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NYT-Guns and Jeers Used by Gangs to Buy Silence
EFL HT Captain's QuartersBOSTON, Jan. 15 - In Boston, a witness to a shooting by a member of a street gang recently found copies of his grand jury testimony taped to all the doors in the housing project where he lives. In Baltimore, Rickey Prince, a 17-year-old who witnessed a gang murder and agreed to testify against the killer, was shot in the back of the head a few days after a prosecutor read Mr. Prince's name aloud in a packed courtroom. And in each city, CD's and DVD's titled "Stop Snitching" have surfaced, naming some people street gangs suspect of being witnesses against them and warning that those who cooperate with the police will be killed. To underscore its message, the Baltimore DVD shows what appears to be three dead bodies on its back cover above the words "snitch prevention." "Witness intimidation has become so pervasive that it is ruining the public's faith in the criminal justice system to protect them," said Judge John M. Glynn of Baltimore City Circuit Court. "We are not much better off than the legal system in Mexico or Colombia or some other sad places." Prosecutors say the need for protection is critical. Daniel Conley, the district attorney for Suffolk County, Mass., which includes Boston, said his prosecutors had seen intimidation in more than 90 percent of cases in the past two years that involved guns, gangs or serious violence. But gang members have become more brazen, too, Mr. Conley said. In Boston last month, at a trial of two gang members accused of killing a 10-year-old girl, some spectators came to the courtroom wearing T-shirts that said "Stop Snitching." Remember the story about the Boston gang, MS-13, having links to al-Qaeda? And now we see these instructional videos in supoport of witness suppression showing up in our cities. I'm beginning to think there may be more dots to connect in the news soon. Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-01-16 |
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