Black History Month: Jose Martinez High – Murderer. Friend.

Jose Martinez High

“On the night of July 26, 1976, Henry Lee Phillips was operating an Amoco service station near Crawfordsville, Georgia, with his eleven-year-old stepson, Bonnie Bulloch, helping him. A car pulled into the station with three occupants: Judson Ruffin, Nathan Brown and Jose High. High got out and pointed a pistol at Henry’s face, demanding money. Ruffin had a sawed-off shotgun. After the cash register was cleaned out, Henry told him that there was no more money, and he was then put into the trunk of the car. Bonnie rode in the passenger compartment. Henry got in the trunk of the car and when he was released from the trunk found that they were in the woods. Henry and his stepson were marched around to the front of the car and ordered to lie on the ground. Henry then heard shots fired. When Henry regained consciousness he discovered that the boy was dead. In his confession, Ruffin stated that he shot the boy in the head while his cohorts also shot at the victims. Henry had been shot in the temple and wrist, but managed to get to a nearby house, where police were called. High and his two accomplices planned the armed robbery on the night in question with the express purpose of eliminating any witnesses to the crime. At trial, Henry Phillips positively identified High as being one of the three persons who robbed the gasoline station and subsequently shot him and his stepson. High showed no remorse for the killing, but rather bragged that he “wanted to be the most famous black ringleader in the world.”

I knew this guy.  Knew him from my high school home room class.  We weren’t actually “friends” – but were close acquaintances.  And there’s a lot missing from the story.

“In an affidavit, Jose High’s grandmother recalls that his father abused him: ‘he would have the child take off his clothes and beat him mercilessly in front of all the other children in the neighborhood. I have seen Jose when he was walking through the gate of my house get attacked by his own father, who knocked on him and cut him, his own son… He beat on their mother all the time. It’s a wonder he didn’t kill her… I used to witness these beatings. So did the children.’

In another affidavit, Jose High’s elder sister has recalled that their father ‘used to beat us with a rubber hose mostly, or sometimes with electric wire… When Jose got on my father’s nerves, my father gave Jose liquor to drink to shut him up. That started Jose drinking young, before he was even ten years old… By the time he was in high school, he’d fallen and hit his head so many times, I don’t think there was hardly any space on his head where he hadn’t gotten stitches one time or another.'”  (http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/high740.htm)

At this time in August there were a bunch of murders going on down on “Lover’s Lane”.  High and his cronies were (supposedly) responsible for them.  The “MO” was like this:  they would wait in ambush with a shotgun for a white couple to roll up, park, and start necking.  Then they would sneak up behind the car and shoot them.  Because they were white.

So the cops set up a sting. They put manikins in a car and waited.  And guess who showed up?  Supposedly (again) – Jose’ High and his friend.

The funny thing was . . .

The Friday before they were caught, Jose’ came up to me in the hallway at High School and asked me to “hold his hat” for him – for the following Monday.  I didn’t want to do it; I joked with him how I didn’t want any of his “cooties” in my locker – while warning him he might be catching mine – but after a friendly ‘argument’ and verbal jousting, I put his hat in.  It was a straw hat; black, rimmed – he wore it all the time.  That was one of the things about him: you would have never known from his demeanor anything was (or ever had been) going on.  He had his temper tantrums some of the time – what teenager didn’t? – but he had a friendly manner, was cheerful and grinning most of the time . . .  but sometimes there would be a dark look to his eyes, as though he was considering something – something angsty, perhaps . . .

One never knew.  And he wasn’t the only high school friend of mine to spend some time behind bars.  Another one did as well.  (Oddly enough, he was black, too.  But – I should have been thrown in jail lots of times . . . just getting lucky, perhaps.  It certainly wasn’t my race which did it!)

One of the things I told him as he walked away down the hallway was this: (shouted loud and clear to be heard over the noise in the hall):

“You’re never going to be seeing your hat again!”

And that was true.

Jose’ had a ‘gang’ – what he referred to at his trial as his “family”.  Here’s an excerpt from a film transcript:
Question: “Alright, in each of these crimes, or each of these incidents as you want to call em, you used a shotgun, or you had your [family] members use a shotgun, can you explain that?
High:  Well, with a pistol or handgun somebody think twice but somebody got a big rod in your face, you ain’t gonna do but what they tell you to do.

