A village can prevail

Dear Editor,

There has been a lot of talk — and some of it has been written — about the senseless killings of two innocent men who were not harming anyone. The men I am speaking of, of course, are Bill Isaacs and Dickie Stewart. I did not know Mr. Stewart, but Bill Isaacs talked with me endlessly with a humble sound in his voice about how to raise my fish.

I read in the newspaper that it is not illegal to discharge a firearm in the county jurisdiction of Pickens. I will ask, why?

Bullets have no eyes, but people have eyes, as well as a voice, but instead of talking about it, do something about it.

There are people to talk to to get laws passed, and a good start is with our elected officials. There is also the voting system. If the elected officials don’t do their jobs, make a change come voting time.

In my criminal justice classes, the instructor talked a lot about probable cause. Believe me, I am not kicking the responding officers, because all of them have a very tough job and a very fine line to walk, but I cannot for the life of me believe that in the technology of today and the sharp eyes of a good officer that the criminal could outsmart any of them. It takes a smart criminal to look a good officer in the eye and be a liar. Surely, there had to be probably cause for an arrest before it came to what happened.

I live in a restricted subdivision in Dacusville, and in March 2009, a new tenant moved into the only rental home and decided he could target practice with a high-powered rifle. He was asked by one person to stop shooting, because there is no way to point a gun without it being pointed toward a home, but he didn’t listen. In April 2009, I was working in my yard when he started shooting, so I yelled at him three times to stop. The third time, he told me to “shut your **** mouth.”

I went into my house and called the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and told the dispatcher what was going on. Then-Captain Dewey Smith responded to my call, and after listening to the shots being fired, he drove to the man’s yard. I did not hear what the man said to Captain Smith or vice versa, but the man did not spend that night at home. Maybe we were lucky or maybe the time was 2009, but all it took was one call and one good officer.

I will say again — people, stop talking and start doing. Sometimes it does take a village.

Genell Stewart-Mull

Dacusville