Another Way To Deal With Crime
I've got mixed feelings about Gary Smith - a decent man I've met and talked to. On one hand (if you believe the cops and prosecutors - which I don't) he went too far and shot the wrong men. On the other hand, people in Over The Rhine (and really all over the city) are sick and tired of crime, and calling the cops only to have them make you feel like, by asking them to do their job, they are doing you a favor. The question is: what are people living in crime-infested neighborhoods supposed to do to protect themselves and their property?
The Cincinnati Post has this story:
Calling them "crack-head punks," Smith shot four men in Over-the-Rhine in 2001 in his personal brand of vigilante justice, killing one in a case where he initially faced the death penalty, officials said.Take note that the Post's white newsboy Kimball Perry (who undoubtedly lives in a safe suburb) in a bit of unprofessional editorializing, calls Gary's actions "his personal brand of vigilante justice". Makes me wonder if the prosecution was worried about seeking justice or scared of a black man with a gun? As I blogged here, let's never forget:
Smith was convicted in 2002 but escaped death when he was sentenced to 47 years to life in prison.
That conviction and sentence, though, were overturned earlier this year by an appeals court that declared Smith, 54, didn't get a fair trial because he was prevented from acting as his own attorney.
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Smith was accused of shooting Jimmie Gordon to death and convicted of wounding three other men in a shooting rampage Smith started when he tried to get crack dealers away from his home. They responded by robbing him, killing his cat, urinating on his home and slicing his tires.
9 comments:
I imagined any full-blooded Republican would have to admit that this guy acted with his gun exactly how we are supposed to act. They are for shooting people, after all, right?
I'd love to hear an explanation of how gun control is racist? And who isn't afraid of a black man with a gun? Or a white or green or purple man with a gun? The operative word is "gun." And how does one fault the little white newsboy for living out in the suburbs? Let's see, he could live in the ghetto in constant fear for his life, or in a much more secure environment. Touch choice, but it's available for any human being in this country to make, regardless of whether he or she is black, white, green, yellow or otherwise. And I can't imagine that it's true, but it sounds like you might be suggesting that you'd rather have people policing themselves rather than calling the cops because they are too arrogant. If they could arrange to pull the cops out of the ghetto completely, I'd say the crime problem wouldn't be too bad for too long, as the number of those shot in the crossfire would leave too few people to commit crime or to be victimized by it.
Smith shouldn't have been his own attorney in the retrial. Where was the NRA?
The crimes that the crackheads did to his property don't warrant death, but certainly the wounds. It was ridiculous that he originally got 47 years and almost Death Row. Had he BEEN Kimball Perry, Smith would've gotten two or three years max. If that.
Gun control laws were put on the books back in the day largely to prevent black gun ownership. And they still have a disproportionate effect on blacks (who typically live in big cities, which have the strictest gun laws). I don't think it's a coincidence that crime is disproportionately higher in black communities, where gun ownership is the lowest. These laws leave us common law-abiding folks defenseless against the small number of thugs (who always can access guns) who in turn terrorize too many of our communities.
Gary Smith thought his life was in danger. These people had destroyed his property, killed his pet, and threatened to kill him. What was he supposed to do??? He called the cops and couldn't get any help. I believe he had no choice but defend himself. If my life, or the life of someone I loved was threatened, I would protect them. I can't fault Gary for doing the same thing that Kimball Perry or the judge would've done.
"I'd love to hear an explanation of how gun control is racist?"The burdens that gun control places on folks are mainly financial. These burdens are more troublesome for people of color living in the inner cities. (Of course that was the idea, since we all know that most gangstas come from the inner city, don't we?) For instance, New York requires not only handgun registration, but licensing as well. So now, in addition to the cost of the gun itself, they now have to pay license and registration fees. What was maybe a $200 gun has now effectively become a $400 gun. When given the choice between feeding the family and self-defense on a limited income, many choose the food, rightly so. Never mind that in some jurisdictions, the sale of inexpensive firearms has been banned by labeling the guns "Saturday Night Specials". When they are nothing of the sort. So now, cheap self defense s out of reach. I don't know of any inner city folks that could spare $600+ to buy a Glock, or a Walther and pay for the licensing and registration on top of that.
"And who isn't afraid of a black man with a gun? Or a white or green or purple man with a gun? The operative word is "gun.""The only people in my experience who fear guns are those who have been on the business end of one or those who know the square root of jack shit about them. A gun is a tool, nothing more. I'm definitely more in the Larry Elder mold, so I ain't about to sit here and blame racism for everything, but let's face it - the media has conditioned white suburban folks to fear black people who own guns.