I never said Jose wasn’t a smart man.  He was smart, even back then.

Jose’ High was Executed November 6, 2001 at 8:07 p.m. by Lethal Injection.  And despite him being my friend – he deserved it; him and his friends.  For what they did; and their hatred and their attitude once they were exposed for what they were: extreme racists, capable of anything.

Poor Jose’.  I never knew he was abused.  Not that that excuses his behavior – not one BIT.  But . . . ’nuff said.

God Rest His Soul.

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For more reading, you can go HERE to gain an insight to Jose’s insanity and his behavior – and remember: he got his friends to go along.  I KNOW them (or knew them, or did) – went to school with them as ‘friends’ (at least with Jose’ a bit; not so much Alfonzo or some of his other ‘posse’ members).  And I liked Jose’. He was cool . . . again: never suspected what went on.  Which just goes to show you: you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.  No matter what color cover it has got on.

 

Sources: My head and own memory, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (High vs. Head), and Clark County Prosecutor’s Office Record.

Black History Month: Wayne Williams – Just LOVES Kids

Wayne Williams

 

From the summer of 1979 until the spring of 1981 Atlanta was rocked by a series of child murders.  Over that two year period at least twenty-eight African-American children and adolescents were killed.  Wayne Williams, a 23 year old African American and Atlanta resident was arrested and convicted of two of the murders.

Since then controversy has surrounded the conviction – and yet the question remains: why did the murders suddenly stop with this black man’s arrest?  And why was he killing young black children?  Was he trying to inspire the racial riots of his youthful past – hoping to inspire easily swayed and ignorant folks into burning their own homes and businesses again?  We may never know.

I do know that from the beginning the race card was being played.  “There’s no way a black man could – or would do this!” I heard both blacks and whites exclaim.  “It has to be some white guy on a vendetta – after all – you know those white guys!  Half of them are gay, and all of them want to make it with some little kid.”  Yeah, I heard that kind of banter getting thrown around.

And the truth is: a lot of the evidence surrounding Wayne Williams capture and conviction was circumstantial – and this was one of the first major trials in which “fiber evidence” was used as the primary means of conviction.  And the truth was that dog hair and carpet fibers found on the victims matched fiber and hair in the car that Williams was driving (though the car, a white 1970 Chevrolet station wagon, belonged to his parents).

The trial started  Jan. 6, 1982. The prosecution relied on lots of supporting evidence. During the  trial the prosecutors matched 19 different sources of fiber from Williams’s home, car, bedspread, bath, gloves, clothes, carpets, dog and an unusual type of carpet fiber to a number of victims. There was also eyewitnesses placing Williams with different victims, blood stains from the victims matched blood in Williams’s car and there was testimony that he was sexually attracted to young black boys though none of the victims were sexually assaulted.

Wayne, to his credit, has always said he was innocent.  Polygraph tests were inconclusive – but then again, he may have trained himself to ‘fool’ a polygraph as the FBI found texts describing how this may be done in his house during the investigation.

There are many both black and white who feel that Wayne was given the bum’s rush in terms of his conviction – and I’ll admit I had my doubts, too.  Between putting up with prison life and all the comforts it has (as well as plenty of anal sex, I’m sure, should he want that thing – or maybe if he doesn’t!) – he has been busy appealing the decision.

What is funny – and what he doesn’t seem to realize – is that technology has changed.  WE the People are more able to make a case either for – or against him – as the tools of the trade have changed and gotten better.  At the time of the trial DNA testing was not available; now it is and the evidence has become even more condamning.  And some misguided and ignorant people’s support of a man simply because he is black and not because of what he has done is just playing the same old tired racial game they’ve always played: them trying to get us to believe a black can do no wrong (he’s always being set up by a white one); and if he does wrong, it isn’t his fault – it is because someone set him up or because of environment “made him do it”.  If environment confirmed my character, I’d be even worse than he is.  (I’m a child abuse survivor; I have seen the rounds.)

