Blog Archives

Two Justice Systems In Black and White

I originally blogged about these cases on Dec. 7, 2013.  Since then, there has been additional information, including the filing of and decision in a civil lawsuit.

Both cases are in the State of Illinois but different counties about 27 miles apart.  When committing the crimes, all defendants in both cases were residents of the City of Rockford.  All defendants were charged with murder under the same state law.

Let me be clear that this post is not about the innocence or guilt of the defendants.  It’s about racism yielding privilege for some and inequalities for others. It’s the type of prejudice that prosecutors might not realize motivates them to make decisions.  It’s the type of politics that call Black defendants “violent offenders” but offers White defendants, charged with the same crime, pleas for lesser offenses and shorter sentences.

In the Black Lives Matter Movement, there is talk about how Blacks and Whites are charged for the same crimes, but Blacks are given longer sentences.  Mostly, people who bring up that issue speak in terms of marijuana possession or misdemeanor crimes.

The cases I present here would not have been misdemeanor crimes even if no party had been killed.

Illinois statute 720 ILCS 5/9-1 states in pertinent part:

A person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits first degree murder if, in performing the acts which cause the death, he is attempting or committing a forcible felony other than second degree murder.”

This law is generally referred to as felony murder.  Simply put, if a person is committing a felony and another person is killed during the commission of that crime, the person or persons committing the crime are charged with murder.  The sentence for felony murder carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years. Read the rest of this entry

Jury Finds City of Rockford Liable For Cops Reckless Conduct

Mark Anthony BarmoreThrough the years, some of you might have read when I’ve reported on the 2009 death of Mark Anthony Barmore in Rockford, IL.

It’s not often that I write editorials or opinion pieces.   About this matter, this time is different because this case happened in the city where I live.  Although Illinois has agreed to allow the media in courtrooms, we only get a 3 to 5 second snippet of trials in local television news.

When Mark was killed in 2009, I learned first-hand that things I had heard about Rockford were true.  I had heard that those raised in Rockford do not like “outsiders.” When Oda Poole and Stan North killed Mark, sections of the community demonstrated and people came from elsewhere in their support.  The Rev. Jesse Jackson was one such person.  An employee of the county personally stated to me that she did not know why “outsiders” had to come to Rockford.  Well, because “insiders” showed no concern. Mark was reported to be the fourth unarmed Black man killed by Oda Poole.  It was business as usual.

Rev. Jackson saw Mark’s body — at least two bullet holes in his back.  There were no wounds in the front of Mark’s body.  This indicated that Mark was shot in the back. Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia remarked to the Rev. Jackson’s observation that he is not a physician.  The insult to intelligence spoke volumes, and she continued being reelected because she ran for office unopposed.

The final investigation into the killing of Mark Anthony Barmore resulted in a finding that the police officers were wrong to enter the premises with their guns drawn.

There have been lawsuits. The Estate of Mark Anthony Barmore filed suit. Five years after Mark was killed, the City of Rockford settled that lawsuit for $1.1 million. Read the rest of this entry

%d bloggers like this: