Clinton, Illinois has been feeding at the trough of anger and vengeance. Everyone impacted by the case of Amanda Hamm and Maurice Lagrone, Jr. seems to be doing just that... including me. I think that I've put on weight.
I've tried for three years now to imagine what the families might be feeling, but of course I can't, nobody can. What I do know is that with any loss of this magnitude comes unimaginable anger, regardless of the circumstances. In this situation, where the loss is that of the lives of small children, coupled with difficult family relationships and the perception that Maurice was a "bad guy" to begin with... it is all the more challenging. People are angry. And they have a right to be angry.
But who are we all so angry with?
From what I can tell, the initial reaction of the town was mixed immediately following the deaths of the children. I heard from many that Amanda was such a good mother, she loved her children so much… this was a terrible accident. But it didn’t take long for the anger to come… and the bias. The sheriff gave interviews to the press, proclaiming, "We don’t know if this is a Susan Smith-style case or not."
There it was… the seed of doubt!. And he said it on national television…it must be true!
That doubt really started the night of the tragedy, at the Clinton hospital in the middle of the chaos and craziness. This is a small-town hospital with a single elevator that goes to floors 1 and 2R. There were the all-white fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of three small children. Every emergency worker, police, detectives, sheriff’s department… most of the town… and the rumors started.
"They were dry." Well, they weren’t dry… never were. My friend Bob Walston took Maurice to get dry clothes.
"Maurice was holding Amanda back and kept her from saving the children." Well, yes… He held her once the paramedics arrived so that she wouldn’t get in their way.
"They didn’t try to save the children." This is the big one… for all of the "I would have died trying" people out there… it turns out (and was entered into evidence during the trial) that the owner’s manual for Amanda’s car states that when the car is in reverse, the doors automatically lock. That is what happened. The car was in reverse and the doors were locked. From what I understand, both Amanda and Maurice tried to get the doors open… but couldn’t. And, they did what any one of us SHOULD do… they called for help when they couldn’t do it themselves. But remember the car was in the water and the electric locking system unlocked itself… so there is the problem. The paramedics found the doors open. From what I understand, the locks continued opening and closing on their own… scaring the lone mechanic who worked on the car that night at the request of the sheriff.
And then there is that darned "race card," as so many posters on the Bloomington Pantagraph web comments page like to reference.
I know that from the day of this tragedy until the start of Maurice’s trial, there was not ONE African American involved anywhere. Not one African American at the hospital, at any of the pre-trial hearings, not on the prosecution, the defense, the media… not anywhere! Maurice has been alone in this. And the white sheriff sat in the jury box, right behind Maurice, at most of the Dewitt County pre-trial hearings. Clearly, this is the role he sees himself in. I don’t know nearly enough about racism in America… but I’m pretty sure that the "absence" of African Americans colored the outcome of Maurice’s verdict. How could it NOT? It is absolutely clear to me that the civil rights movement did not happen in towns like Clinton… there was nobody there to have a "movement" for. What I do know is the perception. If you ask around Clinton about nearby towns like Decatur (if you are a white person), you will be told that, "It’s dark over there in Decatur… if you know what I mean."
But I suppose you can see the ripples going out for a long time when you throw a rock into a small lake… like Clinton Lake. Throw a rock into Lake Michigan… you might not see even one ripple… it’s all lost… there is just too much water.
I’ve placed my anger squarely on the shoulders of a faulty judicial system supported by ignorance and arrogance. If only the sheriff, the special prosecutor (both politicians!) and state police had pursued an appropriate sentence right from the beginning. If they had charged Amanda and Maurice with child endangerment in December, 2003… the families and friends of those beautiful children might be moving on with their lives. They would have had the opportunity to mourn, to grieve, to experience the overwhelming sadness they all deserve to have… but without so much anger.
