by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
No one in the audience whispered back and forth.
The din of forks hitting plates ceased.
No one jiggled their glass to loosen up ice.
One-by-one, the survivors talked.
A grandmother of one of two missing teenagers pleaded for help and read a letter from her son — one boy’s father — who is in Indiana.
Another survivor talked of her sister, who was brutally beheaded by an axe-wielding murderer eight years ago.
“We didn’t know where to turn,” she said. “The family was often almost comatose. The community desperately needs the Justice Coalition.” Amazingly, she added, “Our hearts certainly do go out to his (the murderer’s) family.”
One gentleman relayed the story of how his brother and sister-in-law were kidnapped and dumped into a grave — alive. His brother had just sold his home and it’s suspected the killers knew there was money to be had.
“Perhaps their kindness led to their downfall,” he said. “Our family has suffered beyond repair.”
One survivor’s son was shot four times by a thug who thought the son had stolen his cell phone.
“That was the worst night of my life,” he said, adding he’d lost his wife a year-and-a-half earlier. “I wanted to scream and yell. His life was taken because of a cell phone. Our family has always been close, but we can see a difference.”
An airline pilot, Desert Storm veteran and father talked about having too much trust in someone his son and his friends had befriended.
“He turned out to be a sexual predator who targeted our home and family,” he said. “Violent crime can happen even in the nicest neighborhood. He was convicted, and is now behind bars. But, those kids are a mess right now.”
Ike Brown is with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He lost his son to murder several years ago.
“I never thought that could happen. I am on top of things,” he said. “It was me that put the bad guys in jail.”
Those poignant messages were delivered Thursday morning during the Justice Coalition’s 5th Annual Together We Can breakfast. Attended by about 250 from the legal, law enforcement, business and civic leaders community, the messages were shocking and sad, but also intended to send a message. With violent crime at near epidemic status on the First Coast, the Justice Coalition hosted five area sheriffs, several judges and elected officials and dozens and dozens of business leaders with one goal in mind — to draw attention to the work Justice Coalition Founder Ted Hires started 12 years and the need for support from the entire community to continue that work.
“Last year was the worst year for murders in Jacksonville in many, many years,” said Sheriff John Rutherford. “Last year, in the first half of the year there were 73 murders. In the second half, there were 40. That’s a 42.9 percent decrease. There was one difference. The people stood up and said, we are not taking this anymore.”
Ann Dugger is the executive director of the Justice Coalition. She’s seen the need for the group’s work grow over the years and she’s seen the support grow, too.
“Five years ago, there were about 75 people here. Today, we have about 250,” said Duggar. “The community leaders have gotten involved and they see the need for the Justice Coalition. They understand the key to eliminating crime is citizen involvement. I am humbled in appreciation at the crowd here.”
One day, Duggar would like to see the end of the Justice Coalition, but only under one condition.
“If we go out of business, it will because there are no murders and no crime,” she said.
One-by-one the survivors talked.
Some choked up, others had someone else read statements for them.
All have forgiven, none have forgotten.
They don’t carry the hate or let their anger cloud their judgment.
They don’t plead for help on behalf of themselves or their families.
They plead for the community to get involved.