You don’t have to go far nowadays to hear about injustice. It is right in our neighborhoods, our backyards and our dinner table discussions. I think about the Civil War and how it turned brother against brother; I always found that to be unusual, and not because families don’t have dysfunction, we know they do. My confusion was borne of the notion that no matter the issue, families stay united. Friends look out for each other. Na?vet? on my part, I know. Then the Baltimore riots took place. I found myself in disagreement with someone I had been friends with for years. Someone who doesn’t see what I see when I look at this problem. To me, law enforcement officials, district attorney’s and juries of regular Americans like you and I believe in the power of the system more than they do in the truth. It is a lack of oversight on our part that allows these things to keep happening, and it is tragic.?
If you’ll notice, I’ve become more quiet about Adnan Syed’s case. It isn’t because I’ve moved on. It isn’t because there is nothing new to report, on the contrary, there is new info every single week. ?You can find that info ?in the podcast?Undisclosed: The State vs. Adnan Syed; Rabia Chaudry, Susan Simpson, and Collin Miller are doing an incredible job with this podcast, go listen (and leave reviews please).?There is enough evidence for me to bring you a new post every week, and maybe I will. But for right now, I’m a bit stuck. You see, I’m looking at the evidence, I’m looking at this man who is still in prison and I can only think one thing: why the HELL is Adnan Syed in prison still?
You saw what happened in Baltimore, right? You saw the corruption, right? Why do I still have to even wonder why this man is in prison? Why hasn’t the state of Maryland ( who responded to Adnan’s appeal with a pitiful response last week after being delayed by the riots) felt the need to give someone some satisfactory response? At this point they should have to let him go or give a damn good reason why they aren’t. I’m starting to believe it is a very simple answer — they don’t have to. The DA isn’rush to answer the public’s demands for an answer. Why? Because they will do whatever they want to do, and as long as we forget, as long as we move on to the next injustice, they will continue to do so.
I’m asking you, reader, to do something you might not be accustomed to doing: get uncomfortable. Write a letter, write a blog post, join a protest. Pray for this man and his family. Listen to the podcasts, donate to the fund. Because if we STOP letting these people remain silent when we demand answers, perhaps we won’t have another Freddie Gray, another Damien Echols, or another Adnan Syed. Hold people accountable for what you elected them to do, please stop assuming they are policing themselves. They make mistakes just like you and I.
As for me, I guess I had better get back to blogging about Adnan. Now is not the time to be quiet.
Until Next Time,
Ren
YES!! Exactly, if we all do something, small or big, it can all add up to make a BIG difference.
We all owe it to ourselves and our children to at least try, and stop appeasing our guilty consciences by telling ourselves it doesn’t matter.
Excellent post, Renee. I wish someone could just walk in there and walk back out with Adnan, it’s what he deserves. But, if there’s going to be a fight, then we’ll be on his side and put up a fight for his freedom. How the state (people on the payroll) sleep at night, hug and kiss their children and live their lives on a day to day basis knowing that they’ve taken the life of a 17 yr old is beyond me. I’m just thankful for knowing that while they might have taken the past 16 years from him, they haven’t taken his entire life. He’s got a long life to live and there’s no doubt that he’ll do that outside of prison. I can’t wait for that day, for him, for his family and for every other man or woman who’s being falsely imprisoned.
I couldn’t agree more. Little things that take us only a little outside of our comfort zone go a long way to making a difference.
That’s the part that is so exciting. Just a little effort for us to get a big overall result!
I think that since you are a very good writer, and very familiar with the facts of this case, you should start a petition on Change.org that is directed towards the Maryland State Attorney, the US Attorney General, and all involved politicians, and demand action you see as justice in this case. I bet you could get 100,000 signatures very fast! Maybe even a million?
Thank you so much for your kind words, and excellent suggestion! There actually IS a change.org petition in place for Adnan Syed. Please follow the link if you would like to sign it: https://www.change.org/p/friends-of-adnan-syed-a-fair-trial-for-adnan/sign?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=215701&alert_id=xYFGDWmLVH_LEOiuXym8stiEoa4oRztJeudpZ7s926gomHCPZRVKMA%3D