I suppose the real problem is that "accidents" aren’t news stories… they don’t SELL newspapers the way murders do. And "accidents" don’t make political careers. Early on someone said to me, "A situation like this comes around once in a politician’s lifetime." By the way, the sheriff was just re-elected.
I've tried for three years now to imagine what the families might be feeling, but of course I can't, nobody can. What I do know is that with any loss of this magnitude comes unimaginable anger, regardless of the circumstances. In this situation, where the loss is that of the lives of small children, coupled with difficult family relationships and the perception that Maurice was a "bad guy" to begin with... it is all the more challenging. People are angry. And they have a right to be angry.
But who are we all so angry with?
From what I can tell, the initial reaction of the town was mixed immediately following the deaths of the children. I heard from many that Amanda was such a good mother, she loved her children so much… this was a terrible accident. But it didn’t take long for the anger to come… and the bias. The sheriff gave interviews to the press, proclaiming, "We don’t know if this is a Susan Smith-style case or not."
There it was… the seed of doubt!. And he said it on national television…it must be true!
That doubt really started the night of the tragedy, at the Clinton hospital in the middle of the chaos and craziness. This is a small-town hospital with a single elevator that goes to floors 1 and 2R. There were the all-white fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of three small children. Every emergency worker, police, detectives, sheriff’s department… most of the town… and the rumors started.
"They were dry." Well, they weren’t dry… never were. My friend Bob Walston took Maurice to get dry clothes.
"Maurice was holding Amanda back and kept her from saving the children." Well, yes… He held her once the paramedics arrived so that she wouldn’t get in their way.
"They didn’t try to save the children." This is the big one… for all of the "I would have died trying" people out there… it turns out (and was entered into evidence during the trial) that the owner’s manual for Amanda’s car states that when the car is in reverse, the doors automatically lock. That is what happened. The car was in reverse and the doors were locked. From what I understand, both Amanda and Maurice tried to get the doors open… but couldn’t. And, they did what any one of us SHOULD do… they called for help when they couldn’t do it themselves. But remember the car was in the water and the electric locking system unlocked itself… so there is the problem. The paramedics found the doors open. From what I understand, the locks continued opening and closing on their own… scaring the lone mechanic who worked on the car that night at the request of the sheriff.
And then there is that darned "race card," as so many posters on the Bloomington Pantagraph web comments page like to reference.
I know that from the day of this tragedy until the start of Maurice’s trial, there was not ONE African American involved anywhere. Not one African American at the hospital, at any of the pre-trial hearings, not on the prosecution, the defense, the media… not anywhere! Maurice has been alone in this. And the white sheriff sat in the jury box, right behind Maurice, at most of the Dewitt County pre-trial hearings. Clearly, this is the role he sees himself in. I don’t know nearly enough about racism in America… but I’m pretty sure that the "absence" of African Americans colored the outcome of Maurice’s verdict. How could it NOT? It is absolutely clear to me that the civil rights movement did not happen in towns like Clinton… there was nobody there to have a "movement" for. What I do know is the perception. If you ask around Clinton about nearby towns like Decatur (if you are a white person), you will be told that, "It’s dark over there in Decatur… if you know what I mean."
But I suppose you can see the ripples going out for a long time when you throw a rock into a small lake… like Clinton Lake. Throw a rock into Lake Michigan… you might not see even one ripple… it’s all lost… there is just too much water.
I’ve placed my anger squarely on the shoulders of a faulty judicial system supported by ignorance and arrogance. If only the sheriff, the special prosecutor (both politicians!) and state police had pursued an appropriate sentence right from the beginning. If they had charged Amanda and Maurice with child endangerment in December, 2003… the families and friends of those beautiful children might be moving on with their lives. They would have had the opportunity to mourn, to grieve, to experience the overwhelming sadness they all deserve to have… but without so much anger.
I suppose the real problem is that "accidents" aren’t news stories… they don’t SELL newspapers the way murders do. And "accidents" don’t make political careers. Early on someone said to me, "A situation like this comes around once in a politician’s lifetime." By the way, the sheriff was just re-elected.
