The Maryland NAACP, its Baltimore branch and other activists are joining a family's call for a state investigation into how prosecutors have dealt with a youth's death in January at a privately run residential program for juvenile offenders in Carroll County.
The family of Isaiah Simmons says six counselors who pinned the youth to the ground for more than three hours before he passed out and died should be charged with manslaughter, a felony, rather than reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor.
Marvin L. "Doc" Cheatham Sr., president of the Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the Maryland attorney general's newly formed civil rights office should investigate how prosecutors in Carroll County have dealt with the Simmons case.
"They need to look at this and see if justice is being done, and right now it doesn't look like justice is being done," Cheatham said.
The counselors charged in Simmons' Jan. 23 death were employees of Bowling Brook Preparatory School, a residential facility for juvenile offenders that was forced to close after the incident. Trials are scheduled in October.
A grand jury indictment accused the counselors of reckless endangerment for waiting 41 minutes to summon an ambulance for Simmons, who was unresponsive and needed medical attention.
Federal authorities said in March that they were launching a civil rights investigation into Simmons' death, which was ruled a homicide by the Maryland medical examiner. An FBI spokeswoman said yesterday the investigation is "ongoing," but declined to comment further.
Cheatham and Danielle Carter, Simmons' sister, said they believe race played a role in the decision to indict the counselors on a charge of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, rather than the more serious charge of manslaughter. They note that most of the counselors are white, as are the prosecutors, investigator and grand jurors who dealt with the issue. Simmons, 17, was black.
"I felt like they completely devalued his life to something that is the equivalent of a speeding ticket," Carter said. "Reckless endangerment is an insult and a slap in the face to our family and to my brother's memory."
Carroll County State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes said race had nothing to do with the charging decisions.
He said the county grand jury that heard the case was thoroughly briefed on all of its options, including filing manslaughter charges, but rejected that option.
