Last week I wrote a good news story. One that was straight-forward, and not laced with negative nuances or undertones. This week I will discuss a topic the central figure will never read, and would not understand if you or I were to read it to him.
I decided nearly a week ago to write about the case of Floyd Brown. It is not nearly as wholesome and/or folksy as the Johnson C. Smith University Top 10 Among Black Colleges story. When I chose today's topic, it was also unclear how, or when, the case would end. Now that it has culminated as it did, it’s not just a good news story, or even merely great news. This is an epic and phenomenal story. Civil liberties and constitutional rights have been preserved, albeit too long coming. After all, William Gladstone noted many years ago, justice delayed is justice denied!
This case has at its central focus, one of “the least of these.” If you believe in the bedrock principles and fundamentals upon which this country was founded, what could be more compelling? Indeed, this has been 14 years of simmering high drama in the making.
Those who know me are aware of my position, and the fact I have labored to make sure we all keep episodes like the Jena 6 story in perspective. From all accounts, shameful atrocities occurred in Jena. Many have come to light, and number of them are being dealt with as a result.
But simply put, injustices abound. So much so, until it serves none of us well to put all our eggs in one basket, or feel we have made a huge dent in the problem when any single instance is righted. We have not.
On the contrary, there is more than ample evidence the problem is wide-spread and trenchant. We know, as a result, it will take significant, if not full-scale commitment by each of us, over the course of the foreseeable future, just to stem the tide. Floyd Brown's case is yet another prime example why I maintain the position I do on how we react, individually and collectively, to such matters.
Mr. Brown of Wadesboro, North Carolina, which is in Anson County, was charged with murder, and spent 14 years in jail, at a cost of more than $2.3 million…without a trial. That’s right, 14 years in jail, without a trial!
He was released Monday by Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, Jr., who dismissed the case. This is the same judge who suspended Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong for his actions during the Duke Lacrosse case, in the event his name sounds familiar to you.
As with the other cases I have previously discussed in this space, there were a number of inconsistencies, ambiguities, and peculiarities with Brown's case. Among them:
· The D.A. did not rebut claims Mr. Brown’s confession was faked
· The two-paged verbatim confession is the only evidence linking Brown to the murder
· Evidence is missing from the Anson County Sheriff’s Office
· Two detectives on the case were convicted of accepting bribes
· The two detectives were subsequently jailed for corruption
· A tipster’s description of a possible culprit does not fit Brown
· The NC Department of Justice has reviewed allegations of wrong-doing in the case
Floyd Brown is estimated to have an I.Q. of around 50. There is a lot about what has happened to him over the past 14 years he does not, and will never, understand. Nor should he have to. He is a member of the human race.
Brown’s attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus. That’s Latin, and translates literally to, produce the body. In more straight forward lingo, it’s an appeal of last resort to free someone from jail, when all other efforts have failed. It is used as a protection against illegal imprisonment.
The writ was filed in Durham, NC, which is in Durham County, in part because NC law allows it to be filed in any County, but also because Brown’s attorneys believed they needed a change of venue to secure a fair hearing for their client. Two judges in Anson County had previously supported the Anson District Attorney’s position.
In the March 15, 1965 issue of The Nation, an essay by The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., entitled Let Justice Roll Down appeared. The theme of the essay penned by, and proclaimed in Dr. King’s uniquely clarion voice poignantly paraphrased Amos 5:24, “But let justice run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”
After his case was dismissed, when Brown was asked if he thought he would ever be released, he replied, “I figured it was time.” Monday afternoon, justice ran down as waters for Floyd Brown. It was (past) time.
Holla Back!
To read and learn more about the case of Floyd Brown, click on the links below:
http://www.cityofwadesboro.org/
http://www.charlotte.com/floydbrown/
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3704228&page=1
http://www.netscape.com/tag/floyd+brown
http://news14.com/content/headlines/588102/hearing-set-in-floyd-brown-case/Default.aspx
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7124678
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/730579.html
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/7/25/121014/837
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1 comment:
Call it adding insult to injury. In what is sure to be just the first in a series of postscript legal and influence-based maneuvers, Anson County D.A. Michael Parker has persuaded the Group Home that had been set for months to accept Floyd Brown, should he be released, not to do so.
In chess, this might have been the brilliant tactical move of a Grand Master, in racing, the ceremonial execution of a Grand Marshall, in civil rights, the spiteful reaction of a Grand...well, you know. Stay tuned; the saga contines.
Alpha Heel
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