Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, already wounded by her assailant, 25 year old Darius Sullivan, pleaded for her life after having been stripped of her weapon by Sullivan and his girlfriend Xandria Harris. She and her partner, Tyler Bailey, had been called to investigate a simple noise complaint at a motel on Dec. 29, only to be confronted by an individual determined not to be held accountable for the several warrants already out for his arrest. A 21 year veteran of the Bradley, Illinois, Police Department, Rittmanic’s pleas went unheeded and Sullivan shot her in cold blood. Her partner, also wounded, remains in hospital fighting for his life.
While the death penalty is no longer an option in the State of Illinois, Kankakee County attorney Jim Rowe is pushing for the execution of both Sullivan and Harris who were captured a few days later in Indiana. I would think there might be reason to spare Harris, but am perfectly comfortable with the execution of her boyfriend, a heartless bastard who committed the ultimate moral abomination with almost no provocation whatsoever. That the two criminals in question were Black is irrelevant. My outrage is a matter of Morality, not Race.
Of course what used to be known as Morality is no longer recognized currency here in the “progressive” West, where its invocation is more often than not denounced as hateful and judgmental. But you tell me, where ought any decent, thinking Human Being’s sympathies to reside, with an innocent 49 year old woman intent on serving her community, or with a career criminal with no concern for anything other than his own f…ing, selfish needs?