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A MOTHER SPEAKS |
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On June 22, 1954, I gave
birth to Derwin Brown. I know that the love, support, morals and
education that my husband and I provided for him, helped to mold the
man of integrity, strength, and courage that all of you came to know. Eventually, he went on to create his own family. Throughout the years I have followed his life as well as his career, and that always made me the proudest mother in the world. Like everyone else, I have suffered a loss. As a citizen of DeKalb County, I joined you in losing a compassionate leader and great visionary. But I also lost my son, foremost, my firstborn and even after losing my mother and my husband in my lifetime, this has been the hardest thing I have ever had to endure. I am speaking out to express my disappointment in the lack of respect and consideration shown to me by the Dekalb Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office. I have never received an official courtesy call or a letter of condolence in reference to my son’s death. Most importantly, I would like to take this opportunity to express my feelings about the death penalty and to make public some of my son’s confidences to me. I want to be heard because I want justice!! Before I go any further, I would like to thank the citizens of Dekalb County for electing Derwin as sheriff and for honoring him by naming the South Precinct after him. My son and I were very close. On numerous occasions during the year in which he was campaigning for sheriff, on our weekly trips to the dentist for approximately two and a half months, we talked about the penal system and big business (as he used to call it). It was special time and I am so grateful for it. He told me, “Mommy, I have lived and worked in this county a long time. I love this county. This county has been corrupt for a long time and I am going to make it right.” I said, “Son, I worry about you.” And his reply was “You, daddy and papa Brown always taught us to stand up for what we believed in, even if we stood alone, for we would never really be alone, God would always be by our side. “So, why are you worried? Mommy, suppose Martin Luther King’s mother had stopped him, where would we be today?” And I replied to him, “that was his mother and I am your mother.” He said, “Mommy, I am on a mission and I am not afraid to die for what I believe in.” He told me (and I am using his words), “there are a lot of cookie jars, with a lot of hands in them. If I am elected, the roof of the jail is coming off.” Derwin told me of a meeting that took place prior to Derwin announcing he was running for office. Thomas Brown, Director of Public Safety, Liane Levetan, CEO of Dekalb County, Deputy Chief Moody and Chief Burgess of Dekalb Police Department, and Major Hartley of the South Precinct were in attendance discussing him becoming a potential candidate for Dekalb County Sheriff. Everyone was OK with him running for office, except Thomas Brown. When Derwin found out about the meeting and what was discussed, he composed a letter and hand-delivered it to the people I just mentioned. The letter stated his constitutional rights among other things. He had already decided that if he were denied, he would fight it in the media and the courts if necessary. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of this letter, nor do I remember the date in which this meeting took place. I only know that this was prior to him actually qualifying to run for office. He qualified by paying the required monetary fees in April. One day on the way home from the dentist my son said to me “I have a lot of time accumulated, and I am a little tired.” This was the first time I heard him admit he was tired. I want to go to Florida and relax and come back and spend time with my children and grandchildren before I start Sheriff school. He grinned with that beautiful smile he had when he mentioned his grandchildren. “I have officially written a letter to request annual leave to my bosses, Chief Moody and Major Hartley and they have given me a “yes”answer. So, I have one more person to ask and that’s the Director of Public Safety, Thomas Brown. I am hand-delivering his letter to him tomorrow morning.” I said to my son, “I don’t want to put a negative spin on this, but I have a bad feeling. What if he doesn’t say yes?” “Mommy, he isn’t giving me anything. This is time I have accumulated. And if he doesn’t say yes, I will go to the newspaper and the media. " I called Derwin on his cell phone that evening, and he stated that the answer would be given to him the next day. The next day, I called Derwin and Thomas Brown had denied him leave that he had earned through employment with the county. He told Derwin “he needed to work.” Contrary to the perception that Sheriff Thomas Brown gave the Dekalb County residents, he and my son were anything but friends. Thomas Brown did not want my son to run for Sheriff, would not give him time off that was already earned, put his pension in jeopardy by forcing him to resign, basically fighting him every step of the way. Knowing everything that my son shared with me about his relationship with Thomas Brown, even through