Citizens unite in fight to tame Memphis crime

By Jacinthia Jones, Commercial Appeal
May 19, 2007

East Memphis met Orange Mound outside Memphis City Hall on Friday.

"Nice to meet you," the white stay-at-home mother said.

"Thank you for inviting me," the black preacher-activist answered.

Both showed up at the city's seat of power united in their will to fight crime in the city, though they differed on tactics.

Citizens Against Crime, a predominantly white group, organized this week in response to the rape and robbery of a woman who lives on Goodwyn Street, near Chickasaw Gardens and the Memphis Country Club.

At a press conference Friday, elected officials and a half-dozen other community groups, many whose work targets the inner city, joined Citizens Against Crime as it announced its first point of attack -- Nashville.

Organizers urged citizens to call, e-mail and travel to Nashville next week to help lobby support for an $87 million anti-crime package sought by prosecutors and law enforcement in Tennessee.

The proposed legislation, coming up for committee discussion Tuesday, would require more prison time for gun crimes (the "Crooks with Guns" bill) and gang-related "street terrorism" and would add more prosecutors statewide.

"We would urge every citizen of Memphis who can cancel their plans on Tuesday to go to Nashville and show the governor, show our representatives and our senators, that we are no longer going to accept violent crime in our community," said Shea Flinn, who served a short stint in the state Senate as an interim appointee when Steve Cohen was elected to Congress.

Sen. Paul Stanley, R-Germantown, said he is confident that the anti-crime bills will "sail through both chambers almost unanimously."

In Memphis on Friday, Gov. Phil Bredesen said he read "with horror" about the Memphis rape, and he said he was a strong supporter of law enforcement and increasing the number of prosecutors.

But he can't justify spending millions on the Crooks with Guns bill when that money could go toward other programs.

The group's organizer, Elizabeth Norman, said the new grassroots initiative will complement the efforts of other groups trying to make the city safer.

"We want to rally everyone in Memphis to use their voice, to show up and join the people's effort to claim our right to a safe city."

Organizer Mia Henley, an attorney turned stay-at-home mother, pressed further: "Memphis has not always been one of the most dangerous cities in the United States and it will not stay that way with your help. If nothing is happening in your neighborhood, start something."

Mayor Willie Herenton praised the "organized synergy" of the gathering and said that government cannot fight crime alone.

As the group held its press conference, members of the the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives stood quietly, holding banners that proclaimed "Respect our Neighborhood, Stop the Killing" and "Operation Take Back."

"We're here in support, but please remember that we've been calling for action all along," said Rev. Dwight Montgomery, president of the local chapter of the SCLC. "We've put up murals in neighborhoods, we've removed graffiti, we've held a gang peace summit."

Activist Stevie Moore wondered why more African-Americans don't get as outraged and march on City Hall.

"It's like we're desensitized," said Moore, who has sponsored a number of peace rallies and has shown up at City Hall before to give his two cents last year when council members convened a meeting last year to address the city's staggering crime.

The inner-city groups welcomed the infusion of support from the group, but differed on the solution.

"They're talking about corrections, but we also need to be talking about prevention," said Tommy Sullivan, president of the faith-based Memphis Ten Point Coalition. "I support what they're doing and getting more (funding) for tougher laws. But in the process, some of that money needs to be allocated for education and job training, too."

Bredesen made that point too.

"Ultimately we have got to get these kids out of high school, we've got to get them into college and we've got to get them good jobs," the governor said. "That in the long run is going to do as much about crime as build more jail cells."

-- Jacinthia Jones: 529-2780

Taking the fight to Nashville

Who: Citizens Against Crime

What: Encouraging residents to go to Nashville on Tuesday to lobby the legislature for crime bills

When: 10 a.m.

Where: Legislative Plaza (6th Street between Union Street and Charlotte Avenue)

Information: 334-4185

Anti-crime bills, costs

Crooks with Guns: Would add a mandatory 10-year prison term for using any kind of gun while committing a felony, and a mandatory three- or six-year prison term for possession of any kind of gun while committing a felony -- both in addition to the sentence for the underlying crime. It would add one to six years for possessing a handgun by anyone who has been previously convicted of a felony. Estimate: $60.3 million.

Street Terrorism and Gang Violence: When a crime of force or violence is committed by at least three individuals, penalties would increase one classification beyond those for the actual crime committed under Tennessee's sentencing law. Estimate: $20.8 million

More prosecutors: Add 64 prosecutors for district attorneys offices statewide. Estimate: $6.5 million.