1,000 march in support of Black man convicted for self defense
1,000 march in support of Black man convicted for self defense
By LeiLani Dowell
New York
Published Jan 10, 2008 11:06 PM
On Jan. 5, about a thousand Black, Latin@ and white people marched together in Riverhead, L.I. in protest of another racist attack by the U.S. criminal “justice” system with the Dec. 22 conviction of John White, a Black Long Island man, of second-degree manslaughter. The march was initiated by Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights forces. White had shot a white man who was part of a mob threatening his family in the middle of the night.
Rev. Al Sharpton, John White
and Sonia White at Jan. 5 march.
WW photos: Richard Kossally
The mob of intoxicated, young white men arrived at the Whites’ house on Long Island on Aug. 9, 2006, after White’s son, Aaron, was kicked out of a party that the men were present at. It was alleged that Aaron had threatened a young white woman with rape on a posting to the MySpace Web site—an allegation that was later proven false when it was discovered that a friend of Aaron’s was responsible for the posting.
The Black Star News reports: “Aaron upon reaching the safety of his house awoke his father. ... Outside, the lynch mob was busy blocking off the street leading to the White home, while revving the intimidating loud engines of their hot-rod cars and spewing the N-word.” (Dec. 28, 2007)
John White went outside with a handgun to confront the intruders. When one of them, Daniel Cicciaro Jr., lunged at White in an attempt to grab the gun, the gun discharged and Cicciaro was killed.
Judge colludes with racists
The trial against Mr. White lasted four days, with a jury of ten whites, one Latino and one Black person. (Amsterdam News, Dec. 28, 2007) On Dec. 22, the jury told the judge that they were deadlocked on the case, with two jurors pressing to acquit.
In a maneuver to force the hand of the two holdouts, Judge Barbara Khan told the jurors to clear their schedules for the next day rather than continuing the trial after the holiday season.
According to defense attorney Eddie Hayes, “The judge made them deliberate for 12 hours on Friday and the Saturday before Christmas, and then told them she might bring them in on Sunday.” (Daily News, Dec. 27, 2007)
She also told the jury that if they didn’t reach a verdict the case would face a jury “that would not be any different from you,” implying that it would be futile for the two jurors to not give in. (Black Star News, Dec. 28, 2007)
Suffolk County, where the trial was held, is the third most segregated region in the country according to U.S. Census data for the year 2000. Cicciaro’s family was accompanied by skinheads throughout the trial. (Amsterdam News, Dec. 28, 2007)
One hour later, the two jurors caved; White was found guilty. He now faces five to 15 years in prison. White is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 21, the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Black freedom fighter, Malcolm X.
Jim Crow legacy enforced
White had testified that as a young man, his family had recounted stories about relatives being lynched and the Ku Klux Klan torching his grandfather’s Alabama business in the 1920s. He feared a similar attack was going to happen in the incident at his house and was attempting to defend his family.
The nature of the crime against the Whites speaks to the legacy of racist scapegoating. Defense attorney Paul Gianelli reminded the jury, “In the South, Black men were hanged because of the accusation they raped a white woman.”
Prosecutor James Chalifoux argued that White should have locked his door and called the police. He raised that the attack on White’s grandfather occurred 30 years before White was born.
Yet why would a Black man in today’s world trust the police to see his side of the story? Defense attorney Marie Michel told the Amsterdam News: “These were 17- to 19-year-olds who were intoxicated, with the knowledge of white privilege. And the police and prosecutors backed up that theory.” (Dec. 28)
Meanwhile, because of death threats against him, 20-year-old Aaron White has been forced to drop out of college, quit his job and move away from home. (Amsterdam News, Dec. 28, 2007)
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