STORY: "Louisiana; America's death penalty capital: can a black DA really change the system?" by reporter Yolanda Young, published by The Guardian on March 13, 2106.
SUB-HEADING: "After years of what many say was a culture of unjust death penalty prosecutions fueled by racial bias in Louisiana’s Caddo Parish, James Stewart’s election offers cautious hope but some are not so quick to call him a savior."
GIST: "Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, is tucked in Louisiana’s north-west corner, bordering small towns in Texas and Arkansas. It has bayous, weeping willows, shotgun houses, and blues music, but lacks joie de vivre. It is the sober man’s New Orleans. The area distinguishes itself with a grim fact: between 2010 and 2014, it sentenced more people to death than any other place in the US. It is also the home of Dale Cox, Caddo Parish’s former acting district attorney, a man responsible for a third of Louisiana’s death row inmates since 2011. Cox’s reputation came to a head last year, when Rodricus Crawford was sentenced to death for smothering his one-year-old son amid a flurry of doubts and unanswered questions about the case. Cox had been instrumental in getting the death penalty verdict, and features by 60 Minutes and the New Yorker had depicted him as a callous man dismissive of racism, working in an office where a colleague had a Ku Klux Klan leader’s portrait hanging on a wall. This might shock outsiders far more than Caddo Parish residents. According to researchers who used Google searches data of the N-word to measure racism, it is among the most racist places in the country. And yet, last November, an African American judge named James Stewart was elected to succeed Cox, largely thanks to the town’s large black voting block. Although black DAs are rare, they aren’t so unusual as to warrant the kind of national attention Stewart’s campaign received. The lingering question in everyone’s mind: can a black DA change a criminal justice system tarnished by accusations of racism? Would his election be more than just a symbolic victory?.........Crawford, who sits in isolation at Angola awaiting the outcome of his appeal, believes he is seeing things clearer than ever before, and he doesn’t see himself as powerless. He believes God is moving on his behalf: “You know, I look at what’s happened in the past year with Dale Cox. The DA [Cox’s predecessor] dropped dead out of nowhere. Then the New York Times article comes out and all of a sudden there’s a spotlight on my case, and everybody is asking what to do about it when nobody cared before. Then Cox isn’t running for DA, and then Stewart wins and we’re looking at a whole new day now. I have to credit that to God. It’s the only thing getting me through.” As a child of Shreveport myself, I was taught Bible verses before I learned the alphabet and attended church three days a week. I have read the Bible, cover to cover, twice. I know Jesus. I never saw him fix a thing. I have seen Jesus inspire people to endure, to repent, to give, to strive, to grow, and to sacrifice. This is the Jesus Caddo Parish needs, not the Miracle Jesus we invoke when we don’t want to confront and solve complex problems. A black district attorney can’t save Caddo Parish, but Stewart speaks like a man who embodies this savior. “Justice is a biblical term. Jesus came for justice. Justice is really just treating people fairly and in a God-like way, loving people ... When I was on the bench, I always made sure I determined what was right and what was wrong. Not necessarily what was politically correct or what people wanted to hear. That’s the way I operate. However it cuts is the way it cuts.” We pray this is so."
The entire story can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case. I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case. I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
