[Seattle-editorial] FEATURE PROPOSAL: Suspicious Hanging Death in Ashcroft's Home Town

Thu Oct 17 22:58:29 PDT 2002

Approximately 80 scholars who attended a recently held conference on lynchings and their effect on American society wrote a letter to Ashcroft asking him to personally conduct an investigation of the suspicious hanging death of a young man from Kenya in Ashcroft's home town, Springfield, Missouri. This is definitely not the first such; Springfield has 17 different racist hate groups, and a reputation for lynchings. Following are two letters in regard to this case, the second is the letter to Ashcroft. I've also heard from a Springfield resident that local people view Ashcroft as responsible for preventing "these horrible occurances" from being known or investigated, and are afraid to talk about racial issues, for fear of losing their jobs, homes, and even lives.

October 3, 2002<p>

To Whom It May Concern:<p>

Yesterday the body of an African-descent man, Leonard Gakinya, was found hanging from a communications tower in the center city of Springfield, Missouri. Thanks to the diligence of my colleague, Ms. Rosemary Stewart-Stafford, there are pictures of the incident. Ms. Stewart-Stafford was also diligent enough to look through the local telephone book and contact the local directory assistance for the surname "Gakinya." She located and spoke to a Mrs. Regina Gakinya, the mother
of the deceased. Her telephone number is (removed) and her address is (removed).

The Springfield NEWS-LEADER has an article about the hanging with much reference to it being a "suicide."  Please see the clipping below.<p>

This morning, I talked to Mrs. Gakinya and her two daughters. They all state they don't think their son and brother committed suicide. Their basic comments to me were:

* Leonard has lived in Springfield, Missouri, since 1996, and had no real problems until after September 11, 2001. After that he was targeted by the INS for working without a permit and was also followed by the Springfield police.

* Mrs. Gakinya had gotten a lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri, to assist Leonard with his deportation case. Her name is Sarah Schilcher and her telephone number is (removed). He was to have a hearing in Kansas City on November 17.

* Leonard was fearful of the local police and was anxious about his situation. But he was not depressed in the sense of having long-term clinical depression. He had seen a Dr. Babin at a local "free clinic" in a social services organization called The Kitchen.

* Lately Leonard seemed fine and was interacting well with his family.<p>

* On Tuesday, October 1, someone (a European-American male voice) called the Gakinya residence and asked for Leonard. Then the person hanged up the phone without identifying himself or waiting for an answer. Mrs.
Gakinya said the local telephone company states it is unable to trace the call.

* Mrs. Gakinya states she was not allowed to see Leonard's autopsy procedure and that the local police proceeded without her premission and involvement. The police also told her that Leonard had been taken to Cox Hospital North when actually his body was at Cox Hospital South.

* Mrs. Gakinya and her daughters state that they waited 2 hours at Cox Hospital South before they were allowed to see Leonard, and that hospital peronnel seemed resistant to allowing them to see his body. Mrs. Gakinya said she had to insist upon seeing her son. Leonard had a large bruise on his left temple (ignored by the newspaper account) according to Mrs.
Gakinya, and she stated a hospital nurse referred to Leonard as having been traumatized.

* Mrs. Gakinya has no police report, no hospital report, no autopsy report or any other papers related to the death of her son.

*  The Gakinya's would like an independent expert with no ties to Southwest missouri to perform another autopsy on Leonard's body to make sure his death was not homicide.<p>

October 5, 2002<p>

Dear Attorney General Ashcroft:<p>

Having gathered October 3-6, 2002, at the international conference "Lynching and Racial Violence in America: Histories and Legacies," at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in conjunction with the exhibit "Without Sanctuary," we, the undersigned,
call attention to the suspicious hanging death of Mr. Leonard Gakinya in Springfield, Missouri, on Wednesday, October 2, 2002, as reported in the Springfield News-Leader. We demand an investigation by federal law enforcement agencies of the suspicious death of Mr. Gakinya. The U.S. government has recently made an enormous commitment to the investigation of
international terrorism; nonetheless, numerous instances of domestic terrorism continue to go ignored and uninvestigated. This conference and this young man's death have compelled us to demand that our government examine the practice of domestic terrorism.

Mr. Gakinya was found hanging from a radio tower in downtown Springfield. While local police assert that his death was a suicide, Mr. Gakinya's family vigorously disputes this conclusion. Mr. Gakinya's death recalls a triple lynching of three innocent
Black men in Springfield's square on Easter weekend 1906. These men were hanged from a city-owned tower. To this day, Springfield remains notorious as a hub of white supremacist activity.

The death of Mr. Gakinya powerfully evokes a centuries-long history of racially motivated murders of African-Americans in the U.S. But, clearly, we cannot confine our moral outrage and witness to the past. As calls for war escalate daily, and the
nation's attention is focused on international terrorism, we must not forget the racial terrorism that continues to plague our own society. The hasty conclusion of the police investigation in Springfield, your hometown, gives us pause, and reminds us of the
summary dismissal of so many lynchings "at the hands of persons unknown."  Therefore, we, the undersigned scholars and activists, call for a complete and thorough investigation by the Department of Justice and all other relevant authorities of the suspicious death of Mr. Leonard Gakinya. Specifically, we call upon you Attorney-General Ashcroft to exercise personal
supervision of this investigation and to take as vigorous action against racially-motivated domestic terrorism as you have in the pursuit and prosecution of international terrorists. Given the long, shameful history of underinvestigated and unprosecuted crimes against African Americans and other oppressed groups, it is imperative that justice be pursued today.<
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