Wednesday, September 12, 2012

SOUND OF SILENCE


You could see the pain etched permanently in the faces of the victims families who gathered yesterday, September 12, 2012, at the 11th anniversary memorial of the murders that snuffed out the lives of almost 3,000 human beings at the World Trade Center.

It was a sickening feeling that I felt in my stomach as I looked at these faces of the victims, their children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, nieces, nephews, cousins, other family members, friends of these victims.

Behind their eyes, I recognized, felt, the familiar deep pain that victims families carry permanently inside of ourselves. It is hard to describe that pain, but we who are in this situation of never ending grief, know the look, signs, and sense the agony.

I could feel my own pain for my son Steven, my father Samuel, and all parents who have lost their loved ones to DUI, DWI, Wars, 9/11,  and so many other senseless tragedies.

Watching and listening to the 3,000 names, each being read in memory of the World Trade Center victims by family members, watching, feeling their grief bubbling to the surface, forever grieving.

The ages of these victims flashed by with their pictures on my television screen as each name was read. So many young people, babies, children, young adults in their 20's, 30 year olds the same age as my son Steven when he was so horrifically killed, 42 year old victims, the same age as my father when he was murdered. 

The symbolism clearly felt by anyone with a heart, that all of us are left with one deep, bottomless empty gaping hole, a lifelong scarring of what ifs, what is, what could have been, and why us.

I experience what I am feeling, that death is forever, they are all gone, never to return. We cannot ever again touch, talk, hug, kiss, or see our departed loved ones, and they will never be able to do so either. None of them will ever breathe, smile, cry, feel the sun, snow, rain, get to grow older, nor realize the goals that they set for their futures.

I deliberately post this Blog today, September 12, one day after the 9/11 anniversary date. My reason for doing so, is that all victims and their loved ones in this world know that the days after the date of our loved ones death are the very worst times of the year for us.

These are the times that drag on excruciating slowly, when the world forgets, others forget, and we are left alone as the only ones who truly remember. It is only us who can feel the pain of grieving that never gets better as the years, days go by, in fact it gets worse as we realize over time how much we have lost in life. 

We who are haunted by the demons, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, flash backs, thinking, always thinking, our on/off switches of the mind broken in the on position, cascading torturous memories about those so cruelly taken away, all blending into a chain of agonizing pain.

At the World Trade Center Memorial ceremony in 2011 last year, Paul Simon performed a beautiful, poignant, so very sad special version of the song "Sound of SILENCE" 


You can see it in his his face, his eyes, the words written so long ago as he sings, it's all there to feel as you watch.

For it is the terrible sound of silence that victims feel who are forever dead and their families live with until the end of time, never able to hear each others voices, laughing, crying, or saying I love you, missing them is unbearably final.



Monday, September 3, 2012

MY FRIENDS SON

                             Monday, September 3, 2012


                                              STEVEN'S SONG 

                                                     In Memoriam: 
                                   STEVEN NATHANIEL  WOLKOFF
                        September 23,1977 – June 21, 2008

CLICK ON HERE TO LISTEN TO STEVEN'S SONG -The words below were sent to me by a friend who after listening to Steven's Song, wrote how she felt. 
 
"Dear Jerry,
That was one powerful song. Thank you for sharing it . It was well done and well played and a very generous gift to be given.

These are the unsung words for Steven's song:

Into His Own

He came into his own not even knowing he had
A young man, on his way, to meet his dreams
he fell in love with life the day he was born
he sang the songs of his time and played the music he loved.

He met life straight on,
every challenge a joy, a chance to meet destiny and more
he could decode and read things most cannot even begin to know
maybe it was the musician in him, maybe it was the genius.

He brought people in, closer to him just by being himself
those that knew him understood this charisma, this quality
he didn't even know he touched so many people
many that never even met him, yet those who knew him knew this about him.

A son, a brother, a boyfriend, a friend
endless words to describe him.
The one thing they all knew was, he would respond positively to them
and he could probably draw a sell out crowd.

My friend, his father, loved him more than words could ever speak
more than the deepest ocean or brightest sun
this young man, though he is no longer in his father's grasp or hand
has never let go of his son's heart and he never will.

