Creba: Round 3...

So it'll be in the papers tomorrow but it was all over the news today. The last of three trials in the now infamous Jane Creba case has wrapped up and charged the last two remaining suspects (TB and RW) with manslaughter. The other charges in this case that killed one and injured six include: two young men who have been convicted of second degree murder and are now serving life sentences (JSR and JV), four upon which manslaughter charges were dropped (after spending countless years in pre-trail detention, no doubt, and having their names displayed across the country via news media), a young man (GC) who was acquitted of manslaughter charges, and another young man (DW) to be charged with second degree murder once he is extradited to Canada from the UK. That's a grand total of 10 charges; but there were MANY more arrests.

Here's the thing. This case is infamous within our community for ONE reason: 

It most CLEARLY characterizes the racial favoritism routinely displayed by our legal system. 

Let's analyse the facts for a second. Ten people were charged in what was definitely a horrific incident of utter disregard for human life. An all out gun brawl in the busiest area of Toronto on the busiest day of the year; granted. But the evidence linking a lot of these suspects to the actual crimes they are being charged with and convicted for is virtually non-existent.

In the most recent case in particular, it was left to the jury to decide whether the suspects involved actually fired the weapons they carried that evening. They were working with the testimony of a "witness" (reported to have frequently altered his testimony) who was not there the day of the incident but testified that he heard the young men involved talking about the incident and expressing hope that they had not hit anyone. Keep this in mind: there were NO eye-witnesses stating they saw TB or RW holding a gun.

*Sidenote* Being that this is about a week after the Jordan Manners case was declared a mistrial due to witnesses recanting their statements, this begs the question: Why is it okay to rely on shaky witness testimony when a young white female is the victim in the case?

All level-headed people agree that if you commit a crime, you are to face an appropriate consequence for the crime you committed. A young lady was murdered, and six other people were injured. It's horrific and justice should be served. But unfortunately in this case, justice was not served. Ten young men, undoubtedly facing endless oppressive obstacles throughout their lives (albeit within the education system, financially, or the over-policing of their neighborhoods) have been made an example of. Extremely aggressive charges have been laid and it will not be surprising to see overly-punitive consequences follow.

Let's think for a moment what our society would be like if all murder cases were treated like this one. What about this case: Case 1 (click link). Or this case: Case 2 (click link). Or this case, involving 4-year-old Shaquan Cadougan who was shot while playing outside in front of his home. Unfortunately, the list of unsolved shooting/homicide cases involving Black victims is relatively long so why hasn't law enforcement or the city at large been "up in arms" about those cases?

Outcomes like these (i.e. the Jane Creba case) send distinct messages to the Black community. Of all the messages that can be derived, one stands paramount: Your lives are not as valued as white lives.

Militia, agree or disagree?