"And how does one fault the little white newsboy for living out in the suburbs? Let's see, he could live in the ghetto in constant fear for his life, or in a much more secure environment. Touch choice, but it's available for any human being in this country to make, regardless of whether he or she is black, white, green, yellow or otherwise."No one is faulting the reporter for living in the 'burbs. He is being faulted for editorializing - or more to the point, judging this man's actions based on exactly ZERO knowledge of what life is like in his neighborhood. It's easy to monday morning quarterback when you don't know shit about what this man had to go through on a day to day basis. I'd bet a paycheck that Mr. Reporter doesn't have crack dealers on his street. If he did, he would know that you don't ever stand up to one unless you're packing heat - and if you pull it you damn sure better use it or you will find yourself dead. He had already been robbed and his cat killed among other things. I think he pretty much got the message that it was him or them. The choice of living in a safe neighborhood is not available to everyone. You know as well as I do that you have to have money to live in safe neighborhoods, that's why they're safe. One lives where one can afford to.
"I can't imagine that it's true, but it sounds like you might be suggesting that you'd rather have people policing themselves rather than calling the cops because they are too arrogant."I don't know where you live, but it sounds pretty apparent that you have no concept of 911 response time in an area like Over-The-Rhine. I've never been there, but I imagine it's something like the response time in South Central LA (where I have frequently been). On average that response time is about 8 minutes longer than a drug dealer needs to blow your fucking brains out. Police yourself? You're damn right, because one, the police can't always be trusted to treat people of color equitably, and two, they are stretched too thin to be everywhere at once.
"If they could arrange to pull the cops out of the ghetto completely, I'd say the crime problem wouldn't be too bad for too long, as the number of those shot in the crossfire would leave too few people to commit crime or to be victimized by it."Actually, the crime problem would improve dramatically, rather quickly. The primary weapon of drug dealers is fear. They control their turf by inciting fear. If citizens are armed and willing to use force to protect themselves, drug dealers will move on to an area that is more easily controlled, or go underground. It's very simple really - it's giving citizens the power they need to take back control of their homes. Your visions of some sort of "shootout at the OK Corral" is delusional at best. Could someone get caught in the crossfire? Sure, it happens in a lot of gunfights. The point here is that when faced with the prospect of possibly engaging multiple armed citizens, most if not all drug dealers would simply get up out da hood.
I need way more facts.
just based on what is in the one articel. I would have a hard time not agreeing with the decision to prosecute him.
I lived in Cincy for two years, and in my opinion they have the worst police force on racial issues in the country.
BUT.. You cannot go around shooting people, you cant. Even if they damage your property, kill your cat and piss on your land. They have to threaten you directly, and you have to believe they are going to carry it out.
I will do some more research on what Ohio law says, and if I can get more facts.
But, just on the basic facts. This is not a racist prosecution.
The article may not make it clear but they did threaten to do to Gary Smith what they did to his cat - kill him. This man called the police, begged for help, and eventually had to defend himself.
I am white and I agree with the post. gun control is racist and political. the Sullivan law in nyc was originally put in place to disarm Italian American immigrants. any person that is white and believes that black people are not at a disadvantage in this country, not only where gun ownership is concerned, but in other areas as well, is living with their head in the sand. i am not a liberal, but i have spent enough time in inner city areas to see first hand the disadvantages the people living there face and the way they are treated by the police is disgraceful. most white people either live in denial of this fact or are just unaware of it. again, i am white and tend to be right of center, but the truth is the truth and it needs to be said.
White folks fled the inner-cities for the "security" of the suburbs nearly 40 years ago. Now their white suburban children carry guns to school and kill other WSC.
White Americans will always find excuses to fear non-whites but hardly ever find the rational to fear each other.
This man made a stand after trying to get his tax dollars to work for him through CPD. The court knew this when it handed down the atrociously skewed sentance faced by Mr. Smith, that is why the obvious loophole was created which got him off on charges he should have never faced.
It seems the mainstream believes a good time for an African-American to defend land with a gun is when she or he is in uniform and the land is foreign.
I just wish Smith was a better shot then maybe the message CPD can't get across would be clear; crackheads will not run African-American neighborhoods, take that stuff to the suburbs and fellowship with the meth-addicts!!!
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