He came into his own, much faster than many older than him ever do
he lived life to its fullest, though there was more to live.
Now, in silence and many times tears, he is remembered and revered
by those who loved him, this young, beautiful man,

My friend's son, Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff,
I have listened to you grieve, heard your voice crack
shared your deepest sorrow
and all I could ever hope for is one moment of peace for you.

May that moment come one day in a dream
in your mind, I know it won't in your heart.
Thinking of you, my friend, tonight and always
Know that your son, came into his own, not even knowing that he had.

STEVEN'S SONG


                                                 In Memoriam: 
                                   STEVEN NATHANIEL WOLKOFF 
                       September 23,1977 – June 21, 2008

CLICK ON HERE TO LISTEN TO STEVEN'S SONG

Steven's Song is an music composition written by the Composer Gary Gilroy in memory of my son Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff.

It's New York Premiere was performed by the Wantagh High School Wind Ensemble on May 22, 2012.

This original composition is a quiet and moving work meant to serve as a tribute to the life of an exceptional man, my son Steven. I love him, miss him very much and he will be remembered forever.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

LEVI ARON SENTENCED- 40 YEARS TO LIFE FOR DISMEMBERMENT, MURDER OF 8 YEAR OLD LEIBY KLETZKY

                                      

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leiby-kletzky 
                                           
REST IN PEACE LEIBY KLETZKY
                                     
On Thursday August 29, 2012, Levi Aron was sentenced to 40 years to Life for the murder of 8 year old Leiby Kletzky.  He will be eligible for parole in the year 2052 at 77 years of age, unless he gets out for good behavior, meets some fatal payback in prison, or god decides to take him. 

The "Brooklyn Butcher" plead guilty to snatching the 8-year-old off the street last summer, holding him captive and chopping up his body.



In private, Aron was remorseful, his defense lawyer Pierre Bazile said outside the courtroom."He's sorry and he wished he hadn't done IT," said Bazile.

Small comfort to the parents of little Leiby and his family who will live with the inner demons of the horrific acts of depravity that were done to Leiby by the animal Levi Aron.

Mr. Aron hides behind his lawyers, his Yarmulke, and the phony facade that he is so mentally ill that it somehow prevents him from publicly stating his own remorse, taking self accountability for murdering, torturing, dismembering this innocent 6 year old child. 

Instead we are supposed to feel sorry for him according to one of his lawyers Jennifer L. McCann that  poor MR. ARON "will not be believed no matter how many times he "apologizes", has suffered enough, has atoned for his evil, will be punished "properly" for his deeds, and as his other attorney Pierre Bazile states "he's sorry and wished he hadn't done IT". 

Gee whiz, golly, what's all the fuss about? Levi Aron is sorry and wants a "do over", he wishes it didn't happen, as if magically he is not responsible for the heinous acts he chose to murder an 8 year old child. The terrifying last minutes experienced by Leiby Kletzky before he died at the hands of this monster can never be imagined by anyone, it is beyond comprehension. Too late for wishing "this" away, "it" is done, murder cannot be reversed by wishes.

"IT" doesn't say much about the actual facts that describe the cold blooded kidnapping, murder, mutilation involved in Levi Aron having had more than sufficient mental capacity and presence of mind to put together a series of systematic, planned actions that allowed him to horribly snuff out the life of an 8 year old child.

Mr. Aron knew exactly what he was doing in "his panic", drugging Leiby with a sandwhich that included sedatives which he had the knowing ability of his lucid mind to prepare, then strangling, suffocating Leiby with a towel as the child vainly tried to fight back, and cutting apart Leiby's body, limb by limb to hide it. The acts of an animal yes, the actions of a mentally ill person to be pitied, understood, or of "someone who is sorry and wished he hadn't done it,  absolutely not.

Mr. Aron knew exactly what he was doing when he did "IT". This was all about him trying to protect his cowardly ass, not having the courage, the common sense (Saychel) to control his fears of how to explain that he knew that what he had done was wrong by taking Leiby, and not wanting to be found out for doing this. 

Certainly this was a poor choice of decisions that Levi Aron consciously made but that does NOT constitute mental illness, allow for forgiveness, nor does it in any way diminish the evil that he has done.

