GUILTY NY - Tessa Majors, 18, Barnard College student, fatally stabbed, Manhattan, 11 Dec 2019 *13yo arrest

[LietKynes]

Still waiting for justice.

 

[MJPeony]

The murder of Tessa Majors has become a political football as this letter will demonstrate. It's really not about Tessa or her murder. Here is a paragraph or two:

Ensuring Community-Wide Healing Following The Tragic Loss Of Tess Majors

"This is an open letter written by the executive board of the Women of Color Pre-Law Society in response to the tragic loss of Barnard first-year Tess Majors and the ensuing investigation. The Women of Color Pre-Law Society strives to support women of color and other people of color on their pre-law journeys."

"Ensuring that no one is mistreated during the process of this investigation and that the investigation results in a response that is not limited to just criminal prosecutions will make the Barnard/Columbia community and the larger Harlem community in which we reside in feel safer. It is essential that the response of this investigation engages in a form of restorative justice that focuses on the root causes of why anyone, especially middle school-aged children, would engage in this kind of violence; justice must include actively interrogating and correcting the roots and effects of institutional oppression, gentrification, poverty, and other structural forces. A just and fair process will also ensure that both communities have a better sense of trust in the School and New York City policing, which both groups have had fraught relationships with in the past as demonstrated by BSO’s police report."

Ensuring community-wide healing following the tragic loss of Tess Majors

I’m college educated, and yet after I read that article I have no idea what it was trying to say

 

[katydid23]

I’m college educated, and yet after I read that article I have no idea what it was trying to say

It's trying to say, that even if LE does find the killers. it's not their fault....don't blame them.

 

[kaen]

The murder of Tessa Majors has become a political football as this letter will demonstrate. It's really not about Tessa or her murder. Here is a paragraph or two:

Ensuring Community-Wide Healing Following The Tragic Loss Of Tess Majors

"This is an open letter written by the executive board of the Women of Color Pre-Law Society in response to the tragic loss of Barnard first-year Tess Majors and the ensuing investigation. The Women of Color Pre-Law Society strives to support women of color and other people of color on their pre-law journeys."

"Ensuring that no one is mistreated during the process of this investigation and that the investigation results in a response that is not limited to just criminal prosecutions will make the Barnard/Columbia community and the larger Harlem community in which we reside in feel safer. It is essential that the response of this investigation engages in a form of restorative justice that focuses on the root causes of why anyone, especially middle school-aged children, would engage in this kind of violence; justice must include actively interrogating and correcting the roots and effects of institutional oppression, gentrification, poverty, and other structural forces. A just and fair process will also ensure that both communities have a better sense of trust in the School and New York City policing, which both groups have had fraught relationships with in the past as demonstrated by BSO’s police report."

Ensuring community-wide healing following the tragic loss of Tess Majors

While I understand the questions that this quoted second paragraph raise, I think it is important not to take one paragraph that talks about the importance of fair due process and issues that can crime and negate the other very important and preceding/subsequent paragraphs.

Opening:

"Dear President Beilock, President Bollinger and the Larger Columbia and Barnard Administration,

As members of the Barnard and Columbia community, we are continuing to mourn the devastating and tragic loss of Tessa Majors. A musician, feminist, and life-long learner, Tess was a valuable member of our community and impacted countless people on our campus and in Tess's home city of Charlottesville, Virginia. The painful loss of Tess has had an insurmountable impact on our community as we have tried to find ways to come together and support one another. This loss has rattled our community and will continue to impact all of our experiences here as we honor Tess’s memory. Tess’s death has reminded us, as a community, of the value of human life and how devastating it is when one is lost."

2nd paragraph:

"Part of the healing process and an important way for us to honor Tess’s memory is to ensure a just and fair investigation. Further, we want to emphasize that it is essential that the Harlem community we reside in, and actively engage with on a daily basis, is not isolated from this process and that Tessa’s death doesn’t further divide our campus from the surrounding community."

3rd paragraph:

"We are writing to urge Barnard and Columbia to communicate with the NYPD and officers investigating the tragic loss of Tess Majors that, while we value swift and efficient investigations and justice, we also want to ensure that the timeline does not implicate the wrong individuals. We are requesting that Barnard and Columbia ensure that the Harlem residents currently being targeted as suspects in the police investigation are represented by adequate counsel. Recent media reports have indicated that the 13-year old boy who was initially questioned by the NYPD was questioned without a lawyer present, with only the oversight of his uncle. Given the long history of unjust policing and surveillance of young black and brown people in the surrounding community, attention to a fair process is even more important. As we have seen in the past with highly publicized cases, like the Central Park Jogger case, NYPD has been accused of mishandling cases especially in high profile and horrific acts of violence. For example, in 2014, New York City mayor Bill De Blasio acknowledged that the original arrests and convictions of the Exonerated Five were an act of “injustice.”

