TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
Isaiah 40:28
Real issue: Unsolved homicides
In reading your recent article about Mayor Jim Strickland’s “State of the City” address and the follow-up on Mr. Mike Williams of the Police Foundation, I found it concerning that the mayor did not discuss the homicide problem and trivial that Mr. Williams was critical over the reporting of justifiable homicides. In my view both of them totally missed the point and failed to address the real issue at hand: unsolved homicides.
In 2017 Memphis was sixth (per capita) in the nation for homicides behind St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit and Kansas City while Chicago was eighth. Based on the preliminary data for 2018 Memphis is still sixth while Washington, D.C., moved up to eighth and Chicago dropped to tenth. But what about the unsolved cases?
Being sixth in homicides is not a good position for us to be in but what is worse is that no one is discussing the unsolved homicides where Memphis
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Email letters to letters@commercial appeal.com; mail Letters to the Editor, The Commercial Appeal, 495 Union, Memphis, TN 38103; or click on the “Submit Letter” link on the Opinion page atcommercialappeal.com. has accumulated over 1,800 cases since 1980. Addressing the problem with part-time detectives does not meet the recommended approach nor the standard. Success stories exist in Charlotte, N.C., and Tulsa, Oklahoma, to name two. In each they have fulltime detectives dedicated to the cold case investigation process.
Let’s stop the political rhetoric and splitting of hairs and get down to doing the right thing for our community regarding the issue of unsolved murders. I’m sure there are many families that would love to learn more about the fate of their loved ones, not to mention serving justice and reducing crime.
Jim Adcock, Phdpresident, Mid South Cold Case Initiative