Antonio Santiago
Since my last post on the problems with the Zimmerman trial, two of our correspondents have brought up the murder of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago as his mother Sherry West was pushing his stroller in Brunswick, Georgia. Two black teens, 17-year-old De’Marquise Elkins and 15-year-old Dominique Lang, were charged with robbing Ms. West, then shooting her at close range with a .22-caliber revolver – missing her head but hitting her leg – then shooting the baby in the face.
If you check the last post, you will see our correspondent Sherry’s reaction.
And what else can we say about the juxtaposition of the two cases?
I think the point our correspondents were making has to do with the huge imbalance in coverage between the two cases. In the first, a white-hispanic young man shoots an African American teen in what he characterizes as self-defense and the whole world explodes. In the second, two African American teens are charged with shooting a white woman and her baby and it is just one more minor crime story.
Is that fair?
No, certainly not. But nothing is fair about murder. Two weeks after the murder of beautiful, blonde JonBenet Ramsey in 1996 – a case John Douglas investigated and to which we have given considerable attention over the years, a nine-year-old child known only as Girl X was beaten, raped, poisoned and left for dead in a corridor of Chicago’s notorious Cabrini Green public housing project. She was found by a janitor with her own tee shirt tied around her neck and gang symbols scrawled on her body. And I’ll bet you’ve never heard of this case.
Is that because her life was less important than JonBenet’s or her story less compelling? Did she not deserve the same dignity in death?
As with that case, I am concerned that the relative lack of coverage of the Antonio Santiago killing as compared to the Trayvon Martin case points up a troubling bias in the media that gets right to the heart of the entire issue.
That is, have we become so conditioned to the idea of young black men committing violent crime that it does not seem unusual or significant enough for the media to give it much attention?
Yes, it is true that the Martin-Zimmerman case had huge symbolic overtones and created a social dialogue that will be ongoing into the foreseeable future. But what about a social dialogue on who commits murder, and why? And let me tell you, if we get into that conversation, no ethnic group is going to be off the hook.
The Santiago murder should have received more press coverage, because it was the cruel and wanton act of two depraved individuals with no conscience or regard for life. In fact, not to give crimes like this sufficient coverage is to declare them “business as usual,” and that is an insult to every law abiding African American, because these two monsters represent a tiny minority of the black population, just as George Zimmerman, however you come down on his verdict, represents a tiny minority of the white population.
If the Zimmerman verdict creates this national dialogue and leads to more candor about race, that is all to the good. But by the same token, the murder of little Antonio Santiago should lead to a national dialogue about violent crime and the trial of his two alleged killers should receive due attention.
Because one thing is clear: If Trayvon Martin is a martyr for justice, then so is Antonio Santiago. And his name deserves to be every bit as well known.
I was pretty surprised to read your take on the case. It may have been written before some new info was released, namely that both the mother And father had gunshot residue on their hands (which can possibly be explained by the mother having been shot but does not explain the residue on the fathers hands) and that the mothers own daughter believes she may have harmed baby Santiago. The dauter also stated the mother almost emediatley inquired about when insurance would pay up.Does this new evidence change your or Johns opinions any?
I’m not the profiler but this case, with that evidence strikes me as possibly being a cover story for either both of the parents having harmed the child, or the father harming them both and the mother then helping to hide it. I know that statistically speaking the younger the victim the more likely someone close to the child was involved. It also stands out to me that the mother was only shot in the leg while the two supposed perps felt the need to shoot the infant in the head.. Normally wouldn’t someone that cold blooded take out the largest threat? In this case the adult woman who could identify them?
Young black men are often described when criminals try to deflect their crimes onto make-believe strangers.
Your thoughts?
This all bad business and the reason why the show FBI files has no episodes past the early 1990’s. The FBI is not the same, you want evidence call the number I left and we can discuss the injustice then, not here to many killers following you John. Like the Ramsey case, you sure John was not a reference to you? “If we see you talking to a straydog”? That is you as a retired agent, but you profiled and unsophisticated offender that is not the case. Let me explain or I can go on hoping the CBI will listen to me and do their job, but should be an FBI case and it never was. Why?
And so it begins 317-479-6989. Any thoughts on Ramsey John Douglas? I hope you call this number because they meant you to fail on this case and we don’t have to but I need you to have faith in others as I did you. Jack the Ripper was Thomas Bond and the motive was his research look into it, Gary Ridgway knew your profile that is why Chapman was staged in the river! He is so dead John he will never get away from me I am not finished but you may be but I promise you will see me end his life.
Call me you know what else, there was four men involved and you and I can finish this. Let me prove it Mr. Douglas I am a great SSA, I have no agent status but you can help me prove my statements, just listen. I guess we can wait until Manson orders another killing. James Bulger still has the connections and it was me that found him not the media blitz, but you all don’t know how and that is the key. Maybe it only matters to me but the book of yours is good and I need to talk to you before I go insane watching my predictions come true and innocent women die, the FBI caused this and we need to fix it because it is getting people killed.
Sherry’s point about having no spokespeople because anyone doing so would be viewed as racist is a very valid one. John Douglas himself could speak out on the Zimmerman case only to be dismissed as a racist since he is a profiler, which has been falsely associated with racial profiling. So where do you find a person who won’t instantly be discredited by the color of their skin if nothing else?
I wrote the Dept. of Justice and said well and good they’re investigating but that I fully expected them to prosecute anyone they find making false accusations against Zimmerman as well since that is also racially motivated. The alarming thing is there has been no reporter bold enough to ask those questions of the Attorney General during their tv panels. Racism only applies when it’s directed toward one certain race, I guess. This trial has been the biggest display of racism against all those not black since the OJ trial. I think it’s time we acknowledge that road goes both ways and make sure our government reflects that.