Wayne (and some of his supporters) have tried to lay the blame on “whitey”, or “cracker” or “honky” or any of a half dozen apparently politically correct terms for anglo-saxons I’ve heard.  (But god forbid I use the “n-word” – nigger.  Apparently it’s soooo much more offensive than them calling me ‘honky’ or ‘cracker’.  Yet according to the dictionary definition I learned (I was born in Germany, remember) – “nigger” means a ‘useless person’ and has nothing to do with color – yellow, blue, black, white or whatever.  Not by the dictionary (eg. Dictionary.com: def.2: a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc.)    For ME it has nothing to do with your ‘color’.  It’s their behavior (or lack thereof).  You’ll have to forgive me – but if you are uncomfortable with the “nigger” word – that’s your problem, not mine.  I’m fine with it.  After all: it’s just a friggin’ word.  And some people fit the definition – I don’t care what color they are.

But Wayne Williams – and I’m going BY the dictionary definition – was a “nigger”  – useless, contemptible – and worse.  He was a murderer of children; the future – HIS future.  It’s even more true now that he’s a ward of the state.  Nothing more useless than a ward of the state since we taxpayers have to keep them (black, white, yellow, red – I don’t care: they’re all a burden) – so they’re all niggers to me – until they get out and are done with their rehabilitation – and then (only then ) if they are truly rehabilitated and go on to have a decent life being somewhat productive in our society.  And I encourage folks to hire a felon or ex-con – give ’em a break.  They’re gonna need one.  And you guys (and gals!) – behave once you’ve gotten out – do the best you can . . . I know it’s hard . . .

but . . . Wayne Williams was a bad bird to be sure; a black that preyed on his own kind – and who (along with others) used (or tried to use) the race card to earn his freedom . . . and some people still ‘buy into it’ – letting color influence their core values and decisions rather than the facts and data that’s staring them in their eyes . . .

Talk about being color blind.  Only it’s a different kind.  More of a ‘us versus them’ kinda thinking . . . thinking with their hearts rather than their minds.

Black History Month: Ed McIntyre – Mayor Extortionaire!

In today’s history of Black History Month, we will discuss yet another African American mayor who, like so many African Americans, got into a position of power and once there, looked around and found “It’s good to be King!”.  Like another African American mayor, Marion Barry, he used his new-found power to hire his cronies and rule over his previous owners as though they were his personal slaves.

In 1981, Edward M. McIntyre , riding on the backs of mostly black voters, was elected to be the first African American mayor of the Deep Southern city of Augusta, Georgia.  He had previously served as a county commissioner for Richmond County, where his record was questionable at best in regards to cronyism and shady financial records.  However, that did not stop his black adherents – he was black.  That was all that mattered, and in Augusta the dynamics of the voting district had swung towards the blacks*, the whites gotten out of what had been a fairly peaceful, crimefree region after it’s color ‘darkened’.  Why crime went up when ‘people of color’ moved in is up for speculation; however, it seems to be a common theme.  Not that I’m saying it’s “race” – far be it for me to play the race card (plus it is impossible for a white man to play the ‘race card’) – but as whites moved out and the blacks moved in the place got worse and worse in terms of crimes and murder – despite good ol’ Ed pouring money into projects aimed at improving black neighborhoods (never mind the white ones – they were white and therefore all right – despite their shocking poverty sometimes) – and replacing former white employees in the city government with his colored friends.

In 1984 the Federal government finally caught, tried, and convicted Ed for bribery and extortion and sent his black ass to jail.  However, because he was a mayor he got the country club treatment, and got an early pardon.   Some said that being black he could not help himself for extorting people for bribes- and thus encouraged, he ran again for mayor of Augusta.  Not surprisingly, he again played the fact he was black to those minority voters (who didn’t realize that they were NOT a minority in Augusta anymore – old perceptions die hard, don’t they?) and unsurprisingly he narrowly lost the 2002 race. (Us white voters figured it would be a BIG loss, but apparently black voters are more able to overlook maleficence among their own – expecting it, perhaps, or knowing a black man just can’t resist going corrupt once he has power – and not caring.  I don’t know.  These are just things I’ve been told.)

Needless to say Ed blamed the white voters for playing the race card by not voting for him, and went home sore and sour.  However, he is still a free man, and still trying to be active in politics in the Augusta area.  There was recently an effort to put a plaque in his honor for having an idea down on the Augusta Riverwalk, but thus far the only progress that has been made towards that plaque is giving it to the man who actually DID the work and made Ed’s idea happen.  However, Ed’s supporters still say since he had an idea, the credit for it should be his, and not the man who actually did it.