4th and 5th paragraph:

"As members of the Barnard and Columbia community, we are also concerned about the impact of the university's historical and recent gentrification and policing policies and their impact on residents in Harlem. For example, incipient gentrification efforts in the late 1940s were marked by the creation of Morningside Heights, Inc. (MHI), a coalition of fourteen institutions including Columbia and Barnard that aimed to “improve and secure” this neighborhood. The MHI tracked the use of Morningside Park by “undesirables” who used the park to gain access to the Morningside Heights Area and attempted to restrict access to the park by individuals deemed “undesirable.” Recent scholarship has further demonstrated that Morningside Park, in particular, has been labeled as dangerous."

"Ensuring that no one is mistreated during the process of this investigation and that the investigation results in a response that is not limited to just criminal prosecutions will make the Barnard/Columbia community and the larger Harlem community in which we reside in feel safer. It is essential that the response of this investigation engages in a form of restorative justice that focuses on the root causes of why anyone, especially middle school-aged children, would engage in this kind of violence; justice must include actively interrogating and correcting the roots and effects of institutional oppression, gentrification, poverty, and other structural forces. A just and fair process will also ensure that both communities have a better sense of trust in the School and New York City policing, which both groups have had fraught relationships with in the past as demonstrated by BSO’s police report. We are also requesting that Barnard and Columbia work with community organizations, like Street Corner Resources and Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E, to ensure that systemic and community-based change is enacted to make Harlem a safe area for all of its residents. Our solution must be to unify with the surrounding community, to protect everyone and ensure all of our safety."

Last 2 paragraphs:

"It is essential that in ensuring our students’ safety, we do not make others feel unsafe. Working side by side with community-based organizations and partners will help to ensure that we do not exclude certain members of the Morningside Heights community. We need to increase staff that engages with Morningside Heights and Harlem residents to make sure we hear and advocate for their needs. Further, it is essential that our institutions engage with scholars and resources that engage with methodologies of restorative justice on our campus, like the Barnard Center for Research on Women and the Columbia Center for Justice, in addition to community organizations that exist outside of campus, as outlined above.

Morningside Park should be a space that everyone can use at any time without fearing for their safety. Tess Majors’ senseless death is a tragedy that must not be repeated. Tess was an amazing individual who was a loved member of the Barnard community and whose death has left a void in our community. It is up to us as a Morningside Heights community to strive to improve upon the community which we all value and cherish by ensuring that we address what caused an individual to do such a horrific act."


The full read of this article honors and decries the death of Tessa. The article highlights the importance of justice for Tessa as well as insuring that a mistake akin to the Central Park Five does not happen as a rush to judgment did in that case. The article (an open letter) does not imply that the perpetrators of this crime should not be punished but rather the outright statements are that in order to make some feel safe all need to feel safe which includes addressing what may be root causes of crime, the challenges that gentrification can cause, increase in community dialogue to determine the needs of all in the community as well as increase in security. Looking at the two paragraphs copied gives a sense that this group is not interested in justice for Tessa but a free pass for her killers. The full letter does not state that they are advocating a free pass--just a full look at how to tackle the issues across the board not just student safety but also systemic issues that can give rise to criminal behavior. I think it is well written--honoring of Tessa and stating the importance of a community response that looks beyond the needs of the college students (who will live there for x number of years) but also the full community who are affected by the actions of criminals and those who need interventions to make other choices rather than become criminals. Not once does the letter imply that accountability should be suspended.

 

[LietKynes]

It's trying to say, that even if LE does find the killers. it's not their fault....don't blame them.

bbm
Oh. Em. Gee.
And b/c they're young-- they can reform and be rehabilitated. Of course they can.
A 13 or 14 year old can't be evil, right ??

 

[kaen]

bbm
Oh. Em. Gee.
And b/c they're young-- they can reform and be rehabilitated. Of course they can.
A 13 or 14 year old can't be evil, right ??

The group who wrote the letter suggest that restorative justice and looking at the root causes of criminal behavior without stating that the people who murdered Tessa should face no or limited consequences. The idea that they are putting forth is focused on looking at the issues present in the community and utilizing the resources of Columbia, Barnard, and the surrounding community organizations to address the issues. It makes perfect sense that they are calling for a thorough, transparent and deliberative investigation that includes legal representation rather than rushes to judgment that may ultimately negate any arrests. The letter is not the one dimension that has been quoted in previous posts. I think that a full read gives a sense of the authoring groups suggestion of a multi-level /multi-pronged approach to making all safer in the community while building trust and partnerships.

 

[epiphany]

<snip> - One teen has been charged and police are looking into whether two other teenagers thought to be connected to the case can be charged

A grand jury will soon begin hearing evidence in connection with the Manhattan park murder of Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors, two sources familiar with the investigation told News 4 Wednesday.

Tessa Majors Case to Soon Go Before Grand Jury in Manhattan


<snip> A Manhattan grand jury will soon weigh charges against two 14-year-old suspects in the Morningside Park slaying of Barnard College student Tessa Majors, according to law-enforcement sources.

The panel will review the evidence cops have assembled since the Dec. 11 murder of Majors in what sources have called a robbery gone wrong.

Among that evidence is a knife believed to be the murder weapon, according to a high-ranking police source.

Investigators found the blade shortly after the slaying, but didn’t confirm until Wednesday its connection to the case while awaiting the results of forensic testing, according to one NYPD insider.

https://nypost.com/2020/01/29/grand-jury-soon-weighing-charges-in-murder-of-tessa-majors/

 

[borndem]

...

