Delaware Teen Gunned Down; School Family Mourns Again

Poems read by mothers while their children lay horizontally in boxes can be hard to take. It’s especially hard when the same community must endure the elimination of another life. Mother of Kaylee Robinson, 18, Danielle Hammond addressed the Laurel High School in Delaware with her writings. With a declaration for justice to be delivered to the evildoers who snatched her son’s life away, she stood strong.

This is a much needed act for people in her place. There ought to not be calls for mercy and forgiveness until fairness is addressed. Most people would allow for mothers and fathers of the slain to say it’s okay, they’re in the bosom of Abraham now. Those that exacted malice against their child should be free from all judgment and penalties. Not Miss Hammond. Or a family member, Dorcilla Jean-Francois. She nearly begged saying, “...A coward uses a weapon to take the life of someone. A coward.” Of course, she means someone who starts force against an innocent.

But Robinson is among other victims this year of shootings. Another was a fellow classmate named Corey Mumford, also 18. Though not a highschooler, Taylor German, 26, saw her last glimpse of life as well in Laurel.

What does all of this mean? It signals that irrationality is still a thriving, diseased plant growing on the body of society. It is refreshing to know that the mothers like Miss Hammond seek to have these miscreants found and put through the system of justice. To know that your child has vacated this universe is an astronomical burden. She goes on, however. The idea that so many other parents must bond together when there still is no word for when a parent has a child whose life is ripped away from them. These three unrelated murders all spell something sinister going on in Laurel, Delaware.

It means that the police force may have to beef up its personnel and intelligence and not prevent crimes but address them head on in a manner that might bring understanding. It’s so simple, seemingly. Bring on more cops, have them talk amongst each other about possible leads, and patrol endlessly. This may work in some settings, but will it work in Laurel? These seem like random acts of the start of force perpetrated against young individuals.

When it comes to being on guard, the question is who is going to be next? What are the authorities doing to investigate these slayings? Families will continue to grieve given the amount of time that will be available. Still, there will be ample time for the cops to shuffle through potential suspects and make one, both, or all of their lives miserable. For individuals to commit particularly heinous crimes shows the lack of reverence for life. The very sanctity of a human life is not to be disturbed unless that life turns evil themselves. For the Robinsons, Mumfords, and Germans, it is only possible that these families have to seek counsel in something other than praying and lifting their hands to the unknown and unknowable.

If these individuals take the time to realize that the evil leveled against their sons and daughters must be met with extreme force such as locking them away for the rest of their natural lives, let that be. That is something that thousands if not millions of families have experienced, sadly. It is something that even the inhabitants living in a small town in a small state can still relate to on some level. Extreme sadness still affects their bones like osteosarcoma. They must live with the heavy burden on a daily basis. Often they are reminded of their cologne, their smile, a favorite jersey, or their pillow case. Tragedy can strike at any time and when it does, these families just shake their heads and look at one another. They look at the fact that they are still alive and their loved one is either in a casket, urn, or spread somewhere. That pain never goes away. It may subside somedays and absolute joy and happiness may spring into their consciousnesses. There will be, though, days when they will not want to keep going. They will feel like faltering and lagging behind in life’s race. An unfair advantage will be given to the ones (if they’re caught) who stomped out their loved one’s life. Especially in the state of Delaware where there is no capital punishment, they will still eat and drink and share emails and smile and laugh. They might be locked in a six by nine cell but they will still have life and will be able to enjoy at least a modicum of living while the loved one will never return to the arms of his or her mother, father, sister, brother, or other relative or friend.

This is the sadness. This is what’s maddening. One of the phases of grief is anger. That anger should be directed at those who started this nastiness. They shouldn’t be allowed to see daylight. They should be locked away in a cell and just given bare rations just to keep them alive. If we are to curb and eventually end these acts of initiation of physical force, it is incumbent upon us to keep our heads about all of this. The police must do their service with professionalism and precision. Families must stay strong and know when it is time to keep their thoughts together and to just have to wail and moan if necessary. People often say that “there’s no manual for when a baby arrives.” Well, what manual tells a parent what to feel when their one time baby’s life is rocked from them? It’s a tricky dynamic to see the lines of family members toss roses on the hearse as it rolls by. At once, one wishes to see the hearse cleared of the flowers and still you root on the family members who just want justice and nothing short of that will do.