Ryan Stokes: Justice for Ryan
Cynthia Short*
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[W]hen any part of the American family does not feel like it is being treated
fairly, that鈥檚 a problem for all of us. 鈥 President Barack Obama
Mothers across this nation have become unwilling members of a club no one wants to join. Police kill over a thousand young men and women every year. 鈥淣early sixty percent of victims did not have a gun or were involved in activities that should not [have] require[d] police intervention[,] such as harmless 鈥榪uality of life鈥 behaviors or mental health crises.鈥 Each death, regardless of its specifics, leaves a family grieving.
This epidemic of officer-involved shootings (hereinafter 鈥淥IS鈥) disproportionately affects minorities and the mentally ill or disabled. A young black man is twenty-one times more likely to encounter police who will use force against him, than his same-aged white peers. Black males are 2.8 times as likely to die due to law enforcement action as white males, with Hispanic males 1.7 times as likely.
In August 2014, when Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed an unarmed Michael Brown, his community reflected the long simmering anger cultivated over decades of unfair treatment. 鈥淛ust thirty-five percent of black Americans believe their local police treat 鈥榬acial and ethnic groups equally.鈥欌 The events in Ferguson birthed a renewed civil rights movement in which the protesters asserted 鈥淏lack Lives Matter.鈥
Ferguson, however, did not reflect the experiences of white communities. As a result, white communities鈥 and politicians鈥 growing response to protests over police violence was reflected in the election of Donald Trump on November 8, 2016. 鈥淸M]illions of white Americans, including much of his voting base, are profoundly alienated by black protest movements against abusive police.鈥10 In President Trump鈥檚 inauguration speech, he promised 鈥渢o save America from a hellish wave of crime and disorder.鈥11 Jamelle Bouie, chief political correspondent for Slate, cautioned that Trump鈥檚 imagery was used 鈥渢o demonize groups and protest movements organized around police reform.鈥 He pointed out in his January 23, 2017 article, The Meaning of 鈥淎merican Carnage,鈥 that on day one, the White House page on law enforcement was changed to read: 鈥淥ur job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter.鈥 This language demonizes the need to reform. The truth is, if our nation is genuinely interested in reducing violence against citizens, politicians should see civil rights groups as partners, not as adversaries. 鈥淣eighborhood safety and police accountability aren鈥檛 in tension with each other. Effective police departments are those that don鈥檛 tolerate misconduct and that open pathways for officers and communities to work with each other,鈥 Mr. Bouie reported. Police officers and departments that harm and/or kill citizens must be held accountable to build community trust. They must commit to needed reform as outlined in the consent decrees entered in Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Chicago, each of which recognized a widespread injustice.
Narene Stokes-James is one mother who has lost a son to a police officer鈥檚 lethal use of force in Kansas City. She is the inspiration for activism in Kansas City dedicated to the memory of her son. She seeks reforms to build community trust and to protect other young men. Like the 鈥淢others of the Movement,鈥 who inspired a nation during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Narene Stokes-James 鈥渨ake[s] up every day thinking about how to parent [her son]. How to protect him and his legacy. How to ensure his death doesn鈥檛 overshadow his life.鈥 Narene has stood in public places time and again since Ryan鈥檚 death, and she has made us remember Ryan鈥檚 life.
*Cynthia Short is a trial lawyer, mitigation specialist, and sentencing advocate. She founded CLS Mitigation & Consulting Services in 2003 to continue her work representing men and women across the country in capital cases. In 2005, and again in 2013, Ms. Short has undertaken civil rights litigation. Ms. Short has been recognized for her work by the Missouri Bar who awarded her the Lon O. Hocker Award and the Defender of Distinction Award. The Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers awarded her the Atticus Finch Award, and most recently she was selected by Missouri Lawyer鈥檚 Weekly with a Women鈥檚 Justice Award.