40 years to life is too good a sentence for Mr. Aron. He deserves to rot in hell instead of burdening the people of New York State with the cost of  $60,076 which is the Average Annual Cost per inmate in housing a jailed prisoner (not including the overhead costs of Corrections Department staff, etc.).
  
His incarceration will cost much more than the above average inmates annual cost as he will require complete isolation from the rest of the prison population, no doubt a special Kosher diet, and the various amenities such as Cable TV that certain prisoners receive.


Let us never forget what  8 year old Leiby Kletzky got as his sentence. This innocent angel child who never deserved "IT", lies  6 feet underground, with his rotting body parts cut into pieces by Mr. Aron, and this child will never be alive again, despite the alleged remorse of " Mr. Aron. Leiby will never again enjoy his childhood, grow up, get married, have a family, enjoy his life. Dead is forever and his life has been stolen from him and his family by the deeds of Mr. Arron.

As I looked through the Internet, various media for their reporting of the sentencing of Levi Aron, there were much less coverage than ever before. Like so many victims before him, after him, the world has little interest and a very short attention span when it comes to remembering victims.

We have become a world of dumbed down, numbed, selfish, heads up in their assholes society, where unless something has happened that directly affects a family, it is consigned to the vitrual amnesiac dung heap of garbage where society places its fears, anxiety, compassion, caring so that it cannot feel any longer.  

Feelings are a dangerous thing to most people, it is something that most can no longer allow themselves to do without endangering their fantasy lives of self delusion. So, the Mr. Levi Aron's of this world and their helpless victims, even 8 year old children such as Leiby Kletzky, no longer matter in the daily parade of news describing unbelievable carnage of human beings that occur in our world, our country, our neigborhoods. 

Somehow people believe if they don't feel, think, it will somehow protect their own self, their families from being added to this growing long list of victims.

With all due respect to the Kletzky family beliefs and  their decisions, I understand what, why they have chosen this path in dealing with Mr. Aron. Nothing will bring their son back to them. However, based on my own personal experiences, sorry folks, I wish it were different, but sadly it doesn't work that way and you can believe what you want, pray to whoever you believe in, no matter, the Mr. Aron's of this world and the dysfunctional legal system will insure that a human life remains cheap, worthless, expendable, and we are part of their prey to be struck down when it is least expected. 

Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for masterminding the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Levi Aron gets 40 years to life for murdering, torturing, dismembering 8 year old Leiby Kletzky. A ridiculous dysfunctional legal system huh, how can that be, need I say more???

The ugly truth is "IT" will be this way in the future and "IT" will be worse as the world we inhabit becomes more of a jungle that allows animals to do what they wish with the rest of us who follow the rules that they don't pay any attention to, for they have no rules.

Below is a summary of the Court sentencing Mr. Aaron on Thursday August 29th, 2012-Brooklyn, NY -August 29, 2012

Man Who Killed and Dismembered a Lost Boy, 8, Gets 40 Years to Life

A hardware store clerk who killed and dismembered an 8-year-old Brooklyn boy in 2011, stunning both the close-knit Orthodox Jewish community where they lived and the city, was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years to life in prison.

Levi Aron, 37, who kidnapped Leiby Kletzky as he walked home on a summer day in Borough Park before killing him and stuffing some of his remains in a suitcase, barely spoke during the brief proceeding in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

When asked by Justice Neil J. Firetog to comment before being sentenced, Mr. Aron, who sat slumped in an orange prison jumpsuit, a skullcap atop his head, whispered a “no” that was barely audible in the courtroom.


Mr. Aron, who has a history of mental illness, had faced the possibility of a life sentence. But under a deal worked out with the district attorney’s office this month, Mr. Aron pleaded guilty to one charge of second-degree murder and one charge of second-degree kidnapping, which carry lighter sentences.


The plea, on Aug. 9, also came after psychological tests concluded that Mr. Aron’s mental problems would not qualify him for an insanity defense.


Leiby’s parents, Nachman and Esther, wanted to avoid a trial
that would have forced them to relive details of the grisly killing, said Dov Hikind, a state assemblyman from Borough Park who has been the family’s spokesman.