6 Comments:
I'm sorry but Smoking pot in front of those kids and Amanda lettin that happen shows to me what a GREAT mother she really was and ya know what else if Maurice was white,black,green,purple, whatever! it don't matter the color of your skin and I'm sorry but she wasn't a GREAT MOTHER she let someone babysit her kids who had dog fecies everywhere including on her kids and where those kids ate. the only one suffering here are the KIDS,THE FATHERS,THE FAMILY no one else those kids should be here for Christmas not lying dead in a cold dark wet box! you don't know Amanda like some of us!
I wish you would publish more articles like this as you have hit the nail on the head! People were not at the trial and do not know the facts but still continue to post what they do not know about the circumstances surrounding these events.
i think that it is interesting that someone who claims to have strong opinions about something would comment under "anonymous". it is so easy to look at the faults that amanda had as a mother now. but she was a struggling single mother who never had the support system that most people do. everyone makes mistakes when it comes to raising children...especially parents who didn't have role models to look up to. of course it isn't right to drop your children off with people who live in unhealthy environments, but she was a young kid. it doesn't mean she didn't love her kids.
plus it is really easy now to look at the situation with maurice and say, "it doesn't matter what color skin he has!" but it does. if he was white there would have been more investigation. people would not have said, "hang the nigger." only true racists go on saying, "white, black. green, purple." if color didn't matter then you wouldn't go so far as to make up fake colors for people when you are trying to not seem like a bigot.
just be real. if you are angry that a black man is involved in this situation, then have the balls to be honest about it. it is a shame what happened to those children. they shouldn't be in a box...you are right about that. but they are. and what no one seems to care about is getting to the reason they are there. no one knows what happened on that night. and the sorry fact is, the judicial system in dewitt county doesn't seem to interested in finding out. they want to close the case and move on. if people are so concerned about the children then they should be asking sheriff massey why he botched the investigation so badly that now he needs to make shit up just to make his "pieces" fit together.
wow this is crazy....The reporter in this has to be uneducated.....Clinton is not a bad place and we arent racist....but Maurice sure is!! i wish they would hang that nigger
I agree with Tony Soto's comment. Here we are, posting our names to back up our comments, yet some post under "anonymous," wearing that name as a mask. If memory serves, the KKK wore masks, too.
Ignorance is the MOST deadly disease in existence. Not AIDS, not the Hanta virus, not Anthrax. It is ignorance. Ignorance, for those who are ignorant, does not mean stupid, dumb, or mentally retarded. It means having a great lack of knowledge about something. I am ignorant about brain surgery because I am not a surgeon nor a doctor. I am ignorant about the Buddhist faith because, well, I'm not Buddhist. It would be hard, but not impossible, to not be ignorant about these things due to the years of studying and learning and schooling that would require.
However, shedding ignorance about skin color does not require an extended education nor years of commitment. It simply requires knowing that the skin, the largest living human organ, is only a shell. Just like the shell of a peanut, the cover of a book, or the wrapping around your Subway sandwich! It DOES NOT tell you what's inside. To believe that it does is does is....what? Ignorance.
The color of either Amanda or Maurice's skin should have never even been a factor in anything; where they worked, who they lived with, where they lived, what they did or did not do.
Ending ignorance starts with us - parents. When I began raising children, words such as gay or the n-word were not spoken in my home. We conversed about PEOPLE, not what lifestyles they lived or what color their skin was, or how much they made annually. Two of my children are now grown, and I see direct and clear results of my teachings. They have friends that are of color, are homosexual, or younger than them/older than them. They have friends who are married and single, have kids and don't have kids. They have friends that are bi-racial. They don't care about skin or lifestyles; they care about their friends because their friends are people, too.
If we can raise a next generation of non-ignorant people, and they follow suit, we'd truly have a much greater world to live in and to share.
Qdg7ev Very good blog! Thanks!
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