Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 10-11-19

Editorial/Column
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Destroying Innocence Carries A Heavy Price
Granville Ritchie was sentenced to death last week. While I don't wish that kind of outcome on any person, in this particular in- stance, I'd be hard pressed to find someone more deserving of such a severe penalty.
The only problem I have with what Ritchie received for raping and killing 9-year- old Felecia Williams is that her family can't select the method in which he meets his end.
When it comes to crimes of this magnitude there should be a provision in place that al- lows those, left behind to mourn, to do whatever they choose to the perpetrator as long as the ultimate goal is achieved.
This is mainly due to the fact that, when it comes to brutal attacks on children, the humanity lethal injection pro- vides seems a little too easy. People like Ritchie should be forced to meet their maker
while experiencing the same pain and suffering they in- flicted.
In Ritchie's case, that would mean, to quote Ving Rhames' iconic character from the movie Pulp Fic- tion, "having some of the homies to go Medieval on his ass." His demise not coming in a matter of minutes after being administered a toxic chemical concoction, but after decades of enduring daily assaults... physical, mental and sexual.
I know it may sound harsh to some. But when you imag- ine the trauma little Felecia felt in her final moments of life, having Ritchie go through something similar seems fitting.
Of course, Ritchie isn't the only one who should pay a hefty price for Felecia's mur- der. For the role she played in this heinous affair, Eboni Wiley deserves to be locked in a cell right next to Ritchie waiting for her issue as well.
After all, it was Wiley who placed little Felecia in harm's way in the first place. The fact that she left a child, trusted in her care, alone with a man she only knew for 3 days for over 35 minutes, to me, speaks to her either being complicit in what happened, or having the common sense of a gnat. Ei- ther way, Felicia's blood stains her hands just as brightly.
If nothing else, Eboni Wiley should be considered a pariah in the Tampa commu- nity; a woman whose name, from this day forward, should become so synonymous with roach excrement that just speaking it leaves a foul taste on the tongue. And that also goes for anyone who still con- siders her a friend or acquain- tance at this point.
Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done to Ritchie or Wiley that would bring Felecia back to her family. But having them both spend the rest of their lives on this plane of existence in utter misery at least makes it so that their decision to destroy one of God's innocents didn't occur without serious consequences.
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A Real Possibility
magine America severs all diplomatic relationships
with China and India. A month later, Americans with illnesses such as cancer, asthma, gout, heart irregulari- ties, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, heartburn, prostate problems, infections and other illnesses began to die in unprecedented numbers by hundreds of thou- sands.
After weeks of CDC investigations, the CDC announced that all Americans should stop taking their medications because the medicines had large amounts of poison in them. Moreover, everyone was told to stop taking all vita- mins, aspirin and other pain medicines.
Officials had discovered that all medicine being made in China and India had been laced with enough of the powerful drug fentanyl to kill after taking just one dose. Because practically all vitamins and medicines were made in China and India, a shortage of drugs created another surge in deaths.
While the aforementioned scenario is conjecture, it could become a reality. The past year, there have been nu- merous drug recalls of high blood pressure drugs made in China and India because they contained cancer-causing chemicals.
It is time for American pharmaceutical companies to label where the medicines are being made and liable for the contaminations. We certainly hope the CDC will enact monitoring and testing of all medicines and drugs coming into this country. Consumers have a right to know where their medicines come from.
Moreover, we need more of our medicines to be made in America. By the way, DEA made a drug bust last month in Virginia and confiscated enough fentanyl to kill 14 mil- lion people. It’s not hard to imagine how terrorists could use that much medicine.
Therefore, we strongly urge our Congressional repre- sentatives to make sure the Food and Drug Administra- tion is sufficiently funded to monitor the on-site manufacture of drugs made in other countries. There is more risk in our medicine than there are at the border. We need safe medicine more than we need a wall.
Yes, the scenario is false, but it is also a real possibil- ity.
Parents, Hold On
“My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities... They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.”
Barack Obama
mpowered Greetings. Parents, I want to give you 3 reasons to hold on and believe in possibilities. Life has a way of throwing us some curve balls as it relates to our children. As a parent, you want them to walk a straight
line and stay on the course of a positive path.
Then life happens. Their road to success is filled with crooks and turns that appear to be headed for imminent destruction. Despite what it looks like, parents, you must hold on with unwavering faith that your child will succeed. Even though the possibility of their success looks improbable, believe in the probable impossibility of their failure.
1. Hold on to the belief that they cannot and will not fail. Your actions will line up with what you believe. If you truly believe that they cannot fail, you will speak to them and
treat them as if they are already succeeding.
2. Hold on to the notion that their freedom to make poor choices will ultimately give way to the possibility of making wiser choices. Your kids are not insane; they will not keep doing the same thing expecting a different result. At some point they will wise up.
3. Hold on, because the total sum of your child’s life up until this point is not an indication of the greatness that they will possess in their future.
Parents, your children (no matter how young or old they are) need you to hold on trusting and believing in them. They need you to hold on loving them, even when they are doing unlovable things. Hold on because a brighter day is on the horizon. Hold on because there will be a new beginning. Hold on because their old mindset will soon be ending.
on. Be encouraged to just hold
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A