The Sunreports that a man was sentenced to 11 years for dealing crack. That’s a lot of years for crack, I thought. Of course, like everything with crime and criminals in Baltimore, that’s not the whole story.
This 28-year-old man, William Floyd Crudup, shot two city police officer in 2005. His trial ended in a mistrial because one juror, “refused to participate in the looking at the evidence and told the judge that she had made up her mind about the case at the start of the trail.”
This is not the place to experiment with Jury Nullification.
Sometimes people are just ig-nent. This isn’t the first time a Baltimore City jury refused to convict a guilty man for shooting or killing a police officer. It’s why police officers don’t trust city juries. Baltimore is a place where it is all too common for one person in twelve to believe it is every man’s right to kill police officers. I remember the shock and disbelief I felt when the killer of Officer Kavon Gavin walked free (he too has since been imprisoned for something else). Other officers were not surprised.
Crudup was still behind bars. Three years later the retrial of Crudup was still in the works. But back in 2005, a few days after he was charged with shooting the police officers, police raided Crudup’s homes and found drugs and guns and ammo.
The Feds took the case and got Crudup to cop a plea (3 years later). So it’s not 11 years for crack dealing. It’s 11 years for shooting two police officers. It just happens that they got him for crack.
Justice is a game. Everybody involved in the system knows this. The good guys play to win, too.
“Ignence” indeed, Peter. These are horrific examples of the war mentality that afflicts both police and citizens in American ghettos. The dehumanization and groupthink turn members of both groups into anti-social individuals. Before long, people are able to rationalize or even condone the violent deaths of fellow human beings. Coming from a police family, I have seen this sad phenomenon first hand. Note to Baltimore; fight the drug war and the class war, not YOUR police. If that’s not “radical” enough for your tastes, try anarchy. Of course, anarchy in the hood will mean that criminal syndicates will officially take charge and unprecedented bloodshed will be the order of the day. But I guess that will be ok as long as “brothers,” rather than police, are doing the shooting.
Anarchy, bloodshed, and criminal syndicates pretty much are the order of the day in parts of Baltimore (and other cities).
Why not end the drug war and stop the madness? Regulate the drug trade!
It’s the drug war that led to the cops getting shot. It’s the drug war that causes people to hate the police. It’s unregulated drug business that is killing Baltimore, literally and figuratively?
Prohibition doesn’t work. Alcohol is legal because we don’t want it sold unregulated. Why do we allow such dangerous drugs to be sold without any government regulation? Cocaine and heroin are more dangerous, much too dangerous to be left in the hands of criminals.
Well said Peter. Thanks again for speaking out. Also, I’m plugging your book to anyone that will listen to my ranting.
Keep plugging! I listen to your rantings, but then I’ve already bought my book.