Running for President of the United States of America is no easy task. Legions of people are interested in everything from where you come from to where you’ve been. They want to know how you’ve handled situations up until this point. Voters are trying to determine who you are, based on the way you think, react and conduct yourself. In order to determine that, there will be some tough questions on subjects to be addressed publicly.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton knows all too well about public scruitiny. She’s been criticized over her email scandal during her tenure as Secretary of State, cornered by members of the Black Lives Matter Movement and recently the Huffington Post has asked repeatedly where she stands when it comes to the man charged in last summer’s deadly shooting in Charleston.
None of us will be able to forget the tragedy that struck Charleston, South Carolina almost a year ago. 22-year-old Dylann Roof entered into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and opened fire. This resulted in 9 black people being killed. After a manhunt ensued, Roof was taken into custody. The nature of his actions were considered hate crimes, and thus he was charged with a slew of federal penalties. The Department of Justice has made a decision to seek the death penalty for Roof.
Many have weighed in on this decision including Hillary’s Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator does not support the decision, as he is an opponent of capital punishment due to his belief that does not fit America’s moral values and does not deter crime. Instead, Sanders believes that those individuals should be imprisoned for life without a chance for parole. Despite Sanders as well as many othervoicing their opinion, Clinton has yet to do so. She has been asked on numerous occasions by new outlets and groups about where she stands when it comes to the death penalty for Dylann Roof. Last year, Clinton went on record with the New York Times stating, “I think there are certain egregious cases that still deserve the consideration of the death penalty, but I’d like to see those be very limited and rare.”
Does Clinton find the actions of Dylann Roof to be henious? Does she find the nine lives that were taken so easily at the hands of someone who hated them for the mere fact that they were black, less valuable and not worth pursuing a penalty as high as the death penalty?
Although many of us are concerned with issues other than the death penalty as we look to choose our next president, we must look at sideline issues such as this one. Her decision to remain silent speaks volumes. Unfortunately, her silence doesn’t tell us if the volumes are in the favor of those black faces whose black votes she so desperately wants.
