North Carolina's Travyon Martin. . .Jasmine Thar
Sixteen year old Jasmine Thar was shot and killed in December. She wasn't walking around a strange neighborhood. She wasn't wearing a hoodie or carrying Skittles and iced tea, she was with her godmother and a friend getting ready to go shopping in Myrtle Beach.
Thar was shot by a resident of Chadborn, N.C., a town along the N.C. coast, not too far from the S.C. coast.
James Anthony Blackwell, 23, told police he was cleaning a a Remington Model 700 rifle and it fired without him pulling the trigger. The police bought that excuse and Blackwell was never charged.
Thar's mother, Carletta McNeil, had to take to the Internet to get some movement on the case. She started at SignOn.org Justice For Jasmine petition. As of Wednesday morning, 9,047 people had signed the petition.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case --but there has been no charges filed against Blackwell or an arrest in the case.
What's the excuse in this case? The Charlotte Observer laid out a lawsuit against the gun manufacturer, which will possibly be Blackwell's defense if he's ever charged.
Pause.
Two things about this case worry me. 1. Why is it so hard to get an arrest in a shooting when the shooter isn't black?
1a. Who in the blue hell cleans a loaded gun?
2. Why is it that Charlotte didn't cry out for this girl they way this bandwagon city got on the Trayvon Martin case?
Now, I'm not saying that Charlotte shouldn't have stood up for Martin as the country did. But Jasmine needs us too. Where are the big voices and marches for Jasmine? Where are the comforting words to her parents?
Thar was shot by a resident of Chadborn, N.C., a town along the N.C. coast, not too far from the S.C. coast.
James Anthony Blackwell, 23, told police he was cleaning a a Remington Model 700 rifle and it fired without him pulling the trigger. The police bought that excuse and Blackwell was never charged.
Thar's mother, Carletta McNeil, had to take to the Internet to get some movement on the case. She started at SignOn.org Justice For Jasmine petition. As of Wednesday morning, 9,047 people had signed the petition.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case --but there has been no charges filed against Blackwell or an arrest in the case.
What's the excuse in this case? The Charlotte Observer laid out a lawsuit against the gun manufacturer, which will possibly be Blackwell's defense if he's ever charged.
Questions lingered about the rifle. Roughly 75 lawsuits have been filed against the Madison, N.C.-based Remington Arms Co. claiming its 700-series rifles have fired without a trigger pull. The company disputes those claims.That evidence was reported by WBTV-Channel 3 as including a Nazi book.
The family members recall that David said he had asked the FBI to join the probe because investigators were concerned about evidence they had found in the home of Blackwell, who is white.
Pause.
Two things about this case worry me. 1. Why is it so hard to get an arrest in a shooting when the shooter isn't black?
1a. Who in the blue hell cleans a loaded gun?
2. Why is it that Charlotte didn't cry out for this girl they way this bandwagon city got on the Trayvon Martin case?
Now, I'm not saying that Charlotte shouldn't have stood up for Martin as the country did. But Jasmine needs us too. Where are the big voices and marches for Jasmine? Where are the comforting words to her parents?
"It's been really hard," the mother said. "I have been traumatized. She actually died in front of me. Not sleeping - trying to get justice for her."
The parents will travel to Chadbourn next week to hear if charges will be filed.
Comments
He is guilty of negligence (manslaughter), at the very least. The first rule of gun ownership, is that you NEVER point a gun, loaded, unloaded, it doesn't matter, you NEVER point a gun at anything you're not willing to shoot.
There's been something like 80 reported instances of the Remington 700 going off without a trigger pull. A little boy died in Montana from this reported defect. But every firearm is unique. Investigators should check and see if his particular rifle will go off by accident.