After fire, officials scramble for reforms(Family killed in by drug dealers, thank you Libertarians)

Baltimore Sun ^ | 10/22/02 | M. Dion Thompson and Laura Vozzella

[Diddle E. Squat]

On a day when hundreds remembered six people killed in a fire many believe was set in retaliation for a mother's stand against drug dealers, politicians scrambled for ways to address Baltimore's crime problems and the failures of the state's criminal justice system.

At an afternoon news conference, Mayor Martin O'Malley outlined a plan calling for enlisting 100 state troopers to help city police, increasing jail and prison capacity by sending some inmates out of state, and finding more volunteers to mentor city children.

Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend asked Gov. Parris N. Glendening to lift a hiring freeze on the state's Division of Parole and Probation after reports that the man accused of setting the fire had not reported to his parole agent, a violation that likely could have landed him in jail.

O'Malley said that permission had been granted to hire an extra 75 parole and probation agents, although that could not be confirmed by state officials yesterday.

All the efforts were aimed at finding concrete ways to achieve the vow made repeatedly at the rally that a crime such as the one that occurred last Wednesday would never happen again.

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Angela Maria Dawson, 36, and her children: Keith and Kevin Dawson, 8; Carnell Dawson Jr., 10; Juan Ortiz, 12; and LaWanda Ortiz, 14, all died during a fire that gutted their three-story rowhouse last Wednesday morning. Carnell Dawson Sr., 43, jumped from a second-floor window and was critically injured. He remains in the hospital, heavily sedated, suffering from head injuries and severe burns over half of his body. Police and neighbors say the fire was set in retaliation for Dawson's stand against drug dealing in her East Baltimore neighborhood.

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Many of the rally's speakers, including the renowned surgeon Dr. Ben Carson, invoked the name of Darrell L. Brooks, the 21-year-old man charged with setting the fire. More than one speaker asked them to remember that Brooks, too, was once an innocent child whose life held as much promise as the five children who died in the fire. Brooks is being held without bail at the City Jail. His preliminary hearing is set for Nov 21.

Authorities are considering bringing federal charges in the arson - a move that could mean Brooks would face a less forgiving jury pool and possibly harsher penalties than in the city courts.

(excerpted, see link for full story)

[Diddle E. Squat]

Summary: Drug dealers twice fire bombed a family of 7 who were trying to clean up their neighborhood. Was on O'Reilly, apparently someone passed word to the dealers that she was calling 911 on them. After the first firebombing instead of providing protection or extra patrols, police told her to move. One of the firebombers is connected to city hall, and many of the local so-called "civil rights activists" are claiming the firebomber is a victim, too.

But I keep hearing how drugs don't kill. Thank you, Libertarians. Wash all you want, Pontius Pilates, but blood is still on your hands.

"But I was just having some fun..."

[dread78645]

Darrell. Brooks was a Libertarian ?
I missed that in the article, and I read it twice ...

[Maedhros]

agree and bump

[You Gotta Be Kidding Me]

Should we blame alcohol for the violence committed by Al Capone, or was it the fact that illegal alcohol brought big money for old Al? The same is true about illegal drugs. Make them legal and they become almost worthless in terms of "street value".

Drug dealer's lust for black market money is what drives the violence.

[Hemlock]

After fire, officials scramble for reforms(Family killed in by drug dealers, thank you Libertarians)

Actually, you should be thanking the drug warriors and the Republican and Democratic politicians who put them in business. If the Libertarians had their way, violent drug dealers wouldn't even have a market.

[John H K]

Notice how you've never heard of an alcohol dealer firebombing a house? Well, not in the last 70 years. Happened quite a bit in the 1920s.

I wonder why?


Notice how you've also never heard of a tobacco dealer firebombing a house? Trust me, you will in about 10-20 years as taxes on cigarettes skyrocket. The amusing thing about those retarded anti-drug ads about drugs funding terrorism is that the one instance of ME terrorists making money in the US off dealing "drugs" I'm aware off was a CIGARETTE smuggling group.

