Listen to the voices of forgotten victims, not just celebrities
In today’s America, high-profile celebrities often take to social media platforms where they tout false narratives and even outright lies as to the crime surrounding the convict they are advocating for. Kim Kardashian, Dr. Phil and Virgin Airlines billionaire Richard Branson are a few top contributors in a charade of unsubstantiated claims, red herrings and cherry picking in attempts to cause doubt in the factual findings that resulted in a guilty verdict. These reality TV, billionaire, daytime TV and sports stars want their audiences to believe they are compassionate and trustworthy, but what they are really doing is being self-appointed judges and juries.
Unfortunately, they have created regular circus events in Oklahoma’s death penalty cases, most recently in the cases of convicted murderers Richard Glossip and Julius Jones. These “selfless” do-gooders work to convince the public they are better qualified to evaluate evidence and decide guilt or innocence than are lifetime prosecutors, criminal justice experts, judges and even juries who have evaluated hours of testimony. In reality, celebrity criminal justice promoters may not have read any of the transcripts, attended any hearings, talked to the prosecutors or investigated the claims. Instead, they simply take the word of the defendant’s publicists or lawyers.
Oh, so what if one murderer is turned loose after being convicted by a jury of his peers and had the conviction upheld in multiple appeals? Not only can this result in a released murderer living next door to your family, but also equates to torture for the victims’ families.
The damage of such nonsense is far reaching. These actions routinely retraumatize the families and survivors of these victims. The victims’ voices, once the most important and crucial voices, are now drowned by those in places of privilege who overwhelm, intimidate and victim shame as they seek to trivialize the harm that has befallen them. I don’t believe asking victims’ families “why they are out for blood” is serving anything other than to cause more trauma and victimization. Unfortunately, some of these campaigns work.
While you know the names Julius Jones and Richard Glossip, do you know the victims of the heinous crimes associated with their names? Few know the stories of Barry Van Treese who was taken from a loving wife and five small children, or of Paul Howell who had the audacity to drive into his own driveway only to be brutally murdered in front of his children and sister ― just for his vehicle.
The greater concern, however, may be the chilling effect these campaigns have on our justice system. Kardashian, Branson, the ACLU and others seem to be telling Americans that their voices on juries no longer matter. They are saying, “We know better than you.” Unfortunately, we have already seen politicians in Oklahoma bow to the political pressure these celebrities create. These politicians have turned their backs on the justice system, victims, victims’ families and the people they took an oath to serve.
Of course, no factually innocent person should be put to death or even incarcerated, but justice should NOT be a popularity contest nor a monetary one. Yes, we need a system with compassion and grace, but the victims and their families need to be heard and treated with compassion as well. After all, they didn’t choose this path. The criminals, whom some are fighting so hard to release, chose it for them. History shows that as celebrity elites choose new campaigns to raise their profiles, they will continue to choose paths that revictimize Oklahoma families.
Amy Kingry is a leading voice for victims of crime in Oklahoma. Kingry is the founder and president of Victims Innocence Project Foundation of Oklahoma Inc.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Celebrities have turned Oklahoma death penalty cases into circus events
