Last Winter, many of us in the St Roch / Marigny neighborhoods were appalled at the horrific & violent crime spree that left four dead, several women raped, a few tortured and string of robberies in it's wake. And this crime spree had a name:
Cedrick Berryhill
There was a lot of noise from the District Attorney's Office about trial as an adult, 80 year sentence, extreme violence, etc. You know the speech. We've all heard it before and will hear it again.
Now, a few short months later, there's this:
So after the speeches on the news & photo opps, the TV appearances and finger wagging, a 17 year old serial killer & rapist is sentenced thusly: "The court will re-evaluate after several months at an East Louisiana Mental Health System facility."
The article states that he seems 'not present' and they're worried he might hurt himself. Perhaps a complete sociopath, who sees other living people as mere game pieces to torture, rape & kill, isn't 'entirely present' because the only thing he finds fully engaging is more torture, rape & killing. He just can't get it up for anything else.
Or maybe, since he was able to avoid the NOPD for weeks, while most of us were tracking his neighborhoods of choice pretty closely, he's smart enough to push out his bottom lip, stare at the ground and believe that he'll get sympathy, just like he did at the home that allowed this monster to grow into fruition and set him loose upon the rest of us.
Ya think?
And maybe, instead of being afraid of an 80 year sentence, he was quite sure he could manage to get to juvenile hall, or maybe even a juvenile mental health facility, where he could easily terrify the other inmates into letting him control the TV in the day room for a few months, until he can return to St Roch, and begin to exact his revenge in a more thought out manner, having had a nice little rest.
And maybe this is why we have a string of armed robberies occurring in Uptown New Orleans now, as one group of thugs learns from the headlines of another, that Committing Murder In New Orleans Is No Big Deal.
Call me crazy (you wouldn't be the first by a long shot) but another big maybe is coming to mind...
Maybe if the police weren't so worried about how to rip off the city with paid details for work they should have been doing anyway, if Chief Serpas weren't once again so glued to his computer world of technology THAT ONLY TRACKS CRIMES, NOT PREVENTS THEM, and going to hide in Baton Rouge while his best friend, son-in-law & body guard (why does a top cop need a body guard?) get busted in a city wide criminal scam he claims to know nothing about, and maybe, just maybe, if mayor Mitch wasn't busy covering for Serpas & quoting Jesus at town meetings, and finally, maybe if Cannizzaro would actually stick to his damned guns for once, (please grow some balls. The NOPD crime reports are mostly pot busts - again), if all those maybes would line up at once, great guys like John Flee & upcoming celebrity chefs like Nathanial Zimet wouldn't be found bleeding on their own doorsteps or in their own front hall with their fucking brains blown all over the floor.
But then, that's just what I think. And like I said, I may be crazy. Please make note of that, too.
Because if I ever get in trouble, I want a free pass to the day room, some sweet meds, and bus ride home in a few months. It's got to be the best excuse going. Except, of course, for one.
When I called the Public Integrity Beaureau to report a 5th District cop pulling his gun on me, I got this official response:
"The 5th District NOPD has investigated itself and found no wrong doing."
Now tell me, who's really the crazy one here?
11 comments:
Totally appalling. That little bastard should be sentenced like an adult. Even children know that killing is wrong. Teens certainly understand that premise, and the premise of sexual assault being wrong too.
Lockup in a juvie hall? What a joke.
On top of it being a bullshit sentence, it's also a clear message that it's perfectly okay to rape and kill in New Orleans, and all you'll get is a slap on the wrist.
While I find myself quick to anger over this, yet again, my heart & prayers go out to Nathanial Zimet, who very likely would be dead right now, were it not for the quick thought & action of his neighbors.
It is that link, we the people of New Orleans, who make the real difference here.
And it is us, again, who must endeavor to make that difference heard by rattling the very foundation of this complacent & ridiculous group of politicos, so inadequately steering us blindly into corruption & failure, a place we already know all too well.
MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
WE ARE NOT THEIR CATTLE.
First, Serpas has a bodyguard because driver might sound a bit ostentatious.
It is pathetic that as we watch the second season of Treme depict our dysfunctional criminal justice system, we have a new mayor, police chief and district attorney and no real change.
The courts remain clogged with minor pot busts while misdemeanor murder is still the order of the day, our poorly trained and paid police make ends meet through shakedowns called security districts, and one district of the NOPD is just another armed criminal gang.
I think its time to revive my idea for a Secession Party on the platform Time To Take Our Rightful Place in the Third World.
