Crime

OP-ED: The Sister Epidemic

Published

11 years ago

June 10, 2014

By Courtney Thomas, student at Laney College

Oakland has become a very dangerous place to live. There are shootings happening every day, and every time you turn around someone is getting killed. Although I have lived in Oakland for 21 years, I’ve never seen a dead body but I have seen guns and drugs all my life.

< p class=”p3″>I am a sister of an older brother that is in the street life – that’s my reality. My brother lets me know things that I need to know – or like he says, he “puts me up on game” — so I can be aware of the things going on and keep myself safe. We’ve developed a relationship that is unbreakable. My brother is my best friend — I tell him everything and he does the same. But I am always dreading a knock on the door where I could be told that my brother has been killed.

The epidemic of gun violence directly affects the women in our community. As women, we have to worry about our fathers, sons, cousins, nephews, and in my case, my brother, being gunned down. People don’t understand that we are the ones that hurt the most because of the loss.

Here in Oakland, people take revenge on friends and loved ones when someone kills someone that they know. Naturally, I’m afraid whenever he leaves the house. I hear a knock on the door and I hesitate to answer — thinking that someone is going to give me the worst news of my life.

On August 16, 2013 I had to experience the pain and hurt of losing someone that was very close to me. He was shot down in Sobrante Park. This event took a toll on me and I began to worry about my brother more because he was really close to the man gunned down in the park.

Shortly after, there was a shooting on 104^th and International. I woke up to a phone call from my friend asking me what happened and I was confused when the person began to tell me about the event. The first thing I did was go to look for my brother. I didn’t care about anyone else; I just wanted to make sure my brother was okay. My heart was beating so fast it was crazy. When I found out that he was okay, my heart was at peace.

However, April 24, 2014 might have been the saddest day of all. My brother got a phone call from his dad to go check on our cousin but when he got over there, police were surrounding the area. Eventually we found out it was because my cousin was laying dead in her car – she had been shot in the head.

The gun violence needs to stop in Oakland. It’s only getting worse. I sit and worry about my younger siblings, especially my little brother who is 14 and getting ready to start high school – the place where the violence is starting.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

Published

4 days ago

March 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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Activism

Group Takes First Steps to Recall District Attorney Diana Becton

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency. On their social media post, they say: “We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states. “We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.” Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Published

1 week ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

Diana Becton has served at the Contra Costa County District Attorney since 2017. Richmond Standard photo.

By Post Staff

After gathering more than 100 verified signatures, a group led by crime victims delivered a ‘notice of intent’ to the offices of Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton seeking her recall.

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency.

On their social media post, they say:

“We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states.

“We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.”

Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Becton has seven days to respond. According to the East Bay Times, her office spokesperson said her “answer will be her public comment.”

After Becton responds, according to the Contra Costa County Elections Office, Recall Diana Becton must then finalize the petition language and gather signatures of a minimum of 10% of registered voters (72,000) in 160 days before it can go on the ballot for election.

She is the third Bay Area district attorney whose constituents wanted them removed from office. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was removed from office in 2021 and last year, Pamela Price lost her position in a recall election.

Of the top 10 proponents of Becton’s recall, three are the families of Alexis Gabe, Thomas Arellano, and Damond Lazenby Jr.

In each of those cases, the families say Becton failed to pursue prosecution, allowed a plea deal instead of a trial in a slaying and questioned the coroner’s report in a fatal car crash.

Some political science experts suggest that, in the Bay Area there may be a bit of copycat syndrome going on.

In many states, recalls are not permitted at all, but in California, not only are they permitted but the ability to put one into motion is easy.

“Only 10% of registered voters in a district are needed just to start the process of getting the effort onto the ballot,” Garrick Percival, a political science professor told the East Bay Times. “It makes it easy to make the attempt.”

But according to their website, the Recall Diana Becton group express their loss of faith in the prosecutor.

“Her lack of transparency regarding crime in this county, and her attempts to keep her offenders out of jail have left us disheartened,” the recall group wrote.

Petitioners say they are acting not just for themselves but other crime victims “who feel ignored, exasperated and hopeless in their pursuit of justice for themselves or their loved ones.”

KRON TV, The East Bay Times, and Wikipedia are the sources for this report.