Data! Data! Data!
(My new favorite Sherlock Holmes quote, from The Adventure of the Copper Beeches.)
I am not generally a huge fan of true crime stories, but I just finished reading Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit Fox, and it was fascinating!
Over 100 years ago, Arthur Conan Doyle, who created Sherlock Holmes, investigated a case of an innocent man sentenced to life for murder. Oscar Slater was arrested and sentenced for the murder of a woman who he never met – or even new existed.
It was most telling to see how bad corruption was 100 years ago in another country completely parallel to what we see today. Corrupt police, lawyers, and politicians wanting to put someone away just because of who he represents. Today it would be a person with brown skin. But back then in Britain, it was a German Jew.
It doesn’t help that Oscar Slater was disreputable. He was a gambler, among other things, and may have even been a pimp (though he continually denied that). And I can hear this theme and sentiment echoed today. “It’s OK that Michael Brown was killed – he may have stolen a cigar.” “It’s OK that Eric garner was killed – he was selling untaxed cigarettes.” This whole attitude of “I don’t like who you are and what group you are a part of, so I’m fine if you are murdered for a minor crime“ is horrible and reprehensible.
Since Oscar Slater was also an immigrant scapegoat, we can also add to the parallels, “It’s OK that children are dying in cages, they crossed the border illegally.”
How can we say that just because we don’t like the color of your skin or your heritage, you don’t deserve justice? It’s the ultimate white supremacy. And it’s sanctioned by those in power.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
As the author notes in his introduction, “The racialization of crime has become every inch a mirror of our own age.” The author doesn’t spend a lot of time drawing specific parallels between our time and the time he is discussing – but they are so glaringly obvious they are almost all I can think of as I listen to this book.
And who was the likely real culprit? I’ll give you a hint – it was someone who lived a life of privilege, wasn’t an immigrant, wasn’t a minority, and was never brought to justice. Of course.
And, wow. And do you know what the anti-Semites in Britain did at the turn-of-the-century to try to impose laws to prevent Jews from immigrating to Great Britain? They spread rumors that the Jewish immigrants were just bringing criminals over. It was the “Mexicans are rapists” of that day. And it was 100 years ago in Britain.
For me, it brought into much sharper focus the injustice we perpetrate on people just because of the color of their skin. It really made me think about how we’ve destroyed the lives of entire groups of people by unfairly imprisoning them.
But let’s make this more personal. One of the officers involved with the case, John Thompson Trench, ended up killing his career by standing up for what was right. He found evidence that exonerated Slater, and when he tried to bring it forward, he was attacked by his own colleagues. And, interestingly, the day after I heard about Trench, and the day I finished this book, I came across this news item about someone whose life and career was ruined by fellow police officers.
In June 2017, Officer Milton Green, a black St. Louis police officer, was off duty and responded to a commotion in his neighborhood. A car involved in a police chase had crashed and he approached the scene, showing his badge and asking if he could help.
He ended up being shot by a white police officer, leaving him disabled. Of course, now he’s drowning in debt, and no one was held accountable.
The AP picked it up, but I don’t remember hearing anything about it.
For a more thorough reading, check out this article.
But the main reason I’m sharing this is that if you want to help Milton, you can go here.
Sometimes it feels like some people will never get justice.
Again, the more things change, the more they stay the same. But we need to be doing something about it.