I find it quite appalling there are so many people in our artsy progressive community here that wont be satisfied untill until this borderline mentally retarded kid (he was 16 when this happened) is hanged in jackson square for all the city to watch. its disgusting.
you seriously think he was giving anything much actual thought when he was committing these acts? And even if he was the physical shooter, which we don't know because he wasn't acting alone. he is a 16 year old borderline retarded kid who isn't fit to stand trial.
This is not justice.
Hopefully, this case will be reevaluated in time and he will be declared competent. An engaged public will need to know what comes of this.
Dear Anonymous;
First, I'd suggest you find some new friends. I can't find anyone this thread calling for a public hanging, but then, the night is young.
Secondly, you're anonymous, so when you say 'our' community, you align yourself with the local community in a familiar way, yet you remain.... anonymous.
Then you ask, "you seriously think he was giving anything much actual thought when he was committing these acts?"
Why, yes, I most certainly do. If you were familiar with the case, as your 'our' comment implies, you'd know that one of the women raped was held for some time, tortured and her boyfriend held & made to watch.
This is not an impulsive act. This is a calculated and horrific performance.
Is he mentally right?
Hell to the no. Who could be & do such things, including shooting someone in the back of the head for $150 computer?
Yet your remarks;
"And even if he was the physical shooter, which we don't know because he wasn't acting alone, he is a 16 year old borderline retarded kid who isn't fit to stand trial"
reflect some superior knowledge of the case that we, the normal citizens, do not have.
The NOPD & DA's office were able to link over a dozen crimes (19 I think) to him through forensic evidence. Maybe you should contact them with your insight.And if you have real knowledge of his mental deficiencies, as you claim, perhaps you can also tell us whether, retarded or not, he knew the difference between right & wrong (the legal definition of 'competent to stand trial')when he was burning a young woman with lighters in between rapes,as I've been told, or when he intentionally broke into John Flee's house to rob & eventually kill him.
Because from what I have been told, he liked it.
He liked it a lot.
And that deserves a far greater price be paid than a few months of lock down at any kind of 'health facility' be it mental or otherwise.
When you get around to all this, maybe you can deliver your thoughts in person to the family of John Flee. I'm sure they'd love to hear it.
PLEASE NOTE;
This post & ensuing discussion is directed at engaging & changing the system of failure that allows criminals to repeatedly be set free, while the citizens of New Orleans are bled white with 'convenience ticketing', monied & connected people are allowed to bend the laws we must obey and our police force is more interested in hustling the city coffers than in preventing crime.
Cedrick Berryhill is now a part of the justice system. Only by engaging that system can one effect changes there.
The shooters of Nathanial Zimet are still at large, and armed robbery is sweeping uptown New Orleans.
Is this really the time for more traffic stops, ticket cameras and chasing mimes out of Jackson Square? Was the arrest of a 10 year sober cancer survivor at Jazz Fest, for public drunkeness not enough?
Call your City Council Member TODAY. Tell them what you think.
Then call them every day there after, and ask for an update.
All of you.
All of us.
Every single day.
Let them know who they're really working for.
You, that's who.
Thanks to Lord David, for posting this thoughtful commentary, and for his specific, directed, engaging yet non-combative response. I deeply appreciate your being willing to stir the pot of awareness and conversation.
Dear Anonymous, Your "borderline mentaly retarded" comment prompted me to respond. I have worked in both the N.O. and St Tammany school systems. I worked many, many times in Special Ed. classes and have witnessed impulsive acts by some of these students. The students ranged from being mildly Autistic to Savants. Some were non- verbal, some parotted speech and behaviour. Some needed full time aides as they could not be left alone, some were capable of getting through the day on their own. They all had one thing in common. They were fully aware of the consequences if they hit, bit, spit, or were disruptive. The crimes that the individual David is referring to were not impulsive. They were thought out and went on for hours. Many people were harmed by this individual and trying to excuse him by saying he was "borderline mentally retarded" is an insult to everyone who lives and deals with people who struggle with this on a daily basis. If a person with Fragile X Syndrome knows better than to harm anyone, then someone who is "borderline" certainly is well aware of their actions. In my opinion the only retarded aspect of this mess is how the Police Dept. is being run and how some Officers treat citizens. No "borderline" about that.
Unfortunately, the only Justice the Citizens of New Orleans will ever see is the Justice they exact for themselves. People of the St. Roch Neighborhood? Sorry to say this, but you better arm yourselves now, and be prepared to, if necessary, take this scourge on humanity down once he is once again unleashed on your neighborhood.
thank you for putting this up such a really great site. Stimulating me to read much more.
Piper
www.trendone.net
Post a Comment