suspect or perp?

there are like 8 million crime show dramas on television these days - CSI, criminal minds, law & order, without a trace, numbers, dexter, cold case, bones......you get the point. i guess this means we're obsessed with actually committing crimes and/or finding the criminals. do you think criminals watch these shows and get ideas? or do you think people become criminals after watching all these shows?

now, i'm not saying this is a good idea, but: if you're the type of person that enjoys committing serious crimes (or never has and wants to start) AND you want a guarantee of never getting caught AND you want to live on a tropical island in the middle of anywhere THEN i suggest you look into st. thomas, usvi.

last time i checked killing a person was a serious crime, that murdering someone was just about the worst crime you could commit. well, silly me, here in the usvi murder is not even remotely taken seriously and is practically commonplace, accepted and worse yet barely punishable. the virgin islands homicide rate per capita is 42 homicides for every 100,000 residents. the national rate is 5.5 per 100,000 residents. here in the virgin islands we kill people at a rate 8 times the national average! and yet we live in paradise! what gives?!

a great example of how little we care about charging criminals with a crime involves a teenager (Ford) and the "slaying" of a virgin islands police officer (Frett). (we call murders "slayings" here in the vi). there is quite a bit to the story, but in general:

Basheem Ford, 19, died in Market Square, V.I. Police Department spokeswoman Melody Rames said.

Emergency dispatchers received a call at 4:34 a.m. Sunday about a shooting victim in Market Square. Police found the victim, dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans and shot in the upper body, lying facedown in the roadway on square's west side.

Ford and Paris, his half brother, were scheduled to go on trial in November on charges they killed Frett in Hospital Ground in February 2007. Ford, who was a minor at the time, was shot several times by another police officer who reported he stopped to intervene when he saw Frett under attack.

Ford spent a week in the hospital before he was arrested. A judge later ruled he would stand trial as an adult.

Frett was off duty when the deadly confrontation broke out a block from Lionel Roberts Stadium on Feb. 8, 2007.

A witness told police he saw Ford running backward down Prindsens Gade while firing shots at Frett, who was chasing him with a stick.

According to an affidavit filed by Detective Mario Stout, the witness said Paris came out of an alley and instructed his brother to leave. Frett then struck Paris over the head with the stick he was carrying, according to the witness.

Paris and Frett rolled on the ground for several minutes. Their struggle spilled onto Bjerge Gade.

Officer Lorne Clark, at the time a rookie on the force, told investigators he heard shots and came to the aid of his fellow officer, according to Stout. From his car, Clark saw a group of people attacking Frett on Bjerge Gade. Paris was at the center of the group, repeatedly hitting Frett on the head with a rock, according to Clark.

During the attack on the officer, Ford shot Frett several times while standing above him, Clark said.

With his gun drawn, Clark got out of his car and chased Ford down. He said he opened fire when the boy refused to surrender, according to Stout.

Clark reported he heard more gunfire as he secured the area on Goat Street, where the boy collapsed. He ran back and saw Paris, with gun in hand, standing alone near Frett's body, according to the affidavit. The officer ordered Paris to drop his gun.

Instead, Paris leveled the weapon, forcing Clark to run for cover behind a VITRAN bus, according to the officer. Police found that Clark was justified in shooting at Ford following an internal investigation.

Paris surrendered three days later.

Both Ford and Paris have pleaded not guilty to Frett's murder. The conditions of their pre-trial release included abiding by a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Basheem Ford was considered a suspect? i think we're pretty certain this individual murdered a police officer. are you still just considered a suspect when you're seen by multiple witnesses and another officer during the attack to be standing above officer Frett and firing multiple times? Ford was then shot after being chased and landed in the hospital, then arrested, then released awaiting trial (and had a 9pm-6am curfew), then murdered (between 9pm-6am) a year and a half later, Sunday August 9th, 2009.

the bottom line to me is that "slaying" a police officer here in the virgin islands may actually land you in prison if you're really unlucky, but until then you're free to roam the streets involving yourself in as many other murders as you please.

Daily News "suspect in officer's slaying shot to death"

Daily News "trial to begin for brothers accused of killing officer"

next time on razyboy: former virgin islands police officer kills a tampa, fl police officer.