"Whatever a Jury Thinks It's Worth"

On April 27, 1994, Nevest Coleman was a 25 year old father of two happily employed as a groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox. On April 28 a chain of horrific events began that will never be completely repaired. Warning: that link is very graphic and disturbing. The only decent news in all of this is that Coleman and Darryl Fulton were released from their unjust prison sentences in November. And on Monday, to their credit, the White Sox hired Coleman back to his groundskeeping job, a job he says he loved. What Coleman and Fulton went through should never happen to anyone, and yet the behavior of the Chicago Police Department is not one bit surprising. For "the blacks," as our beloved President so charmingly calls them, such is an everyday fact of life. In my own city of Sacramento last week, the police shot and killed 22 year old Stephon Clark, who was "armed" with a cell phone in his own back yard. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that if it had been me in his place, I'd still be here to write this piece. What happened to Antwinica Bridgeman was horrible and sickening. She didn't deserve any of it; no one does. But "solving" her murder by framing two men who had nothing to do with it is a mockery of justice. I hope that Coleman and Fulton take these asshole "detectives" for everything they are worth in their lawsuits. And I hope that Coleman finds happiness in his restored job. But nothing can replace what was taken from these two men. And if you think that their case is an anomaly, you should do some reading.