My former place was broken into 4 times. My car was broken into 3 times. The couple downstairs was also victimized on several occasions. My friends all had similar experiences. Each time the police were called we were told the police would not come out or we would have to wait for hours. One girl across the street was asked by the police after she was beaten to a pulp covered in blood “What did you do to make him hit you?” You might think I lived in a poorer neighborhood but I did not. I lived in Tremont. The house next to me sold for 300,000.00. My friends also lived in Tremont and Ohio City. You bet I believe the people on the East Side of Cleveland were given even worse treatment than I got. Where do you live in Fantasy Land?