Note: This op-ed piece first appeared in the Sunday Gazette (Schenectady, NY) shortly after an all white jury found a black man, Edward Jones of Gloversville, New York, guilty of manslaughter and assault in the death of David Lamphear. Yesterday, February 26, 2009, an appeals court threw out the convictions. Fulton County D.A., Louise Sira, says she will not file new charges, so Jones is free. This is a real victory over what was an injustice. It is also a victory for those of us who believe in the right of self defense.
(See links in sidebar for news stories about the overturned conviction and the actual court’s decision.)
I am posting my original column here, as it is not available on the Gazette’s website.
Edward Jones’ Manslaughter and Assault Verdict A Travesty of Justice
Fulton County, New York is 96.4% white–white as a sheet–white as a sheet with cutouts for the eyes through which one can watch a cross burning. At least that’s the way it must have seemed for Edward Jones, a 39 year old black man convicted by an all white jury of second degree manslaughter and other charges on December 10, 2007 in the death of a white man, David Lamphear.
Edward Jones the Only Black Person in the Fulton County Courthouse During his Trial
Throughout his trial, Jones was the only black person in the courtroom. The image of a solitary black man surrounded every day by a white jury, a white judge, a white DA, a white defense attorney, white deputies, white court officials, white reporters and white spectators made me question the verdict.
My heart does not bleed for black people. O.J. did it, and he should have been needled for it. The Jena Six are guilty, and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson act more like racial stereotypes than Amos ‘n Andy. Nevertheless, I find it troubling that in the 21st Century a black man can still be tried by an all white jury, when the Supreme Court has made it clear that a jury should represent a cross section of the population and should not even give the appearance of being racially biased.
While it might be difficult seating a Black on a Fulton County jury because Blacks make up only two percent of the population, it’s not impossible. The Census Bureau’s 2006 estimate of the county’s population is 55,435, which means there are 1100 Blacks in the county. Yet only two Blacks were in the 210 member jury pool and neither was selected.
Racial Overtones in Edward Jones’ Trial
What makes the absence of a black juror more disturbing is the trial’s racial overtones. Lamphear was upset that Jones was dating his ex-girlfriend and started the altercation that ended in his own death. Lamphear, who according to his ex-girlfriend had been drinking, came at Jones with a piece of lumber, saying, “I’m gonna get you nigger,” then hit Jones with the board, breaking his arm. At some point in the altercation, Jones stabbed Lamphear, and he died two weeks later.
Self Defense Issues in Edward Jones’ Trial
Though Jones’ lawyer rightfully and logically argued self-defense, Fulton County DA Louise Sira argued that Jones’ had an obligation to retreat and according to one juror I spoke with, the jury bought that argument. The New York State penal code does state that, in a number of situations, a person is obligated to retreat if attacked. He is even required to retreat if he believes the attacker is using or about to use deadly force “if he knows” that he can do so with complete safety to himself and others.
The juror I talked to could not remember whether anyone made it clear that the victim must “know” that he can retreat with complete safety. Lamphear continued to chase Jones around his vehicle after the initial assault and then smashed out the window of Jones’ vehicle after Jones got inside, making it doubtful that Jones could have known with any certainty that he could have retreated with complete safety. And if he had retreated by himself, how could he have known with any certainty that his girlfriend and her child would have been safe?
Comparison Between Edward Jones’ of Fulton County and John White of Suffolk County
Contrast Jones’ case with that of John White, another black man who was found guilty of manslaughter in Suffolk County just twelve days after Jones for shooting a drunken, but unarmed white man, Daniel Cicciaro, Jr. Cicciaro along with two carloads of friends blocked White’s driveway, trespassed on his property, hollered racial slurs and demanded White’s son come out and fight because they had been mistakenly told that he had threatened to rape a white girl. White shot and killed Cicciaro, but claimed that Cicciaro grabbed his gun and it went off accidentally.
While both verdicts were almost identical, there were several differences in the trials. White’s jury was not entirely white. Furthermore, contingents from the NAACP and the Nation of Islam showed up everyday to support him. The case, called the trial of the century in Suffolk county, was also covered by national media, while Jones’ case received only local attention.. More important, however, is that even though White had a weaker case than Jones, the jury deliberated for four days while Jones’ jury deliberated for only five hours.
It seems to me that White got a relatively fair trial (even though I don’t agree with the verdict), while Jones did not. I believe that if Jones had been tried under the same circumstances as White and with a racially diverse jury, he would be a free man today.
Other problems with Edward Jones’ Trial and Verdict
There are other problems with Jones’ trial, such as prejudicial and irrelevant material introduced by Sira about the arrest of Jones’ brother. There is also the inconsistency of the jury which rejected the first degree manslaughter charge because it required intent, while finding Jones guilty of first degree assault which also requires intent.
In any event, it seems to me that there has been a miscarriage of justice in Fulton County, if not an outright “high tech lynching.” In Suffolk County, the media continues to pay attention to John White, money is pouring in for his appeal, one juror has admitted he was browbeaten into convicting White, and many people have expressed outrage at the verdict.
In Fulton County, however, one only hears the deafening sound of malignant silence.
More resources
http://www.leaderherald.com/page/content.detail/id/510391.html?nav=5011
