Nola.com says that alleged worst-mother-in-the-world Vanessa L. Johnson will be facing federal charges for giving her 17 year-old son, Clarence Johnson a gun with instructions to kill Robert Dawson, also 17.
So we asked for it, and we got it. The feds are here.
The Johnson case certainly makes a case that the state, even one as fucked up as Louisiana, would make a better parent than this particular woman supposedly was. If you read on in the article it also shows that approach works with prosecution as well. The Feds are making a better case against Johnson than Ed is:
While Clarence Johnson has a preliminary hearing set for later this month, the only court date scheduled for his mother is a “rule to show cause” hearing set for April, exactly 60 days from her arrest and the legal deadline Jordan has to either charge her with a crime or watch her walk out of jail.
Ed is giving himself as much time as legally possible for his office to show why this woman was arrested. Let’s hope no one from his office calls in sick or gets a flat tire en route to the courthouse that day.
At least the federal charge will keep her from aiding and abetting more of her children to commit murder. If that was what she in fact did of course.
The article also calls the Feds appearance in Central City as a “boots-on-the-ground” approach. I heard something similar to this on WWL the other day when an agent stated he (or one of his colleagues) was in a store and heard a man on the phone postponing a drug deal based on their presence. I’m not sure if it was their presence in the store or just in the neighborhood recently.
Either way, I am hopeful that perhaps the arrest of Vanessa Johnson will have a similar effect on the culture of violence that is most-evident in Central City but really exists in neighborhoods all over New Orleans, and (though they like to point their finger at us) all over urban centers in the United States.
I hate to celebrate a person’s incarceration but, at this point in my life, I think the negative influences of the previous generation need to either be reformed or removed so the next one can see the light of day that hopefully awaits us all.
I would be overjoyed if they take away the woman’s ability to procreate, let her give up the coke and any other drugs she’s doing cold turkey and lock her up forever. She is of no positive use to society.
JMHO
I’m with both of you on this one. To instruct your child to kill someone, AND provide the weapon, is the damn worst thing a parent could do. (I can’t imagine doing this…)
Where the Hell do these people come from?