I have an idea . . . now if someone goes out there and actually does it: who should get credit?  Me, who thought of it? – or the man who does the work, gets the funding, and arranges for the idea to come to fruition?

In my idea we could greatly reduce our social problems if we were to get rid of entire segments of the population, starting with the poor.  But if we did, it would be perceived as a “racial solution” instead of a financial one – because so many minorities are poor (through no fault of my own – though they’ve told me that it is.)  I don’t know: I studied in school and worked my way through a higher education (sometimes having two jobs and going to night school at the same time).  I’ve been told by those I’ve counseled (90% or more black) that “that’s too hard!”.  But I figure if a man like Marion Barry and Ed could ‘make it’ (and so could I) – then they should be able to, too.

Now: if they go to school and get a better education (and job) – can I get credit, too?  (not that they will; most were way too adamant that doing what I did – and some actually said it was because I was a white man I could – that somehow that made it easier for me) – but it was ‘too hard’ for them.  These from people who’s people used to be (according to their claims) ‘former slaves’ – and therefore ‘tough and hard’ . . . and yet (it appears) tough and hard enough to better their own selves.

But Mayor Ed could – and did.  And they should follow his (and Marion Barry’s) shining example – pulling themselves out of “the hood” – and going on into politics, so they can have a federal trial . . . instead of a local one.

’nuff said for now.

The Race card.  Play it well.  After all: Ed did.

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*The racial makeup of the balance in the 2000 census was 44.91% White, 50.37% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.

Black History Month: Marion Barry – A Crack Mayor

Today we start our third day of celebrating “Black History” with the second of our featured “Black Americans”.  I know we’re one short – but no stereotyping, please! – that’s just the way we are.

Marion Barry – A Crack Mayor

Today’s featured hit is Marion Barry, former mayor of Washington D.C.  The Washington Post stated “To understand the District of Columbia, one must understand Marion Barry” – which tells you a lot about our politicians, because Mayor Marion Barry was a crook, cocaine addict, who was inept and corrupt and and guilty of cronyism, womanizer, and adulterer.  From what I can tell, use his position as mayor to bang his his mistress and girlfriend, a formerly unemployed model named Hazel Diane “Rasheeda” Moore, with his magic wand and make her a city contractor at 60K a year for 3 years, running a modeling and “image consciousness” program for youths called Project Me.  (After all: a good ‘self image’ along with two bucks might just get you a cup of coffee down at McDonalds – and that modeling pose will look good as you are standing there in the unemployment line . . .)

Not that he was all bad.  After the 1968 Washington, D.C. riots, he organized through Pride Inc.* a program of free food distribution for poor black residents whose homes and neighborhoods had been destroyed in the rioting.  (Never mind that they were the ones who had destroyed them.)  Barry’s first four years in office led to increased efficiency in city and government administration and services, especially the sanitation department. He also instituted a summer job program, in which seasonal employment was made available to every school-age resident. He organized the city’s finances and attacked the deficit by introducing spending controls and laying off ten percent of the city’s workforce.  (However, unemployment rose dramatically during his first administration. Go figure.  And if you can add 1+1 you probably can . . . and most of the ten percent was through attrition, not layoffs.  I am curious about the racial statistics on that . . .)

He spent hundreds of millions of tax dollars on summer jobs programs, senior centers and social welfare programs that ranked among the most generous in the country, but by the end of his third term, his administration had been hit by one scandal after another while residents complained about inadequate city services. After five years of growth and surplus, the District’s finances were suddenly seriously in the red, and the city’s per-capita homicide rate became the highest in the nation.  I can’t help but wonder if his generosity led to this deficit situation – and if perhaps the sense of “entitlement” he gave to his cronies and felons might had led to more stuff being swept under the table than we know of.

And as for all that money he spent – Washington’s most needy – the public housing residents, foster children, inmates, and the mentally ill became worse off during the mayor’s terms. City agencies serving those people performed so poorly they had to be placed in court-ordered receivership.