 

[MajorHoople]

"It’s now been more than a month since Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors was murdered and there are renewed calls for more safety in the area.

The community came together to address their ongoing concerns in Morningside Heights on Wednesday night, reports CBS2’s Valerie Castro from the meeting.

The memorial has weathered a bit, but the life of 18-year-old Majors has not been

The killing highlighted an ongoing issue with crime in the park, including a spike in robberies over the previous year.

“Sometimes it takes something really awful to get something positive, and that’s basically what I hope will happen tonight,” said local resident Diane Pollard."

Tessa Majors Killing: Morningside Heights Community Forum Calls For More NYPD Patrols

 

[MajorHoople]

NYPD cop testifies that the 13-year-old Tessa Majors murder suspect was identified by his sneakers | Daily Mail Online

"An NYPD cop testified on Tuesday that he identified the sole suspect to be charged in Tessa Majors' murder because the 13-year-old boy was wearing the same sneakers as a teen filmed leaving the park afterwards.

Majors was attacked as she walked through Morningside Park on the Upper West Side at December 11.

Days later, the NYPD arrested the 13-year-old boy - who DailyMail.com is choosing not to name because he is a minor - on trespassing charges."

 

[epiphany]

Teen's DNA evidence in Tessa Majors murder inconclusive: sources

<snip> The DNA evidence was allegedly from the teen suspected of stabbing Majors, sources said. But it came back as a 1 million ratio, which means more than 7,000 people in the world’s 7.7 billion population could appear to be a match to the sample collected.

<snip> ...“Often times you have cross contamination between one suspect and another or the victim and the perpetrators, which makes it inconclusive.”

The threshold needed to prove that no one else has the same DNA profile is a 5 billion ratio, but Gonzalez said he doesn’t believe the case is over.

DNA evidence in Tessa Majors murder inconclusive: sources

 

[MJPeony]

Teen's DNA evidence in Tessa Majors murder inconclusive: sources

<snip> The DNA evidence was allegedly from the teen suspected of stabbing Majors, sources said. But it came back as a 1 million ratio, which means more than 7,000 people in the world’s 7.7 billion population could appear to be a match to the sample collected.

<snip> ...“Often times you have cross contamination between one suspect and another or the victim and the perpetrators, which makes it inconclusive.”

The threshold needed to prove that no one else has the same DNA profile is a 5 billion ratio, but Gonzalez said he doesn’t believe the case is over.

DNA evidence in Tessa Majors murder inconclusive: sources

This is incredibly discouraging I reeeaallly hope they have something more.

 

[Gardenista]

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[happyday]

Tessa Majors case: 14-year-old boy arrested for stabbing death - CNN

 

[happyday]

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Thanks, Gardenista. It sounds like they have a TON of evidence and are very confident this is the person who stabbed her.

 

[zecats]

“We are confident that we have the person in custody who stabbed her, and that person will face justice in a court of law,” Shea said. "For that I am grateful, the city is grateful and the community around Morningside Park can take some comfort.

“Sadly, there is no comfort we can give them and for that we are sorry."

The second teen is charged as an adult and will be held at an undisclosed juvenile facility, WPIX reported.

Second teen arrested in murder of Barnard College student Tessa Majors, authorities say

 

[katydid23]

Tessa Majors case: 14-year-old boy arrested for stabbing death - CNN

(CNN)A 14-year-old boy has been arrested in the stabbing death of Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors in New York City, police and prosecutors said Saturday.

The boy faces two counts of murder in the second degree -- one for intentional murder, the other for felony murder committed during a robbery, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance told reporters. He's also charged with four robbery counts.
The boy was arrested without incident at a Harlem housing project Friday night, police said.


"Sadly, it cannot bring back this young woman, this student, this victim," NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said of the arrest. "That is something even the best most impartial investigation simply cannot do. What we can do is say that we are confident we have the person in custody who stabbed her."

Vance said the criminal complaint includes "substantial blood analysis," smart phone and video evidence and a recorded statement from the defendant.


He is being charged as an adult.

 

[ilovewings]

I just saw this -- thank goodness--- glad he is going to be charged as an adult- I am sure the police knew who he was all this time but they were pulling their case together to make sure he goes to prison for a long long time.

 

[borndem]

Just saw this -- please forgive if a repeat:

Barnard student Tessa Majors' death leads to murder charge against 14-year-old boy
Majors, 18, was at Morningside Park in New York City on Dec. 11 when three teenagers tried to rob her. She was stabbed repeatedly during a struggle.
Feb. 15, 2020, 1:22 PM EST / Updated Feb. 15, 2020, 3:16 PM EST
By Minyvonne Burke

A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged in the murder of Barnard College student Tessa Majors, who was killed during an armed robbery in a New York City park in December.

He is the second teen charged in the killing. A 13-year-old was arrested days after the incident and charged with second-degree murder, robbery and a weapons-related count.

More here:
14-year-old boy charged with murder in stabbing death of Barnard College student Tessa Majors

 

[realanastasia]

Cops Charge Second Teen in Tessa Majors Murder Case