Enough is Enough

By Kathleen Flynn

Often times in high-profile cases, the victim, their families, and friends get lost in the media hype of political campaigns and community groups with personal agendas. If you look at infamous cases like Rodney King, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, and DeShawn Campbell, you’d be hard pressed to figure out who the real victims are.

The problem as I see it starts when the media turns offenders, prosecutors, and police personnel into celebrities. It all becomes one big out-of-control circus that is soon joined by the political posturing of community leaders and groups and others with personal agendas. Groups campaigning against the death penalty, groups opposing law enforcement, community leaders screaming about racial discrimination take center stage, yet no one seems to notice the casualties that are being left behind in the dust on the field.

I remember reading about the shooting of Officer Jeffery Fontana. I felt heart broken for him, his family, and his friends. It wasn’t until the media started reporting stories that were bent on creating sympathy for DeShawn Campbell — along with my meeting of Officer Fontana’s mother, Sandy, at a vigil to honor victims of violent crimes — that I realized the true injustice that was occurring. The pain these families suffer at the hands of the media and all of the other players inspired me to give them a voice in this column. During that vigil, I listened to the heart wrenching re-victimization stories of victims and family members who not only suffered publicly at the hands of the sensationalistic media, but also at the hands of the very offices that are being paid to ensure justice for them or their lost loved ones.

Currently, we are seeing such a case play out in our local media instead of in the courtroom or in the voting booth where it belongs. Questions of ethical impropriety and early political campaigning are overshadowing the tragic murder of one of our very own much-loved community members. These outrageous behaviors being guised as “the public’s right to know,” are endangering not only the possible conviction of known criminals, but are also causing great pain to an innocent family that has lost a loved one in the commission of a violent crime.

Enough is enough. I am calling on the media, prosecutors, community groups, and law enforcement to end the political rhetoric and put the focus back where it belongs: on the victim and how we can use this tragedy to improve the safety of our communities and to support families that continue to suffer from the loss of a loved one.

Kathleen Flynn is a professional mediator and community activist.