Bad Things

Last February I wrote about the horrendous murder of Genevieve Orange who lived not far away from me. She was beaten to death and raped by Mark E. Lawlor, a pretty sorry excuse for a human being who had no reason to kill the young woman other than he was high on crack and the opportunity
presented itself. The State of Virginia here Lawlor was tried sentenced him to death. I don’t know if this is good or not.  One of the concepts I have tried to live by most of my life is not to take away anything I can’t return or, for that fact, break anything I can’t fix. If the state executes Lawlor, it is
doing the irreparable.

More recently, two articles in my morning newspaper caught my attention.  One dealt with a young woman who had been victimized by crime not once but twice. Fifteen years ago Mia Ramos was working in New York City and preparing herself for the university life. She was one of those thousands of people who take small jobs to pay for their education. In her case, it was at a Footlocker store in Manhattan.

One day, five minutes after the store’s closing time, Ramos noticed three men were still in the store. Nothing unusual there, she thought, but then one of the men pulled a gun. Then he took her to the store bathroom and raped her.  Eventually the guy was caught. His name is Norman Thompson and he still in prison, though he will probably be paroled soon.

Last summer, Ramos came to nearby Montgomery County in Maryland with plans to enroll in law school.She got a job a few miles from where I live at a Blockbuster store where I was a member. At closing time one night, two men rushed into the store and the nightmare happened again. Ramos was not raped this time, but she was held captive and relived every moment of the earlier terror. There again, the men were caught. Xavion Butler and Chancellor Dowden are presently out on bail. I
don’t understand this but suppose there is some reason for their not being in jail or prison.  Mia Ramos’s story was on the front page of today’s newspaper.

The second incident, in some ways, is worst. It tells of a Domino Pizza delivery driver who was killed because the three freaks who had ordered the pizza and wings decided they didn’t want to pay for it. So they shot Paul Bennett in the head, took the pizza and wings, ate most of their loot and tried to sell the rest on the street. The three guys were caught and are not out on bail, which is a small mercy.

This sad tale made the back of the Metro section, and I don’t know which editor decided on story placement. It shares the page with a piece telling us Washington  DC’s former mayor, Marion Barry,
was caught driving a car with inactive tags.

Mia Ramos’s most recent assailants may or may not show up for their trial. If they do, they will more than likely get a light sentence because their crime, by modern standards, is not that serious. Paul Bennett’s killers will undoubtedly plead a horrible childhood and other mitigating circumstances.

I’ll try to follow both stories, which have left me shocked, bereft and uncomprehending. Stuff like this bolsters the right-wing demon in me. I want to become Bronson or a comic book hero who does not treat criminals with any degree of kindness. I want to crush, cripple and maim; I want a
semi-automatic and I want to tattoo these peoples’ guilt across their foreheads.  I want revenge for the crimes committed on others by others.

Luckily I am the age that I am, have no experience with guns, and would make a piss-poor vigilante, which, I suppose, is a very good thing. For everyone involved.