“I think he’s been a disaster,” said Robert Woodson,  founder of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise. “The only people who came out ahead are the people who work administering these programs that are failing the poor.”  And this is a good example of how Marion made himself look good while lining his pockets with money, favors, and cocaine while he was privately screwing the people he said (and they thought) he was publicly helping.  Which just goes to show for this African-American (and I’m not going to say it; instead, I’ll let someone else say it for me):

Halberstam,  1964 Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote: “His agenda was always primarily about himself.”

And that’s the problem sometimes.

It’s always about “them” and never about “us”, the real Americans . . . those of us who try to make everything fair, suppressing cronyism, ‘doing the right thing’ – for everyone, and not for just yourself – that’s what made America the place to live in: people doing for people, not people being greedy (as Marion was) – and doing just for themselves . . . or for others who are their same “color”.

It’s not about “color”, friends.  It’s about being a human being.  And sticking to your promises to be fair, impartial – and NOT see this thing about “color” – which isn’t important, trust me.

Though, it appears (and “National Black History Month” is a good example) – we often – and still do.

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*As a side note, in February 1982, Mary Treadwell, Marion’s former wife, was indicted on charges of stealing thousands of dollars in funds belonging to Pride Inc. – ripping off the organization Marion had helped.  Apparently the eggplant didn’t fall far from the tree.  And yes, she is an African-American as well – screwing over her own people for her own self-benefit: a black-on-black crime again, if I’ve ever seen one – and by a ‘trusted official’ as well!

Sources:

Wikipedia: Marion Barry
Washington Post Mayor Says He Won’t Seek Another Term

Black History Month: OJ Simpson – A Profile

To celebrate today, our second day of Black History Month, we will take a quick look at one of our former heros, OJ Simpson.

Wikipedia states:   “Orenthal James “O. J.” Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed “The Juice”, is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, actor, and a currently incarcerated convicted criminal.”

Most people remember OJ from his trial, especially those in the under-thirty crowd, but some of us also remember him as an awe-inspiring football hero in “the day”.

Wikipedia references this past with this:

“Simpson was the American Football League‘s Buffalo Bills‘ first overall pick in the 1969 Common Draft and the first pro football player to rush more than 2,000 yards in a season (1973) . . . . He also holds the record for the single season yards-per-game average which stands at 143.1 ypg. Simpson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.”

And he was also a decent actor.  I loved watching his SNL skit.  He seemed like a genuinely likable man, though a bit stuffed with himself there towards the end.  I think he let his sense of fame and self-importance take over his good sense.

And the truth is: who killed Nicole Brown?  No other murderer has been found; no other suspects offered.  I think they let this black man run free both because of his position and the potential repercussions had the jury found this man guilty.  Everyone was predicting violent riots if that happened – and then how many would die?  Best let this one walk . . . spare a bunch of others, not to mention a lot of property damage.  We all know how these L.A. race riots go . . .

Well, we can’t say OJ killed Nicole – that would be just wrong.  After all: the jury found him innocent; therefore, he is innocent.  No matter what the general public says or thinks.  The matter is over and done with.  The end . . .

Well, not quite the end.  This influential African-American who went on to inspire hundreds of thousands of ghetto youths to concentrate on football more than their education – much like basketball now – that or rapping – not knowing their chances are less than one in ten thousand of ‘making the team’ or having a successful band . . .

O.J.’s in jail again.  This time for something else he’d done.  And I just don’t get this man.

He goes to Florida and breaks law after law – then off to Vegas to break some more.  I wonder if having gotten away with murder he decided he could get away with anything (and everything) else.

As with anyone, he let his power and fame go to his head.  He thought he could get away with murder – and (in my opinion) – he did, though I must admit that the evidence was shaky.  However, there just wasn’t the motivation by anyone else; nor the timing, nor a whole bunch of things . . .

Sometimes if you beat around the bush long enough, you’ve defined it.  And I think that’s what O.J. and his lawyers did.  For all of America.  Just nobody ‘bought’ it . . . not really . . . and considering what he did, our good ol’ dear friend Wikipedia has this to say:

“On December 5, 2008, Simpson was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prisonwith the possibility of parole in about 9 years in 2017.  On September 4, 2009, the Nevada Supreme Court denied a request for bail during Simpson’s appeal. In October 2010, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed his convictions.  He is now serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center.^“

It’s about time.