[Tailback]

This simply reinforces the fact that legalizing drugs would take the profit away. No profit, no killing people for squealing. Interesting that in Baltimore (near DC where former druggie mayor Berry ruled)there were ties between city hall and drug dealers. When you took US history was prohibition and the resulting violence, corruption of police, judges, politicians, and gang warfare left out?

[Hemlock]

After fire, officials scramble for reforms(Family killed in by drug dealers, thank you Libertarians)

Actually, you should be thanking the drug warriors and the Republican and Democratic politicians who put violent drug dealers in business. If the Libertarians had their way, violent drug dealers wouldn't even have a market.

[cinFLA]

Is it true that Glendening/Townsend issued a ban on fire bombing in MD?

[Bogey78O]

Libertarians are no more responsible for this then conservatives were responsible for James Byrd's death.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Sigh, sigh, sigh. If the drugs weren't banned there would be no underground involved with them. We virtually never see liquor store owners behaving this way.

Whether or not it's wise to ban the drugs for other reasons is another debate. I am adamant, however, that the place to do such bans is at the state level, because our present Federal bans are based on a serious warping of the Constitution.

[PGalt]

A patriot standing up to criminals and A FAMILY is incinerated. Gut wrenchingly sad.

[StockAyatollah]

Why are you thanking Libertarians? Shouldn't you be thanking Drug Warriors? Without their (and your) inane war there would be no absurd profits in selling powders or dried-up weeds and no killings like this. Now I'm sure if we would just hire a few thousand more DEA agents, prosecutors and judges, and we put another million people in prison, everything will be fine. Who needs a free republic anyway.

[eddie willers]

Alcohol prohibition equaled gangsters and death.
Drug prohibition equals gangsters and death.

Ain't too tough to figure out.

[Bogey78O]

Another thing. You wouldn't blame a gun smuggler killing kids on the NRA either.. I find this finger-pointing beneath what FR deserves.

[sourcery]

Who was responsible for the organized crime violence during Prohibition? Those who advocated repeal, or those who supported Prohibition? I say the latter.

[Restorer]

many of the local so-called "civil rights activists" are claiming the firebomber is a victim, too.

Disgusting. I just watched O'Reilly. He had on two local black "leaders." They were unable to call for more police or even thoroughly denounce the violence. I was reminded of the Muslims denouncing 9-11 then immediately changing the subject to Israel. They were only interested in the "root causes" of the violence, dealing with which of course require a "Marshall Plan for the cities."

[Kevin Curry]

You don't understand. Our wicked drug laws drove these "businessmen" to lash out and take life. What else could they do? It was the only way they knew to protest our unholy prohibitionist society. Cruel and unjust laws led them to take desperate measures.

There are some posters at FR who would grant each dealer $100,000 in reparations for the anti-dope abuses they suffered in the oh-so cruel WOD.

[AnalogReigns]

But I keep hearing how drugs don't kill. Thank you, Libertarians. Wash all you want, Pontius Pilates, but blood is still on your hands.

Ummmmmmm, last I checked the laws in Baltimore (and everywhere else in the USA) were not written by libertarians, nor are libertarians in power politically in any way. Please explain why this horrible crime can possibly be blamed on them?

If you know anything at all about libertarian ideas, you will know that JUST THIS KIND of drug trade related violence is what they what they would like to prevent....

Ask yourself, is this kind of horendous violence occuring in places where drugs are legalized? Holland or Belgium for example...the answer is a resounding "No!" The scum of the earth get involved in the trade just because its so incredibly profitable...its so incredibly profitable because its a black market... Take away the black market, the profit gets (GREATLY) deflated, and scumbags like this animal go off and do something else.

I have other problems with libertarians...and I'm not fully convinced legalization is the way to go--as it would trade drug trade violence for drug abuse problems....but the libertarian will answer, we already have the drug abuse (our rate of drug abuse is higher than in countries where drugs are legal....).

Still, the libertarians I know are NOT proponents of drug use, they only think using the club of the law to put down personal behavior is not consistant with the principled use of democratic governments.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln must have agreed....as drug laws didn't exist in their day.

[Doctor Stochastic]

I assume you also are thanking the NRA for the shootings in the Washington area.