The title of this article is from the sixth amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Because it is in the Bill of Rights, our founding fathers recognized the importance of fair treatment for those accused of crimes in our nation. However, if you live in the southern part of the United States, and you are black, don’t expect to receive this guarantee.

First of all, if this young man committed the crimes for which he was accused, he deserves punishment. The problem here is that he was tucked away in jail for eleven years without a trial and a decision made by his peers.

Steven Jessie Harris was arrested in Mississippi in October of 2005. He faced charges for murdering his father, driving to a restaurant and shooting at passing cars, stabbing an individual in the parking lot, stealing that person’s car which had a young, female passenger sitting in it, and driving away until law enforcement forced him to stop. He then shot three of the officers until he was himself wounded and apprehended.

Harris was indicted in 2006. In 2007 he was placed in a psychiatric institution after exhibiting signs of schizophrenia. It was decided that his mental state prevented him from understanding his rights.

Carlos Moore is Harris’ attorney.

“You have a constitutional right to speedy trial, there shouldn’t be any cruel or unusual punishment,” Moore said. “It’s very cruel and unusual to lock somebody up and throw away the key for 11 years without a trial. You have a fourth amendment right to no unreasonable searches and seizures. There were several constitutional rights that were violated.”

Harris was finally released last week after it was decided that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial.

“Today, justice was finally served. After 11 years of a man sitting in jail without a trial, his charges are finally dismissed,” Moore said. “The family is relieved that their loved one has finally received justice; however, they remain disappointed that it took so long for the law to be followed.”

Harris remains ‘voluntarily’ confined to a state hospital.

Scott Colom was the District Attorney assigned to the case.

“He killed his daddy, shot cops, kidnapped somebody and to turn him back loose on the streets, there’s no justice for the victims,” Colom told the Clarion-Ledger. “We could run into him at Walmart. We’re not happy about it at all, but there’s nothing we can do.”

This is another one of those situations where the victims are the ones being punished for failures within our judicial system. But 11 years of incarceration without a trial is cruel and unusual punishment, and a direct violation of Mr. Harris Constitutional rights.

Our judicial system, both federally and within the states, needs a complete overhaul. Across America, if you are wealthy and powerful, you are less likely to be punished for your crimes than if you are poor. If you are a poor black man or woman, you must expect a conviction and the maximum sentence.

Harris’ case is sad, but it is also an accurate example of what it means to be a low-income or impoverished black person in the south. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not remove all of the racial crimes in our southern states, Indiana, Texas, or Arizona. White supremacy continues to dominate much of our nation.

Today we have an administration in Washington which supports these vile and unconstitutional beliefs; they have a leader. Hate crimes have increased by 800 percent since Trump declared his candidacy, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

With these facts, Trump is not ‘making America great again;’ he is ‘making America white again.’

Please re-post; thank you.

Op-ed by James Turnage

SOURCE

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