Delayed Justice

There may be a ceremony near you.  Our understanding is that there is one planned for 2 p.m. this coming sunday, Sept. 25, on the steps of the Kent County Courthouse.  Grand Rapids Mayor George Hartwell is scheduled to speak, but there will be opportunities for families of victims as well.  People are encouraged to bring photos or other things that may be related to their loss.

The National Day of Remembrance was first celebrated in 2007 and was promoted by The National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, Inc., and the National Center for Victims of Crime and supported by the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office of Justice Programs, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

And I plan to write a little later about crime statistics in this state, but you can get the information now, if you like, from this Michigan State Police report.  In brief, most murders were committed with a firearm, and most victims were young black males.

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Forty-one years ago today Shelley Speet Mills was murdered by an unknown assailant at the apartment home she shared with her husband in Heritage Hill, Grand Rapids.

Does one not need intention confronting killers, limiting evil sociopathy?

I think so.  I believe the Grand Rapids Police Department has that intention, has the resolve, has the experience.  But 41 years is a long time.  Not too long, though.