Given that the tragic story of Karina Vetrano has begun to resonate throughout social media and it’s prominence on newspaper covers across the city, it is worth visiting and critically analyzing the coverage of this case. I first came into knowledge of this case in August when it was first reported. On social media, memorials circulated through my feed, as through six degrees of separation would have it, I know someone who knew Karina. I’d like to begin by saying that what first attracted me to this case in August was the extreme remorse as I read about the life of Karina, and read her beautifully vulnerable and genuine blog posts about love and dreams. Painful expressions painted my face as I saw pictures of her parents, her father- who shared such a close relationship with his daughter. If for nothing else, I empathized with the fallen, my sister, your sister, his and her daughter, was gone- and if for nothing else I felt remorse but respect for the dead. The parents of Karina Vetrano are incredibly strong people. They fought for over six months, had to stew with the unsolved murder of their daughter. The remained in public view and pushed the NYPD to commit a thorough and hard nosed investigation. Surely they invested thousands into getting some closure over this tragedy, to gain the peace of mind that, this doesn’t have to happen to another family. That a murderer has been brought to justice and been relieved of their privilege to participate in a free society. With all of that said, if you breathe in and out and belong to the human race, you must never lose sight and recognize that we lost one of our own today. This brings me to the media’s response, and the public’s reaction to this tragedy. I’d like to begin with the handling of the coverage of this case. What strong a chord with me immediately was when the information on the suspect had been released. It was a 20 year old named Chanel Lewis. This piece of information piqued intrigue because, jeez, how could a 20 year old commit such a violent crime? I tried to research about this Chanel Lewis but found little information about him/her, except for an artist’s’ sketch which did not offer up many leads. When the video of Chanel Lewis exiting the 107th pct in handcuffs more information began to be released about the frail, blank stare boy. A skinny little black kid with a bulletproof vest waddled out of the precinct, wide eyed at the commotion and media presence. He looked in awe at the crowds of people screaming his name, among other names (see video). To me, this kid immediately raised flags. I called into question his mental capability, as his expression looked blank and as if he did not fully understand what exactly was happening around him. News reports in interview’s with Chanel Lewis’ father, Richard Lewis, the boy attended a school for emotional and behavioral inept students- of which he was on the honor roll. News reports also mentioned that at the age of 15, a teacher at his school reported to the police that Chanel expressed wanting to bring a knife to school to stab all the girls. Between the boy’s nonverbal language, that unspoken form of communication humans can read and respond to (barring mental deficiencies like autism), the specialization of the high school he graduated from not over two years ago, and testimonies from teachers that knew him- the boy had mental issues. So why didn’t the police chief acknowledge this? Further news reports mention in the conference after the arraignment, the police chief declined to comment on the mental state of the boy. I will only mention that if Lewis was found to be mentally incompetent the NYPD would face many issues in using the DNA evidence in court. After a tip that directed police to Lewis, they went to his home and asked for a DNA sample. Current laws do not recognize consented DNA testing if the consenter is intelligently or capably inept. Another important question to ask is to the newspapers of NYC, like the Daily News and NY Post (of which are some of my sources for this writeup) insist on calling Chanel Lewis a “man”? Since when did we call 20 year olds men in this society? I have not come across a single article yet that refers to the mentally disturbed Lewis as a man, the Post even thought it important to mention that the man was unemployed. Of course as if to suggest that a 20 year old is expected to have a job. Statistics on the employment rate of 20 year olds in the country would disagree with this newspaper’s shock. I believe there are many mishandlings of this case between the NYPD and the media, specifically from Jamie Schram of the Post who wrote and edited two of the articles I am speaking about. Without delving too deeply in the operational mess ups between the NYPD and the media, I aim my criticism at the mass public. It has become vident in human civilization that, justice and revenge are too often confused for one and another. When Lewis exited the 107th precinct, across the street were masses of people with signs and not so kind words for the probable murderer. The papers are riddled with quotes from a hurt Mrs. Vetrano, cursing Lewis in every statement. Posts all up and down my social media are calling for Lewis’ blood, and the other half are calling for shenanigans. The prior group are hurt over the loss of Vetrano, the other half suspicious of an institutions treatment of a black person. There is a cultural war underneath this that is interconnected with the election, but that is for another write up. To these two sides I only offer this: compassion and understanding. Chanel Lewis is 20 years old facing 25 years in prison and he arguably doesn’t hold the mental capacity to understand the mathematical shock in that. Lewis has not expressed any remorse, save for maybe not accepting within himself that he sexually assaulted Vetrano (he won’t admit to this),something that is so heinous even in his mental state can understand is wrong. Do we sleep better taking a life for a life? Does this solve anything, especially to a “man” who cannot even understand that he is wrong? What future lives are we saving by taking the problem and locking it up in a box somewhere? Where many individuals juxtaposed the headline between Chanel Lewis and the Charleston shooter, I encourage the friends and family of Karina Vetrano to follow in the lead of the victims’ families’ quote: “forgive, hate does not win”. I believe that this is the biggest problem with the criminal justice system, that there is no sense of holism involved. Rehabilitating and researching criminals are just as important as removing them from society (a building on the popular tedTalk about how to treat addiction). In two ways, rehabbing might truly redeem them, and not make matters worse through the current conditions of prison. Researching criminals also furthers the things we know in psychology and neuroscience about human beings. If behavioral psychologists, developmental psychologists and so on can rehab and examine individuals who could commit acts like Chanel Lewis is suspected to have committed, we can prevent from creating environments and conditions where these kinds of minds can be born. I believe the defense team will plead mental incompetence, and those that shout monster will have to accept that through the open wound left by Lewis, they allowed hate to enter their hearts. Hate is a poison and is something I hope we can be strong enough to overcome every time. I hope that this case will be seen as a monument to the movement of a mental health care reform (economically and societally, as no one in Lewis’ family will admit to his mental state maybe out of embarrassment) and a reform of how we treat certain criminals. Above all, I hope we can do something substantial and sustainably to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. To that beautiful, Italian fireball who sparked a passion in so many hearts, Rest in Paradise baby girl.
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