THE CITY HAS FAILED TO SOLVE BLACK HOMICIDES IN SPRINGFIELD, MA
Springfield, MA – MORE (Mother Overlooked Reaching out Empowerment – fighting for justice for the families of the murdered and missing in Springfield) held a memorial vigil to call attention to the number of unsolved BIPOC homicides in the city of Springfield.
Since 2017 there have been 40+ unsolved recorded murders in Springfield. The MORE community members came together to unite families who continue to suffer over the loss of their loved ones and the ongoing pain of not nearly enough happening to solve these crimes and restore and transform justice.
MORE members say that they are in the process of organizing vigils at sites of unsolved homicides in Springfield and will continue until the city responds effectively.
This first vigil honored the memory of Reginald (Reggie) Dessasure. Reggie’s wife, family, MORE members, and many others from the community were in attendance and stood in solidarity with the hurting families and neighborhood.
In speaking about Reggie, his wife, Jajuana said, “Reggie was a family man and a great father of three. He loved music. One of his dreams was to be in the music industry. He also wanted to start and own his own landscaping company. He was outspoken and 100% devoted to everything he did. Jajuana said Reggie was such a great role model for his kids and anyone who knew him.
Jajuana said, I lost my brother, and now my kids have no father, and I have no husband. So, I am speaking out to keep Reggie’s memory alive and to call attention to how those who work for the city have done very little to help in my grief and healing, so I am working with others to work for justice for Reggie and all the others who suffer with us.”
Speakers included Jajuana Dessasure and Juanita Batchelor, Executive Director of MORE.
Juanita is the mother of Jajuana; she has also suffered the murder of her son (Jajuana’s brother) nearly eight years ago (and since that time, she has lost other family members as well).
Of all of these unsolved homicides, Juanita states, “My son’s murder is still unsolved after all these years, and there are so many others. The list keeps growing. I have stayed in touch with the police about the investigation, but nothing happens. Police generally say that the community needs to talk about what happened and without that they don’t have any information. This seems to me to be weak response. So I founded MORE to bring those impacted by gun violence/homicides together to organize and fight for our rights.”
The final speaker was Minister Charles Stokes, a member of MORE MEN. Charles discussed police, policing, what needs to happen, and how to join their growing movement to build healthy communities and attain peace and justice. Stokes explained, “We have a police department in the city of Springfield that was under a two-year Department of Justice investigation that resulted in a scathing report that stated that the narcotics unit needlessly escalated encounters with community members and that they used a pattern of excessive force. There is now a federal court ordered consent decree placed upon the SPD. With community relations so terrible, how on earth do the police expect our community to trust them with such serious and sensitive information?”
Stokes added, “In terms of fighting for justice for the families who have suffered a homicide, we are going beyond the SPD, calling for the Hampden County District Attorney to do due diligence to help families who have suffered. Let’s also remember that these families of unsolved murders are largely all BIPOC. Stokes said, The murder victims who are white, generally have their cases solved and closed.”