As it is, the Kletzkys, who did not attend Wednesday’s hearing, have enough pain to contend with on a daily basis, Mr. Hikind said after the sentencing.“There’s someone not coming home from school; there’s someone not at the Shabbos table,” he said, referring to the religion-tinged weekend meals that are a tradition among observant Jews.“There’s someone missing there,” Mr. Hikind said, “so the last thing they wanted was to go through this for a week, or two, or three weeks.”

Mr. Hikind also forcefully played down the possibility that Mr. Aron could be released from prison in 2052, when he is up for parole. No parole board that considers the outrageousness of Mr. Aron’s crimes, which also included stashing cutup body pieces in a freezer, would ever let him out, Mr. Hikind said.


Although Mr. Aron may not have publicly apologized for killing Leiby, he has expressed remorse in private, according to Pierre Bazile, one of his lawyers. “He said he’s sorry and that he wishes that he hadn’t done this,” Mr. Bazile said after the court hearing.

Lawyers for Mr. Aron, who has been held in a cell for 23 hours a day on Rikers Island, have requested that he also be held in solitary confinement in prison, to protect him from other inmates. “There are a lot of sick, demented people that reside in the jails,” Howard Greenberg, another of his lawyers, said after the hearing.


Suggesting an explanation for his client’s actions, Mr. Greenberg added that Mr. Aron’s family had a history of schizophrenia, and Mr. Aron suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was young.


On July 11, 2011, Leiby’s parents allowed him to walk partway home from a day camp, all alone, for the first time. But he got lost along the seven-block route, prompting him to ask Mr. Aron for directions.


Instead, Mr. Aron kidnapped Leiby and drove him to a wedding in Rockland County, and later brought him to his attic apartment in Kensington, Brooklyn.


After Leiby’s abduction, thousands of neighbors took to the streets to try to find him, in a missing-child case that shocked a Hasidic community known for being insular and largely safe. At the same time, the missing-child case recalled an earlier, more dangerous era in New York City, when many children were forbidden to walk by themselves.


As the search intensified, Mr. Aron panicked, according to testimony, and suffocated the boy before chopping him up. Some pieces ended up in Mr. Aron’s freezer; others were stuffed in the suitcase, which was thrown in a Dumpster a few miles away.Video from surveillance cameras eventually led the police to Mr. Aron.

On Wednesday, the prosecutor, Julie Rendelman, condemned those actions, which snuffed out a life way too soon, she said.

Leiby’s family has filed a lawsuit against Aron’s father, who owned the building where his son lived when the boy was killed. They argue that the father should have known something unspeakable was happening under his roof and could have saved the boy if he tried.


Aron’s attorneys asked for protective custody for their client because they worry he will hurt himself or be hurt by others. The state department of corrections must decide whether to grant the request.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY OF 8 YEAR OLD LEIBY KLETZKY MURDERED.          
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In keeping to my promise to honor the memory of murdered 8 year old Leiby Kletzky, I will continue to post on my Blog, all stories related to this tragedy until the case is closed.
 



Friday, August 17, 2012

THESE ARE THE DAYS

These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days, the time is now
There is no past, there's only future
There's only here, there's only now
  


Play this for someone, before it is too late. Before being taken from each other into another life.     

Play this for someone you have lost forever and REMEMBER those wonderful times you had together.      

Most of all, play this for yourself to bring some peace to your soul.

                  
              THESE ARE THE DAYS

Thursday, August 9, 2012

LEVI ARON MURDER UPDATE- ARON PLEADS GUILTY IN MURDER OF 8 YEAR OLD CHILD LEIBY KLETZKY. WHY THE YARMULKE?

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leiby-kletzky
                                           
REST IN PEACE LEIBY KLETZKY

His eyes glazed over and his voice a barely audible whisper, Levi Aron pleaded guilty today to abducting, suffocating, dismembering, murdering 8 year old Leiby Kletzky.



Looking dazed and speaking barely above a whisper, the Brooklyn hardware store clerk pleaded guilty Thursday to charges he abducted,dismembered and murdered the 8-year-old boy who lost his way home.