my grief, it hurt to watch him speak at the funeral. I found it extremely disturbing when Derwin told me that he was forced to resign as Captain from the Dekalb Police Department by Thomas Brown. Derwin had already been elected by the people of Dekalb County as Sheriff. Why would a man as intelligent as my son, resign after serving 23 years of law enforcement service with Dekalb Public Safety? Derwin was eligible for retirement at the age of 55; he was 46 years of age at the time of his death. There are those who would want us to believe that Derwin would give up his benefits, his pension and all of the rights that he earned within his years of service. I know that Derwin would not have voluntarily given all of this up, leaving himself and his family without financial or medical coverage. He was not leaving Dekalb County or law enforcement. He was simply transitioning into the position that the citizens had elected him, the Office of Dekalb County Sheriff. Derwin was one of the eleven original Dekalb County employees who sued the county in 1979 for equal rights, higher pay and hiring of minorities in supervisory and personnel ranks. The young men and women that you see representing Dekalb government today are an obvious reflection to his commitment to justice and equality. When I heard on the news that the District Attorney, J. Tom Morgan, planned to discuss “with the family” their view on the death penalty before making his decision on whether to seek the death penalty for Walker and Ramsey, I hoped to have been included, as part of the family, to express my opinion to the man that would ultimately be prosecuting my son’s killers. I immediately had my daughter place a call to the DA’s office and after leaving a message with his office regarding the nature of my call, I was informed that I needed to make an appointment for the next day. The District Attorney, J. Tom Morgan, did not give me the respect of returning my phone call. Instead, someone from the Victim’s Assistant Program called to schedule an appointment for 10:00am Friday morning. Before the meeting could take place at 10:00 am the next morning, I turned the TV on at 5:00am to see the news and the decision had already been made, that he would not be seeking the death penalty. I cannot tell you how upsetting it was, and I couldn't help but wonder if J. Tom Morgan considers his mother family or just his wife and children. You must know that his decision was partially based upon a tape that he viewed from a weekly cable show my son hosted called the “Naked Truth” in which he discussed the death penalty. If the District Attorney had viewed this tape in its entirety, he would have known that Derwin’s view was that many people of color are falsely convicted due to improper representation or lack of and are convicted or executed (Barry Shack has proven this to be true). He felt the imposition of the death penalty was racially biased and that 90% of persons executed were convicted of killing whites. Now, considering the enormity and gravity of this crime and conspiracy of murder, I don’t believe Derwin would have any objection to the death penalty. In any case, I do agree with a statement from Sidney Dorsey, himself, "they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and I mean, I mean capital punishment." There are two reasons why it is important for me to tell all of you this. Number one, the District Attorney, J. Tom Morgan, publicly stated, when discussing “Not” seeking the death penalty, this case had special circumstances. Derwin was not a policeman. He had resigned and had not been sworn in as Sheriff of Dekalb County at the time of his death. For the record, my son dedicated his life to law enforcement and his reputation and accomplishments speak for themselves. The fact that he wasn’t a policeman at the time of his death, in my eyes, is not only a technicality, but also and more importantly, an injustice. Secondly, there were people who left the Dekalb Police Department to go to the Sheriff’s Department along with Thomas Brown that did not have to resign. Furthermore, Thomas Brown, himself, did not have to resign as his position was being held for him by Chief Bobby Burgess. I thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to be heard and to be able to express my feelings in words. It takes a big load off my heart. I would also like to take this opportunity to officially inform the media and the public that my children and I have created a website www.derwinbrown.org. The website will be available to anyone that would like to get information about the events of December 15, 2000 updated information, Derwin Brown’s life achievements and legacy. Anyone wanting to e-mail for support, questions, or simply solidarity, would be very welcomed. The website is also designed to encourage awareness, based on the facts and circumstances that lead to my son’s murder. There will be polls and more importantly a petition asking for federal intervention in this matter. Details and reasons can be found on the website www.derwinbrown.org. Once again, thank you very much. Burvena Brown Mother of Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown |
"My Baby"
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