I’m sorry everybody. I know that it’s Friday, and normally, I would be high-spirited in my post, but I have to make an exception today. I will not be talking about myself, my son, my writing, my customers, or my store. Today, I will be talking about the 3 babies and the 22-year old mother, who were killed by 18-yeald old Donta Cradock. Cradock did not know his victims, Alicia Griffin, 6, Gina Rosario, 7, Latoya Smith, 22, and Remedy Smith, who would have turned 1 today, but he did force them to pay with their lives after he lost control of the car he was in, while trying to flee police. The same police, who now say, they weren’t even chasing Cradock.
However, even if the police were chasing Cradock through this Kensington neighborhood, that’s not the point. My position is this, how many times will our children be forced to pay for the mistakes of others? I’m not only referring to Cradock, or the police officers, I have to point a finger at our justice system as well. Donta Cradock should not have been behind the wheel of that Pontiac Grand Am, he should have been behind bars. However, on April 15th, Cradock was released—for the weekend—from a juvenile facility in Pittsburgh. Needless to say, he never returned.
Am I the only person wondering why he was not being sought before he brought attention to himself? I would like to believe the results would have been a little different, and maybe Remedy Smith would be celebrating at her first birthday today instead of being fitted for her angel wings. It broke my heart when I heard her grandfather, Ted Canada, say “the angel has gone home. And one good thing that I can say is she had no reason not to make it in heaven because she had no time to sin”. I’m touched that he could find some joy in this very painful situation, but forgive me for having anger where my sorrow should be.
I’m angry mostly because I feel as if this horrific accident could have been prevented. Maybe I need to know why he was released in the first place! Yes, let’s start there. I mean, did he somehow find it in his, (8-prior conviction), heart to display some form of good behavior to be granted a weekend furlough? I really need someone to explain to me how this system works because right now—it appears to be broken. My field is business and media; I will not act as if I have some deep understanding as to how the juvenile system works. However, I now have the desire to learn. Reason being, I am tired of these preventable tragedies being embedded on psyche. This week’s injustice cost us 4 very young lives. Last week, Jose Carrasquillo, brutally raped an 11-year old girl, he too, had recently been released from some sort of facility. It is true; the 11-year old girl did not die from her injuries, but imagine everything else that he killed in her.
I will end here because I do not want to put a damper on anyone’s weekend. Basically, I just want it to stop. I’m willing to help stop it, but can someone just please tell me where to even begin?!
Click here to read more about the accident…
LaShon Fryer
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