The guilty plea, to charges of second-degree murder and kidnapping, guarantees Levi Aron a sentence of 40 years to life in a case that traumatized the victim’s tight-knit Orthodox Jewish community.

Aron, 36, had previously pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder and, if convicted, would have faced life without parole.

But the family of Leiby Kletzky urged prosecutors to strike a deal to avoid the painful spectacle of a trial.“There is no way one can comprehend or understand the pain of losing a child,” the boy’s father, Nachman Kletzky wrote in a statement distributed to the press. But he added that the plea gave the family “some partial closure on one aspect of this nightmare.”

Legal closure came Thursday afternoon after an expressionless Aron was led into the courtroom wearing an orange jump suit, handcuffs and a yarmulke.

Judge Neil Firetog began by telling him that after seeing psychological reports, he was convinced claiming mental illness was “not a viable defense.”The judge then had Aron answer a series of often leading questions about his conduct.

His one-word responses were delivered in a low, flat monotone after long pauses and prodding by his lawyers.
Aron expressed no remorse and only hinted at motive: At one point told the judge he felt “panic” when he found out there was a frantic search on for the boy, who was still alive in his apartment.

The judge asked him what he decided to do, and he responded simply, “Smother.” He also answered yes when asked if he had bound and drugged Leiby.

Afterward, defense attorney Jennifer McCann insisted that her client, though under medication, knew what he was doing.“He came here to accept responsibility for his actions,” McCann said. “He understands the charges.”

Sure "he understands the charges" says his slimy Lawyer McCann who has been previously quoted as  casually saying " “This is what I do,” she said. “You kill people, you call me.”

Though Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes said in a statement last August that there were "no circumstances which would lead me to accept a plea bargain,” the deal was reached after Leiby’s parents told the prosecutors they wanted to avoid a trial."We want to thank D.A. Hynes and his team for bringing this to a quick resolution as we requested -- for not forcing us to relive the terror that began when Leiby went missing," Leiby’s father Nachman Kletzky said in a statement read by state Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) after the proceeding. (See full statement by Nachman Kletzky on behalf of his wife and family).

"Those three days of uncertainty were unbearable, but our community led a tireless search and allowed us the comfort of at least knowing the truth of our child’s fate," the statement continued.

Levi Aron may be heavily medicated now, his voice soft and his affect flat, but he doesn't fool anyone, this is a sane criminal, a child killer, who understands not only the charges against him but that he is fully responsible for his deliberate actions in killing a child in such a ruthless, pre-meditated, thought out manner. Despite his pleading guilty there remains a piece of his costume that he unashamedly continues to wear, as if it somehow means what he has done is OK. 


I couldn't help but notice that Levi Aron continues to wear his yarmulke (kippa, skull cap) on his head as part of his uniform of the day, orange jail suit, handcuffs, and of course his yarmulke. I think how hypocritical, ugly it is to see the unbearable ease with which the yarmulke is used by him as if it represents a sense of morality about him.   

He shows no remorse, no regrets for the unthinkable horrific murder of am 8 year old child, but there he is sitting in court with a yarmulke on his head.  
 
The yarmulke is supposed to inspire humility. Its purpose to remind the wearer that from the head and down, the body is mine, but from the yarmulke and above the world belongs to god.

The Talmud states, "Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you". Rabbi Hunah ben Joshua never walked 4 cubits (2 meters) with his head uncovered. He explained: "Because the Divine Presence is always over my head."

Levi Aron, hardly a man of god, how many times will he wear this yarmulke for the rest of his life as the blood of the murdered, tortured 8 year old victim Leiby Kletzky stops crying out from his grave and his family lives forever with the permanent pain of what happened to their loved one.  

Which great mitzvah did Levi Aron complete when he murdered the helpless child Leiby Kletzky that signifies the meaning of why he wears a yarmulke?

What kind of spiritual accounting does Aron submit that yarmulke on his head to? How heavy was it on his head when Aron took the life of one of God's creations? 

I respect those people who truly believe in G-D. For them their belief's are a personal, unbreakable covenant that they live their lives through a set of prayers, principles, and compassion to human kind. 

