I have written before about racism in the State of Missouri. To include their racist white supremacist Senator Roy Blunt who was caught on video in 2009 telling a joke about monkeys in Washington. Of late though, we have more damning evidence of how racist the State of Missouri has always been. In fact, we should all ask Kevin Strickland about the Missouri justice system. A system that in 1820 created the Missouri Compromise that expanded slavery. A system that has failed many black Americans ever since Napoleon traded Missouri as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
How could any State in the Union call herself a civilized nation when stories like the Kevin Strickland story surface? You see, we are two countries rolled into one. The backward rednecks one finds in the counties Trump won by overwhelming margins, and really smart and civilized Americans, many of whom members of both political parties, who are working to right the wrongs the Missouri legal system keeps on the books. Missouri racist officials and politicians keep these wrongs legal.
From police officers, to prosecutors, to judges, and Senators, they are all in cohort backing laws whose intentions are to harm the African-American communities.
Why? Because the black people enslaved the white people. Or, so one thinks.
We hope some accountant is going to help Kevin avoid paying the State of Missouri any taxes
THE STORY OF KEVIN
Enters Kevin Strickland whom the State of Missouri condemned to prison on the basis of a testimony of a woman who two years later recanted. One would think that the wheels of justice would turn back to self-correct and fix its mistake. It did eventually. After stealing 43 years from the life of Kevin Strickland.
No one can convince me, when the highly visible Innocence Project interfered on his behalf to free Kevin that some officials in the State did not all conspire to keep him in jail. According to the National Registry of Incarcerations the University of Michigan maintains, Kevin is the longest held innocent man in the history of Missouri.
Such an honor!!
Kevin Strickland is just another black victim suffering at the hands of racists. And then Missourians voting for their racist politicians, officials, and judges call themselves civilized when in fact they are the Visigoths of our times.
To add insult to injury, the State of Missouri does not pay any per diem for wrongfully incarcerated people knowing well most of them are African-Americans. In fact, Missouri’s incarceration of African-Americans is 2,160 per 100,000 when its white population incarceration rate is 481 per 100,000. Not until you know that the African-American population in Missouri represents only 11.8% of the total population, do you realize how racist Missouri is.
Over five times the incarceration rate for an 11.8% of the population. Someone is sleeping well at night.
Luckily, the American people, one of the most generous in the world, stepped up to help Kevin through a GoFundMe account. Up until December 6, the account has raised almost $1,750,000.
We hope some accountant is going to help Kevin avoid paying the State of Missouri any taxes for these generous donations. It would represent the ultimate irony.