Don't Blame Me, I'm Just The Criminal : Guest Blog by Tami Tator

July 19, 2008

[Tami Tator is an aspiring writer and the author of the true crime blog: Crime, Interrupted]

In Tucson, Arizona, three 17-year-old girls are headed home after a day of hanging out during summer vacation. Its approximately10:00 p.m. and they are waiting to take their bus home. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man with a bandana covering his face and a machete in hand proceeds to slash one of the girls' faces. One of her friends attempts to intervene, but she was also attacked. The alleged perpetrator, Rickey Russell, flees the scene, but his alleged crimes do not end with these girls. He allegedly goes out again later that night and attempts to rob and carjack two other people at two different locations.

It should come as no surprise that Russell has a criminal history that includes disorderly conduct, criminal damage, assault, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

As a mom and a true crime blogger, these are the types of cases that hit me hardest -- the ones involving kids just innocently doing the things that kids do. I imagine my own daughter at that age, just innocently hanging out with friends, waiting for the bus to take them home and then being confronted by a criminal who wants to harm her without reason or provocation. Truthfully, it makes you never want to let your children out of your sight.

Whenever I read about these cases on the net, I almost always browse the reader comments so I can get an idea of where most people stand on cases like this. In this particular case, which I originally found at Tucsoncitizen.com, I agreed with the majority of the comments, as most were sympathetic toward the victims, but as usual there were also a select few that blamed both the victims and their parents. None of those posters mentioned the heinous nature of the crime or the criminal. While the people who comment never come right out and say, "It's their own fault for being out so late," the message is implied. So for all intent and purposes, they are blaming the victims.

It seems like no matter what the case, or who the victims are, there are always a handful of people who blame them.

Another great example is the Jessica Lunsford case. When 9-year-old Jessica went missing from her bed in February 2005, a great number of people focused on Mark Lunsford and his family. They were convinced that the Lunsford's had something to do with Jessica's disappearance. After all, who would be brazen enough to pull a child from their own home and kidnap them? Yet, even after Jessica's body was found and John Evander Couey was named a suspect, some people still focused on the Lunsford's, questioning their lifestyle, and essentially blaming Mark Lunsford for not being home when his daughter disappeared.

We seem to live in a world where picking apart the victim or their family has become the norm. It seems as though there are people who never accept the victims at face value for what they truly are -- victims. Instead, we live in a world where people criticize victims and their families. Their typical phrases are "I would never," "I could never," or "It won't happen to me because...."

I suspect there will always be people who misplace blame. There will always be people who scrutinize every little detail of the victim and their family's lives, instead of focusing on the criminal. My hope is that one person will read this and say, "Yeah, this could happen to me."

We all have the potential to become victims and we all have the potential to be blamed for that victimization.

Rickey Russell's Photo Courtesy of Tucson Police Department

Please note that Investigation Discovery does not necessarily endorse any of the views expressed by guest bloggers and Investigation Discovery is not responsible for the information contained in guest posts.

Comments

[KDuba]

As always, Tami, very well written.

You're so right, there are always people who blame the victims, their families, and even society for what people do to others. In reality, blame should be placed on the perpetrator.

While upbringing and environment may be factors in crimes that are committed, more often than not, people have a choice to make...and many times it is the wrong one.

[Mark Horner]

Hi Tami,

Great to read your post hear on Discovery. Nice job!

Best,
Mark Horner

[Tami T.]

Thank you, KDuba and Mark, for your comments!