And the Verdict Is.
Posted August 17, 2007

Terrance Aeriel. Iofemi Hightower. Dashon Harvey. Tomorrow marks two weeks since time stopped for these three youths, victims of a pitiless murder in a Newark schoolyard. By now we know the stories. Three young college students, forced to line up against a wall then shot execution style. A fourth victim, 19-year old Natasha Aeriel, also shot in the head but survived.

As in any time of crisis, people seek to find some semblance of comfort and order amid the chaos. They look to family; they look to the church, and they look to public leaders. What they do not expect, however, is to have the finger of blame pointed squarely at them.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what Governor Corzine did on the Monday following the murders in a statement that belies any notion of statesmanship residing at Drumthwacket.

The statement read, in part:

This murder … reflect[s] a basic disregard of some for human life.

I have to say it is beyond comprehension. It is more than statistics and more than a story. It is about a failure of us to be inclusive and holistically look to bring everyone into our society. I’d ask all New Jerseyans to pray for the families of those involved in the violence and help us look for ways to make a difference, and push to make a difference in other people’s lives.

As the families of the victims faced an empty chair at the table, a face and smile now visible only in memory, a future without their loved one, Governor Corzine looked a grieving state in the eye and unashamedly claimed in essence that the victims themselves – including the living victims – are the guilty party for not holistically including the suspects into society.

And just who is it that we purportedly failed to include? Even as our state and nation reeled in horror at the cold-blooded murders, information began to trickle out about the suspects and, in particular, about their ringleader, 28 year old Jose Lachira Carranza. Carranza is an illegal alien, already awaiting trial for assault and for the sexual assault of a child, yet allowed to roam free as he was not considered a “flight risk.”

Here is a man, well past the age of reason and accountability by any definition, who not only is a criminal by nature of his entering the United States illegally but who also stands accused not once but twice of aggressive assault. Yet, Governor Corzine implies that the suspect’s alleged actions are the result not of his own free will choosing to do wrong but of society’s failure to “include” him?

Bob Ingle, Trenton Bureau Chief for Gannett New Jersey newspapers, wrote it this way: “Lots of people grow up poor and hungry and left out but don’t shoot innocent college students.”

By cowardly shifting the blame to the innocent, Governor Corzine spat in the face of personal responsibility, moral absolutes, and the rule of law. The emotional damage of the governor’s words, poured on the open wounds of grieving family and friends, cannot be undone, but the governor should issue an official and public apology for attempting to paint the innocent as guilty and the guilty as victims.

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