Griffin Speaks

Suicide

Several years ago I called a friend just before she pulled the trigger. She told me that she had her finger on the trigger when the phone rang. I told her that for some reason she was on my mind. Something kept telling me to call her.

My friend, a young very intelligent black woman was at the top of her game when she made a serious mistake. She was campaign manager in District Attorney Ellen Brooks’ first political campaign. She helped Ellen to venture into the black community and receive forgiveness for her infamous jury strikes. (Ellen as well as many white prosecutors was known to strike black jurors for no reason other than race.) As an assistant attorney general I would later be required to defend many of these prosecutors for this same practice.

My friend convinced me that Ellen was the best person for the job. She convinced me that Ellen was not racist, but practicing a tactic that was widely practiced in the American legal system at the time. I eventually agreed that Ellen was the best person for the job. My friend convinced my parents to host an evening with candidate Ellen Brooks from 6 p.m. until 12 midnight. It was a wonderful affair. Ellen was a big hit with the guest.

A few months into the campaign a huge scandal erupted. This young very intelligent black woman was charged with stealing money from a bank account established by the Alabama State Employees Association for a sick child. Ellen had no choice but to dismiss her from the campaign. My friend accepted a plea bargain. She would plead guilty in exchange for a felony conviction with no jail time. She was ruined! Ellen went on to win her election despite the scandal.

I have not heard from my friend in many years. I have no idea where she is or what she is presently doing. She left me with a great curiosity about suicide and how someone could even consider such an extreme measure.

Statistics tells us that 786000 people commit suicide around the world. This is about a rate of 10.7 people per 100000 population per year. It is predicted that by 2020, more than 534000 suicides will occur in China alone. It is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. It is one death every seventeen minutes. There are more suicides than murders each year in the United States. If you ever feel that your pain exceeds your resources for coping don’t commit suicide, call 1-800-SUICIDE in the United States.

Greg Griffin is a free lance writer. You can read his previous articles by logging on to his web page at www.greggriffin.com