Francis Meyrick

DIARY (2) “Suspects jailed in LSU killings “

5/24/2008

“Suspects jailed in LSU killings “.
The Louisiana paper screamed the headlines.
I sighed with relief.
That particular murder had shocked even me. I’ve been around the block, Worked a few years in the Law Enforcement field, traveled and worked around the world, and I’ve seen some things.
But this one… cried out in pain.
Two international (Indian) graduate students, working towards their Ph.D.’s, at the Louisiana State University, Chandrasekhar Komma, age 31, a Biology student, and Kiran Allam, age 33, a Chemistry student, were found shot dead on December 13, 2007 at their apartment at the University. Twelve days before Christmas. They were found by Allam’s pregnant wife. One body was bound, and both had been shot in the head.
It seemed more than just a waste. I thought at the time of the thousands of hours of quiet studying they had done to get their degrees. The long hours worrying about pending examinations. The relief at the results. The occasional loneliness as they missed their families back in Hyderabad, India. They had come so far. And achieved so much. All for nothing. All to be ended in a few seconds of mindless cruelty. An education that had cost tens of thousands of dollars, spread over the best part of two decades, terminated in an instant by means of a five cent piece of molded lead.
I imagined Allam’s poor pregnant wife, finding her husband in those circumstances. I imagined the reactions of their families.
It just makes you shake your head. Lord. What next. What is the world coming to?

I studied the article. And looked at the photos.
The victims….
They looked like… students. Slightly nurdy, slightly geeky, in a nice sense of the word.
Probably very gentle people. Brilliant students.
Bright, eager minds. Full of hope. Full of promise.
Such a waste.

The suspects…
Three young black men.
Casey Gathers.
Twenty years old. Previously arrested on counts of theft, possession of marijuana, and possession of a firearm with a controlled dangerous substance.
Michael Jermaine Lewis.
Nineteen years old. Arrested in December 2006 on a count of aggravated rape and principal to second degree kidnapping in the rape of a fifteen year old girl. That case had “not yet gone to trial “.
Devin Jamell Parker.
Nineteen years old. Arrested in an unrelated simple robbery. Arrests on counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and burglary of an inhabited dwelling. Received three years probation in 2007 for four counts of burglary.

I read the newspaper article.
“Investigators have said they believe the men were scouting for an opportunity to rob someone and might have seen Komma arrive at the complex to visit Allam. Two search warrants related to the slayings say the students’ cell phones and wallets containing their drivers’ licenses and credit cards were taken… “

I studied the faces of the three men accused of first degree murder.
My superficial impressions were that two of them really didn’t look any too bright. Gathers and Parker looked borderline mentally challenged. Lewis looked as if he might have had a brain of sorts. Although, if you are awaiting a trial on charges of aggravated rape and principal to second degree kidnapping, and you go out on a robbery…
What does that say about your IQ?

I wondered. Did they feel any remorse at all? I doubted it. The lights were on, but was anybody at home?
Were they capable of compassion? Pity? Mercy?
What were their lives like? What did they think of the people they met in the street? Were they fellow human beings? Or just strangers to be assessed for easy pickings, an easy target?

How many young men are there like that? How many have I met in the street, without realizing it? How many times have young, cruel men quietly assessed me from a distance? And decided that I was too big, too tall. Not worth the risk.

What… are we going to do? How do we teach compassion? Kindness? Love?
Can we teach compassion to cold young men like this?
Can we avoid the mistake of attributing values we share to men who simply don’t?
That is the first mistake of do-gooders and bleeding hearts. Liberals who live in cloud cuckoo land. Activists. Who will tell you, with straight faces, that the only reason so many young blacks are in gaol is that they can’t afford good lawyers.

I think of my semi automatic in my truck. Within easy access, at all times. My concealed weapon’s permit. My proficiency with rapid fire target shooting. I know, I would shoot to kill without hesitation if I felt my life was in danger.
But it would bring me no pleasure. No satisfaction, if I were to shoot a would be robber, or a home invader.

It would bring only puzzlement. I have a tough time understanding how people can be put together in a way that makes them so mind blowingly cruel. And callous. I’m lost. Do they love at all? Do they love anybody or anything? Parents, siblings, a favorite pet? A song even?

Can they love? Not in the way we understand it.

What are they? Humans? They seem more like robots. Automatons. Machines. Without a heart. Without feelings.
I don’t understand them. And I don’t understand what can be done about them.
I do know, that you cannot incarcerate your way out of the problem. The gaols are full to bursting.

I guess I’m just totally puzzled. Bewildered even.

But one thing I do know.
I don’t want to forget the sadness I felt over this killing. The shock. The relief at the arrests.
I don’t want to wipe my memory banks clean of something unpleasant. And just walk on. Without a backward glance.

I want to remember and mourn Chandrasekhar Komma, and Kiran Allam…
With a simple story.

This one…

Francis Meyrick

(c)

Last edited by Francis Meyrick on December 27, 2008, 8:05 pm