Note to Lawmakers: Stop the killing!
25th March 2019 · 0 Comments
Recent reports about the decline in New Orleans’ murder rate brought renewed hope to residents who took comfort in the lowest number of homicides in nearly five decades. However, the 146 people who were slain still meant that valuable lives had been snuffed out and that even one death, diminishes us all.
So, it is small comfort in 2019, that citizens in Orleans Parish and neighboring areas have had to cope with the anguish and sorrow of more lives being snatched out of existence.
On March 6, in Terrytown, Gretna, Terrance Leonard, 33, took a hammer and bludgeoned Kristina O. Riley, his girlfriend; her children Nashawna Riley, 14, Adrianna Riley, 12, Ayden Riley, 10, and her niece, De’ryona Encalade, 9. He killed Kristina, Ayden and De’ryona. Nashawna and Adrianna were hospitalized but Nashawna was later taken off of life support.
Adrianna is the lone survivor of Leonard’s murderous rampage. Reports are that she has been asking for her mother.
Funeral services for Kristina, Ayden, Nashawna, and De’ryona were held on Saturday, March 23 at 11 a.m. at St. Stephens Baptist Church.
The deaths of the young mother, her children and niece have prompted groups of citizens to issue a call for prayer and non-violence.
The PeaceKeepers, Fatherhood Roundtable, SCLC, Victims and Citizens Against Crime, All Citizens Together and various pastors and churches are holding a prayer vigil and calling for non-violence across New Orleans and in neighboring parishes. Saturday, March 23, at 1 p.m., in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bust, located on South Claiborne Avenue near Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Certainly, in a city of nearly 400,000 people, the trend toward a decreasing homicide rate is encouraging. Still, one murder is one too many. Consequently, the trauma endured by the families who have lost loved ones is pervasive and spreads throughout the entire community.
We’ve lost the following people over a 30-day period:
Feb. 17: Last month, one person was killed and five wounded in a downtown shootout;
Feb 18: police found a man shot to death under the Interstate 10 overpass at Claiborne Avenue and Canal Street;
Feb 24: One woman was killed and two others injured on Bourbon Street;
Feb. 28: The mother of JaMichael Frith, 14, opened her door to find her murdered son;
March 1: Patrick Murphy, 62, a tourist from Pennsylvania and owner of Murphy Jewelers in was found stabbed to death;
March 3: A car plowed into bicyclists killing two people and injuring six others;
March 17: One man was killed on St. Patrick’s Day;
March 18: A man is dead after a shooting in the St. Claude neighborhood.
Tears, sympathy, and condolences won’t stop the killing. Deep cuts to mental health services that former Governor Bobby Jindal implemented have filled communities with people who are dangerous to others and themselves.
Much has been made about the opioid crisis in the U.S. but we also have an unacknowledged mental health crisis in America. The increase in mass shootings, homicides, and escalating assaults provides clear evidence of the mental health crises confronting U.S. communities.
What needs to be done and must be done to stop the killing is for Louisiana lawmakers at the city, state and federal levels to provide dedicated funds for preventive mental healthcare; fund and build mental healthcare in-patient facilities, and fund staff psychologists for publicly funded schools and colleges. Free access to mental healthcare could save more lives and spare our families and citizens from a lifetime of trauma and devastation brought on by mentally ill people who commit senseless murders.
This article originally published in the March 25, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
