shaun, i have no doubt this is coming from you in parts 3–4–5 but still:
i want to see the names of the cowards who perpetuate all of this.
here’s a partial list, of the top of my head.
NYC municipal lawyers, who sign off on settlement after settlement knowing that the rot is about bad people, not handing out checks.
every judge who “dismisses” these cases and goes on to continue doing their jobs without protesting the inherent injustice of what is being put in front of them
every ADA who gets these cases, but for the sake of comity, or intra-department relations, takes these cases to court
every judge, again, who sets bail too high for the poor to pay, thus knowingly consigning “innocent until proven guilty” kids to rikers.
every beat cop who sees what is happening and DOESN’T choose to speak up
every detective in the bronx who allows their work to be sullied by this monstrosity
all of you are cowards. you are small. you are pathetic. you allow injustice to exist by your (in)actions every day. i do not absolve myself or my fellow citizens in this city, especially those of us who are white and upper middle class who just ignore these things. we are complicit. i am complicit. this system is rotten, just as these individuals are rotten. but i want to know just who, by name, is allowing this to happen in the bronx. i want a list. i want to know who can be removed by a vote, or by a petition, or by a lawsuit, or by public pressure. i want all of them fired/exiled/permanently disbarred.
this all tears at my soul. thank you shaun for exposing all of this, and never stop fighting.
