Unusual Characteristics
That he is a longshoreman by day is only one of several remarkable aspects of the odyssey of Eddie Jones. Think about the profiles and personalities of the best-known civil rights activists, and throw them out when considering Mr. Jones. His articulated words are pillow soft, and they are qualitatively elegant. His manner is, at the same time, courtly and deferential. His style is of the well-bred. He is both classy and classic. Sandwiched in between is a strong helping of modesty. He speaks deliberately, at a carefully measured pace.
One Man’s Objective
“The Los Angeles Civil Rights Assn. fights for the rights of all human beings, not just civil rights but human rights as well,” Mr. Jones said. As a personal magnet for the residue of hate crimes particularly, he has been bringing his message to numerous points of the Los Angeles crime compass. Besides the rallies for Ms. Green in Harbor Gateway, Mr. Jones spoke to the Los Angeles City Council in the recent volatile case where the black firefighter Tennie Pierce was served dog food, and he currently is a regular in a Long Beach courtroom. Ten black youths — nine of them girls — between the ages of 12 and 17 are on trial for allegedly assaulting three white young women around the age of 20 on Halloween Night in Bixby Knolls. In the Long Beach case, Mr. Jones objects to rules that call for Judge Gibson Lee to double as the jury because the defendants are juveniles. “In my opinion, the law needs to change as far as juveniles having a jury,” he said. “Also, being able to make bail. If they are not guilty, and they are incarcerated since Oct. 31, it appears they are already guilty. There are a lot of difficult things about this case, and it is very controversial. As I said when I did an interview with the Geraldo (Rivera television) show, and then for other television stations, ‘An accusation and an assumption always are easy to make. But proof beyond a shadow of a doubt is a different topic.”
Car Is Damaged
Early in the Long Beach trial, where the defense now is putting on its case, the car of one witness was attacked hours after Judge Lee forced the witness to reveal certain personal information in open court. “If we have not analyzed and evaluated, very carefully, every bit of information that pertains to this particular situation, it makes it quite difficult to assume someone from a gang or someone else intentionally did her car harm,” Mr. Jones said. “As we well know living in today’s society, it is quite easy to become a part of some of the ludicrous, crazy things in different cities. It does not have to be a premeditated conspiracy. A big thing was made of the (attack on the car, possibly gang-related) on the Geraldo Show. I thought that was not nice. When Geraldo interviewed me, I talked about the (accused) kids.
In Their Defense
“They had no criminal background. They had never been arrested, had never had trouble with the law. Two of the kids have scholarships to good colleges, like USC and UCLA. One of the kids runs track, which represents the United States of America, has been for the last number of years, and has traveled around the United States and abroad, to represent the United States. These are not your average kids. They are not in a gang. I have sat in on the trial. I have looked at the kids.”
The imperturbable Mr. Jones related his narrative for thefrontpageonline.com with the serenity of a mother rocking her baby to sleep. “(Police) caught them in a parking lot, where they went to meet each other,” he said. “The girls (who were attacked) could not identify any of the kids. They said they only could identify them by their clothes, their jewelry and their hairstyle. I am watching this case closely. The only reason the L.A. Civil Rights Assn. is observing the trial is to make sure there is no injustice, that there is no violation of these children’s rights. I had a meaningful meeting with the District Attorney’s office in Long Beach. I asked him, if the kids have no criminal backgrounds, no prior convictions, why are they still incarcerated? They are not flight risks. Why couldn’t they be allowed to go to their homes and wear ankle braces? This way they could report back to school and continue their education. If they find these kids not guilty, the kids never will get back the time they are losing now. There is no compensation. Their parents have missed many days from work. I feel it is a total loss for everyone. I feel bad for the victims. But I also feel bad for the accused. I feel bad for the Long Beach court system, that they will have to spend millions of dollars focusing on this case. I don’t think this really was a hate crime. I think it was a misunderstanding between individuals.”
Postscript
Mr. Jones’ narrative will be resumed tomorrow.
