Anisa Madey

July 13, 2001

What Is a Just Society?

Bullets tore through his body propelling him backwards. The cop, standing fifteen yards back,
kept his gun trained on him the entire time. He watched as blood gurgled out of the kids mouth
and trickled down his neck only lowering his weapon when he was certain that the kid had taken
his last breath. The cop had claimed self-defense and there had been no indictment.

As his family buried him, his younger brother, Darren, watched their mother cry.
“How could they take my baby from me?” she cried out in anguish.

As they watched the coffin being lowered into the ground, Darren put a comforting hand on his
mother's back. He struggled to restrain the urge he felt to cry out every time someone threw
another handful of dirt into the grave. He clenched his hands into fists, dug his fingernails into
his palms, and squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t allow himself to feel the pain. His mother let
out another sob. His heart panged with every tear that fell down her face. As he watched his
mother fall apart, he knew that it was his responsibility to keep it together. He was the man of the
house now; he was all his mother had left.

……..

The computer beeped startling him.

MATCH FOUND

Those two words flashed at him through the screen. He moved the mouse and hovered over the
name: Tyler Nalin.

A name and address were all he needed.

4076 Drewford Lane. He turned off his headlights but left the engine running. He caught a
glimpse of himself, with his bloodshot eyes and unruly brown hair, in the rearview mirror. He
removed the brand-new Glock 19 from its place in the glove compartment and exchanged it with
the service weapon on his belt. He took out his badge. Looking at it, he remembered the reason
why he chose to become a law enforcement officer. It was the same reason that was motivating
him to do what he was about to do: justice. He put his badge down, turned off the engine, picked
up the Glock, and started towards the house.

……...

A just society is an ambitious goal.

Although these were fictional scenes, they aren’t difficult situations to envision.
A young boy, the remnant of structural racism. When that police officer chose to pull the trigger,
he wasn’t only killing Darren’s brother. At the same time, he was taking away Darren’s
innocence and inflicting an everlasting trauma on their mother.

A father who felt forced to take justice into his own hands because the system failed him. Ezra
Benson had served only 2 years for the assault of a young woman. The daughter of a police
officer, she still had nightmares every night. A week ago, she decided she couldn’t do it
anymore. He’d found her hanging from her closet.

A just society has no gray area; there are no people who fall through the cracks or become the
“exception” and there are no laws that allow this to happen.