The American we pay for and tolerate part 2

David Simon said, "We are a culture without the will to seriously examine our own problems. We eschew that which is complex, contradictory or confusing. As a culture, we seek simple solutions. We enjoy being provoked and titillated, but resist the rigorous, painstaking examination of issues that might, in the end, bring us to the point of recognizing our problems, which is the essential first step to solving any of them..."

There is a lot of news coverage* here in Chicago about the murder rate among children and teenagers.  WBEZ, our public radio station, is doing a series on one young man's story.  Part One and Part Two.

"O’CONNOR: Addolfo Davis? Any time you’re talking about a juvenile who started a criminal career at the age of 8 and had an armed robbery under his belt by the age of 10, and then at the age of 14 commits a double murder? Ummm, I think that says quite a bit about that juvenile…   

David O’Connor was a prosecutor at Addolfo Davis’s trial. Addolfo was 5 feet tall, 100 pounds and had barely turned 14 when he and two others were arrested for a brutal crime: home invasion, double murder and attempted double murder.  A man they abducted testified that he heard them talk about who would die and who would be allowed to live.

O'CONNOR: That, I think, is indicative of a certain mentality that the vast majority of the public has just NEVER encountered.

In fact, O’Connor says, Addolfo was the worst of the worst…the kind of street-smart, violent kid who adults couldn’t reach."

Addolfo committed his first robbery at the age of nine because he was hungry and wanted money to buy something to eat.  His mother was an addict.  He was happy in juvenile detention center because "I ate on time 3 times a day. I got snacks. I had clothes. I had my OWN room."  He ran the streets because his home was too chaotic and was recruited by a gang. 

"By the time he was about 13, his rap sheet included armed robbery and several counts of automobile theft. Gang members had taught him to hot-wire cars.

DAVIS: Everything that I did was basically to get money so I can take care myself. I ain’t just go stealin’ no car, just to be stealin’ no car. Cuz I didn’t even know how to drive that good.  So I just stole the car, drove it a few blocks and took off what they want it for..

It often happens to kids like Addolfo that older gang members want more.  Pretty soon Addolfo was selling drugs and pulling down some big money.

DAVIS:  Yeah,  $250 a week? I was like, man, I was THE MAN. You know I had brand new clothes, I had food. I wasn’t riding no car, I had a brand new bike…"

DCFS removes him from his mother's home and places him with his grandmother, but her home is "more like a cellar than an apartment. There were no separate bedrooms and no designated kitchen, just a refrigerator against the wall. The electricity they had came from an extension cord that snaked up the stairs to the landlord’s apartment." 

"Addolfo’s probation officer had more problems with him. He’s no longer alive, but in testimony he described Addolfo as an uncooperative and emotionally troubled youth who showed no remorse and took no responsibility for his actions. Eight months before the crime took place this probation officer recommended to DCFS that Addolfo be removed from his home. He never heard back from the agency.

A clinical evaluation done 7 months before the crime, paints an alarming picture:  Addolfo reportedly banged his head  against the wall, occasionally burned himself with cigarettes, and was seen jumping from one high building to another. Both Cassandra Jackson, the social worker and Addolfo’s probation officer agreed that Addolfo needed more adult help.

JACKSON:  He was adamant that Addolfo should have been removed from his home. We may have had different reasons, but he was adamant about that.. I can’t speak to if he really saw Addolfo as dangerous. He saw him as needing structure, and needing supervision, for sure.  

Shortly after his 14th birthday, Addolfo Davis was made a ward of the state. The probation officer specifically asked the state not  to put Addolfo in a temporary shelter because he was concerned that Addolfo would run away. If no residential setting could be found, he said, Addolfo whould be placed temporarily in a psychiatric facility. In spite of the warning, DCFS did exactly what it was asked not to do. Addolfo was put in a temporary shelter that some experts have described as a “human warehouse.”

As predicted, he ran away. The murders took place 5 days later."

My co-worker's son was murdered about six years ago when he was fourteen by a stray bullet while sitting on his own front porch.  Addolfo's story is painful to hear, and so are the stories of the victims.  We tolerate this state of affairs in our cities.  I'm not sure what it would mean to not tolerate it.  Look at all the factors in this story.   Gangs.  Poverty.  Addiction.  Institutions such as DCFS, the justice system, the police.  What are the answers? 

*I googled some terms and came up with the Baltimore Sun for some reason, but it has a good listing of Chicago stories.