Levi Aron, TAKE THE YARMULKE OFF YOUR HEAD, you fool no-one as your deeds stand by themselves showing the animal you are.  It isn't a fashion accessory; it's a way of life. It is a commitment, one which you have horrifically broken with your murdering, vile acts. If there is a Hell, you Levi Aron deserve to rot in there with all the evil ever known to mankind. 


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CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY OF 8 YEAR OLD LEIBY KLETZKY MURDERED.          
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In keeping to my promise to honor the memory of murdered 8 year old Leiby Kletzky, I will continue to post on my Blog, all stories related to this tragedy until the case is closed.
 



Tuesday, August 7, 2012

WHO OWNS YOUR BODY WHEN YOU DIE?

Zelda Tallman so eloquently states in the Comments Section of the San Mateo County Times " There is a reason that Steven Wolkoff's parents "..don't take no for an answer...". It has to do with justice, and fighting to ensure that when our loved ones die, people in coroners' offices across the state treat their bodies with the utmost respect. The Wolkoffs are fighting to ensure that coroners do not keep our loved ones' organs - just because they want to. 

They are fighting to ensure that coroners act with professionalism and are objective. What happened to the Wolkoffs happens all the time. 

People just don't know it. It is absolutely sickening and horrifying. Frontline, NPR and Propublica spent years investigating what coroners in California are doing with our loved ones after they die. I hope the Wolkoffs never "take no for an answer" when fighting for our rights and the need for this kind of change. We should all be so strong" 

An unprecedented collaborative investigation by FRONTLINE, ProPublica and NPR found a very different reality: A dysfunctional system in which there are few standards, little oversight and the mistakes are literally buried.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.
 
Most people assume that the immediate legal next of kin have all of the rights of making sure that their deceased loved one is treated with respect and dignity, according to their wishes, in a humane manner.    
Wrong, it appears that you do NOT OWN YOUR OWN BODY, NOR DOES YOUR FAMILY.   The Coroner owns you, all of you or whatever human part they decide to keep. Laws in most States, in particular California are deliberately kept weak and watered down so that just about anything that a Coroner wants to do with human remains is often considered "legal" by default, since there are only  3 or 4 specific things that a Coroner/County is not allowed to do.     
These lobbyists who don't want their clients powers to be eroded in any way, including the power of owning your body. This explains how the barbaric behavior of Government officials was allowed to happened to my son Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff, a long list of similar innocent victims, and their families.  I have written about what happened to Steven in many Blog posts, the most recent one dated August 1, 2012.   
  In San Mateo County California where the Coroners Office, the County Attorney, and other Public Officials allowed the mutilation of my sons body to occur because they do not respect the dignity of dead innocent victims, it is all about their need to cover the asses of those involved in the desecration of my son.        
To that end, their use of the ARROGANCE OF JUSTICE, a term that I have coined to describe the absolute power that those public officials who are sworn to protect our legal rights, but instead wield complete power as to what they consider is legal, what is allowed to be released to the public as the "truth", that which is hidden to obscure violations of the law by those in charge.        
The County officials through their Law Counsel who casually, rationalizes as if they are talking about a piece of merchandise, that they have done nothing wrong in how Steven's remains have been treated, somehow  blaming us as victims in asserting our legal rights for due process, as we not only have a responsibility to do our very best in securing Justice for Steven, but to try to prevent this from happening to other families in the future.      
  These officials exist to prevent embarrassment to those public entities that employ them, all done at the expense of no justice given to hundreds of thousand voiceless victims and their families. They consider human life as having no value and in their warped minds have not a shred of a clue that their behavior AFTER Steven died is not only disgustingly immoral, heartless, but also illegal.        
The ARROGANCE OF LAW exists because those in charge of the Laws can and do whatever they want in deliberately maintaining weak ambiguous laws, distorting, interpreting, and judging what constitutes the "legal truth".    
They can because they know that they can, and in doing so these shameless, heartless, unfeeling monsters of the dysfunctional circus system of legal justice in America that mocks the victims harmed by others, enables this broken system to  even further rot away, all because they refuse to accept accountability, responsibility for the actions of those in power. 
We will keep on fighting, doing our very best to obtain Justice for Steven and all others victimized by the Coroners Office, Government officials, those who would rule us by their evil.