On two completely different ends of the highly filtered spectrum that is known as Flint and Flint Township tragedy struck with abandon. On one end lay Ryan Stinson a 42 year old Gulf War Veteran who was shot and killed inside the Fleming Food Shop and on the other lay Leslie Marie Mills a 55 year old woman from Grand Blanc who was car jacked, shot, and killed near the One Stop-Mobile Gas Station on Corunna Rd. Flint, MI is no stranger to violent crime in fact for the past ten years Flint has appeared on the FBI’s Most Dangerous City list, however Flint Township is something entirely different. Flint Township, an area known for quite streets and working class neighborhoods seems to have fallen victim to the flawed filtering process of this socio-economic spectrum. The sad fact that two citizens lost their lives within 30 minutes of each other, Stinson at 8:30 pm and Mills 9:05 pm leads us to a hard and disturbing fact about these two cases. Mills’ assailants were identified, arrested, and arraigned by Wednesday of the next week while Stinson’s murders remain at large. Reports state that Mills was able to make a statement before she died that aided in the capture of her killers, but Stinson was shot inside a local corner store. Is it possible that no one say who shot him? Not even the clerk who was in the store?
There has been a historic trend in our country where crimes are not investigated equally when race is involved. Too many times the argument has been made that Caucasian females receive priority over people of color. The cases at hand seem to be a glaring example of this practice and gives great cause for this issue to be addressed. Some might make the argument that people in the African-American community do not cooperate with the police, but it goes without saying that however was working behind the counter of that store was not African-American. Some may also make the argument that the Mills case took place in Flint Township and not Flint, in this situation if the Flint police are inept in their policing abilities as a recent Journal article eludes to the maybe there should be a restructuring of those employed at the city level. The fact remains one crime has been solved and the other has been added to an exclusive list of individuals who seemingly have been forgotten by the criminal justice system in death.
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Hope Initiative Party
Sovled vs. Unsolved Race and Homicide Cases in Flint, MI
Posted: April 16, 2012 in Commentary, Crime, Justice, Uncategorized, ViolenceTags: Commentary, Crime, Criminal Justice System, Homicide, Justice
There has been a historic trend in our country where crimes are not investigated equally when race is involved. Too many times the argument has been made that Caucasian females receive priority over people of color. The cases at hand seem to be a glaring example of this practice and gives great cause for this issue to be addressed. Some might make the argument that people in the African-American community do not cooperate with the police, but it goes without saying that however was working behind the counter of that store was not African-American. Some may also make the argument that the Mills case took place in Flint Township and not Flint, in this situation if the Flint police are inept in their policing abilities as a recent Journal article eludes to the maybe there should be a restructuring of those employed at the city level. The fact remains one crime has been solved and the other has been added to an exclusive list of individuals who seemingly have been forgotten by the criminal justice system in death.
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