Friday, January 14, 2005

POOR DISPLAY

Today i had to spend time visiting a client. This poor young girl is witness to a horriffic murder which occured 2 years ago now. Her mother & father are also witnesses and were injured badly in the incident. I guess i wanted to post a little about this matter because it displays the difference in the treatment recieved by society and the law to these people and say the likes of someone who had witnessed a murder that had not involved drugs.
These people have made it quite clear to me that they were users ( heavy) of amphetimines and dope. They themselves were not dealers, just users. They befriended a young man, who decided he didn't like the rules his mum and dad in their home, so he moved out. He became a street kid. His scam was to pinch money from the rich and buy food for the other street kids..........he too a user.
My clients family took him into their home and gave him a roof over his head. He still continued to scam some rich people out of money and feed his street kid buddies. After a short time, he met a group of very powerful,ugly,violent men. They were the dealers, the accused. For a price, this kid would run their dirty errands. On the last day of his short life, he did the errand and instead of returning to the men the monies, he used it to buy food to feed his friends. This was to be his downfall.
That evening the men (the accused) had found out where this kid was living. My client and her family knew that the kid used to pinch money..........they had no idea about his little side line with the thugs. That is until at 8.30pm one night, the door burst open and 5 of these thugs burst in looking for the kid. They found him. I won't go into the details but his not around anymore. My clients mum and dad were also hurt.
Now, when this all went to Committal ( grand jury ) i was not involved. The 3 ring circus this family was put through was just outrages.
As the trial is still to be heard (next month), i won't list all of the foul ups that the family have endured, just suffice to say, the list is in the hands of people who matter. They are things however that no way on this earth should have, infact they sound like they've come out of a novel. These people have been living in fear for their lives for 2 years now.........so many promises were made to them if they provided evidence.................nothing delivered. If you could see the dump they are bringing up their family in, and no they are not using anymore.
The thing is this, whilst preparing them for the trial the same issue kept arising......they felt as do i, that they were/are treated so poorly because they were using drugs. Nobody gives a damn about them because of what they were. These people are a piece of crap because a crime took place in their house. They are only druggies...good riddance, they deserve it.
But,do they deserve it? Are any of us entitled to a second chance? They were users not dealers, any difference?

4 Comments:

Blogger BeFrank said...

I believe in chances and I'm not so much interested in counting them or limiting them. You get as many as you deserve.

It's bad what happened to those people. It's something I'll keep in mind as I go about my work.

8:18 PM  
Blogger Lois Lane said...

The worst part is the child or children in the family. Can you imagine how difficult it must be for them to see and hear people treat their parents this way? They deserve a bit of credit for breaking the habit and having the courage to come forward as witnesses. What a shame! A good thing... they have you.
Lois Lane

2:25 AM  
Blogger gemmak said...

That is terrible. There is a vast difference between using and dealing, I'm with befrank on this...they deserve as many chances as they deserve and they certainly deserve to be treated with care and respect byt the system they are attempting to help. Is it any wonder that some don't want to 'go witness' when promises made are not followed through. To live in fear is horrendous and despite my always believing we should all assist the system in ridding society of the likes of dealers your story (and others) begins to give me understanding of why so many are reticent to 'get involved'.

8:45 AM  
Blogger Michelle said...

Bryan, Lois, Jack & Gem ~ It's so refreshing to read your comments. I was afraid i'd get comments ridiculing the family. I should have known that my friends here would have the nouse to look at the big picture.
Of course there is quite a bit more to the story that i can't for obvious reasons divulge, but it would make your blood boil. Nobody deserves the treatment that this family has endured.
Shall keep you up to date when the trial begins.

7:08 PM  

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