From Album 5

To Protect and Self-Serve

In light of the murder of Michael Brown, the murder of Victor White is at long last receiving additional scrutiny, though the blue wall is still firmly in place…with an explanation that would be laughably absurd if not for the fact that a young man is dead.

Parish officials, including the coroner, insist that White, after being searched, charged with possession, handcuffed with his hands behind his back, and seat belted into the back of a police cruiser, somehow managed to produce an undetected handgun…and shoot himself.The autopsy, recently released, contradicts the initial police report that White shot himself in the back. It also notes abrasions consistent with being beaten. But…it still lists the cause of death as suicide.

Oh, by the way, otherwise unrelated (but not really unrelated), here’s a photo of Charles Beck in handcuffs. Beck, a film executive/producer, was falsely accused of participating in a Los Angeles robbery last week, and held for hours before officers got the bright idea to compare his appearance to that of the suspect on an HD security video. I dunno, but it sure doesn’t look like his handcuffed hands could do much of anything…

I suppose you could say we’ve advanced somewhat: if I remember, the killers of Emmett Till didn’t even bother to lie. But that’s a damn small step in a half century and hardly any comfort to the victims or their families.