Strong Island Page #4

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When I was home, I unplugged

all of the phones in the house

except for the one in my room,

so my parents could

sleep through the night.

So that they wouldn't have

to pick up the phone and say, "Hello?"

and not have anyone respond.

So they wouldn't have to hang up the phone

and go to the window,

and see the car sitting across the street.

Having grown up

in the South,

where the cops and the Klan

were one and the same,

my parents didn't turn

to the police for protection.

They had already felt

that the police

had turned their own son

into the prime suspect in

his own murder.

So not only is the phone

ringing, not

only is there a car

across the street,

but there's the growing sense

that the DA is going

to actually let this kid

get away with murder.

"May 20th, 1992.

District Attorney James Catterson.

Dear Mr. Catterson,

I am the mother of William Ford Jr.

a 24-year-old man

who was murdered by Mark Reilly.

My family and I have been working

with Detective James Hughes

and Assistant DA Stephen O'Brien

regarding the investigation of this crime.

We have waited and worked cooperatively

with the investigation.

There is, however,

a nagging doubt which I have,

regarding the prosecution of this crime.

Now, nearly two months later

after his deliberate death,

I and my family have yet to receive

even a note from the Reillys.

Adding insult to injury,

I now fear that your office has not yet

fully embraced the advocacy

for the people of the State of New York

in the prosecution of this case.

Why?

It is because we are being told, quote,

'It is entirely up to the Grand Jury.'

I believe that

the strength of the presentation

made to the Grand Jury by your office

is the determining factor.

My son was not armed,

not violent, not aggressing.

In no way is his death justifiable.

I intend never to rest

until his murderer is brought to justice.

With the advocacy of your office

for the people of the State of New York,

I trust that it will be soon,

for we too, are the people.

Barbara Dunmore-Ford."

You know, the Grand Jury

is sort of this mystery, right, to people,

And it's written

right into our Constitution.

So really, it shouldn't be a mystery,

but it is.

You know, the Bill of Rights calls

for a Grand Jury in felony cases,

and that allows the prosecutor to present

its evidence to a neutral party,

whether it's a Grand Jury

or a judge in a preliminary hearing,

to show that there's two things:

one, that there is probable cause

that a crime has been committed,

and probable cause that this is

the individual who committed the crime.

So at a trial, we have to prove beyond

reasonable doubt, to a moral certainty,

that the person charged is

the defendant who committed the crime.

But in the Grand Jury

it's just probable cause.

In order for the case to go to a trial,

the Grand Jury would have had to...

I mean, I wasn't there, but presumably

they would have voted a True Bill,

saying that there was

probable cause to move forward.

So a Grand Jury is somewhat mysterious,

I think, to the general public.

Another reason that is,

is that it's secret.

And, you know, that actually...

I think some people

get concerned with that.

It's actually supposed to be

a protection for the defendant.

And the idea there is, you know,

if the Grand Jury decides

that there is not probable cause,

that the person should not have

the stigma of, you know,

having been brought before a Grand Jury.

And, you know,

the disclosure of secret Grand Jury

material can be a crime in jurisdictions,

and it's certainly unethical

for a prosecutor to disclose...

things that happen in a Grand Jury.

And the Grand Jurors themselves

can't disclose.

Now, the witnesses, in New York,

are free to talk about

what they presented to the Grand Jury.

What flashed

into my mind just

now, was the room we

were waiting in.

The ADA came in,

and called me in to testify.

I walk in. I sit down.

I look around the room.

I see nobody who looks like me.

No person of color.

They were sitting in an area

like a theater.

Elevated seats.

There must have been

twenty-something people there.

One person was reading a book,

another lady was reading a magazine,

there was a conversation going on...

My feelings were,

when I sat in that chair...

was, "They don't care

about what I have to say.

They really don't."

They weren't paying attention.

They weren't.

OK?

And...

I became very angry with myself,

because at one point...

I began to cry.

And I...

hated that moment.

Because...

I felt that...

you know, they were going to say,

"Here is another black woman

who didn't do her job with her child,

and now she wants us

to make somebody pay."

That's how I felt.

When your father came back,

he said to me...

"Don't expect anything,

because it ain't gonna happen."

- And how did you find out?

- They came here.

Who came here?

One ADA,

and a detective.

And what did they tell you?

They didn't indict.

They returned a No True Bill.

That was it?

"I'm sorry."

What happened after that?

I opened the door and said,

"Thank you for coming."

And I will be very honest with you.

When that door closed, I collapsed.

I haven't ever, not once,

tried to imagine what he looks like.

I think he looks like...

no offense to present company,

every white man I've ever seen.

I think he looks like...

the ticket taker...

on the Long Island Railroad.

I think he looks like, you know...

the guy in front of me, buying a beer,

at the bar.

I think he looks like, you know...

the schmuck who took my cab.

He looks like my physical therapist.

He looks like, you know...

anybody, anyone, everyone.

He's everywhere.

He looks like everywhere.

It's one of those things

you do in high school.

Everybody just....

proves themselves.

And... Ford proved himself

on a daily basis!

He just took on this personality,

I guess, once he realized his size,

and that he could... you know,

that he could intimidate people.

It was actually my birthday,

I think it was my 16th birthday,

and one of the more menacing

kids decided

that day was my turn to

get picked on.

We were in a fight,

and one of his friends had a knife,

and tried to give the knife

to the person I was engaged with.

Ford just stopped him, and he goes,

"I wouldn't do that if I was you."

He just grabbed the knife and the

kid just kind of looked at him,

and went back to watching the fight.

You know, I don't know

if he saved my life.

It was just, Ford was very protective.

Ford got his license

in the 11th grade.

Your family had an extremely large,

green station wagon.

I think it probably fit,

like, 15 people

in it, and we made sure

that it did.

And we would travel to

different towns,

looking for trouble and

looking for girls.

Ninety-nine percent trouble

and one percent girls!

Living in CI, who the hell am I?

AJ Rok the juice, I get fly

Cool with the riffing

Guy, keep a handle

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