Michael Griffith
Encyclopedia
Michael Griffith was a 23-year old man who was born in Trinidad
and who lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
, who was killed after being hit by a car in Howard Beach, Queens
, New York
, on December 20, 1986. Griffith was chased onto a highway by a mob of white youths who had beaten him and his friends. Griffith's death was the second in a string of three infamous racially motivated killings of blacks by white mobs in New York City
in the 1980s. The other victims were Willie Turks
in 1982 and Yusuf Hawkins in 1989.
near Broad Channel. Three of the men walked about three miles north to seek help in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens
, an insular, mostly white community. Sylvester remained behind to watch the car. They had an argument with some white teens who were on their way to a party, and after an argument, left.
. After having a quick meal, the men left the pizzeria at 12:40 a.m. where they were confronted by a group of about ten white men who were with the group they had earlier confronted. Racial slurs were exchanged. A fight ensued, and Sandiford and Griffith were seriously beaten. Griffith, while trying to evade his tormentors, ran in front of a moving car, driven by the son of a police officer and was killed. His body was found on Shore Parkway at 1:03 a.m.
. On 22 December three arrests were made of local teenagers; the accused were Jon Lester, Scott Kern and Jason Ladone. The driver of the car that struck Griffith, 24-year old Dominick Blum was not charged with any crime and was cleared by a grand jury in May, 1987.
, two controversial attorneys who would earn infamy for their role in the Tawana Brawley
affair the following year. Maddox raised the ire of the NYPD and Commissioner Benjamin Ward
by accusing them of trying to cover up facts in the case and aid the defendants.
Mario Cuomo
appointed Charles Hynes special prosecutor
to handle the Griffith case on January 13, 1987. The move came after heavy pressure from black leaders on Cuomo to get Santucci off the case, who was seen as too partial to the defendants to prosecute the case effectively.
-related complications in 1991, and in December 1999, the street where Griffith lived was renamed "Michael Griffith Street."
Jason Ladone, then 29, was released from prison after serving 10 years in April 2000, and later became a city employee. He was arrested again in June 2006, on drug charges. In May 2001, Jon Lester was released and deported to his native England
, while Scott Kern, the last of the main three perpetrators was released from prison in 2002.
In 2005 the Griffith case was brought back to the public's attention after another racial attack in Howard Beach. A black man, Glenn Moore, was beaten severely with a metal baseball bat by Nicholas Minucci, who was convicted in 2006. The case was revisited yet again by the media, after the death of Michael Sandy
, 29, who was beaten and hit by a car after being chased onto the Belt Parkway
in Brooklyn
, New York, in October 2006.
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and who lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, who was killed after being hit by a car in Howard Beach, Queens
Howard Beach, Queens
Howard Beach is a suburban neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered in the north by the Belt Parkway and South Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, the east by 102nd-104th streets, and the west by 78th...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on December 20, 1986. Griffith was chased onto a highway by a mob of white youths who had beaten him and his friends. Griffith's death was the second in a string of three infamous racially motivated killings of blacks by white mobs in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the 1980s. The other victims were Willie Turks
Willie Turks
Willie Turks was a subway car maintenance worker who was fatally beaten by a white mob in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, New York...
in 1982 and Yusuf Hawkins in 1989.
Friday, December 19, 1986
Late on the night of Friday, December 19, 1986, four black men, Michael Griffith, 23; Cedric Sandiford, 36; Curtis Sylvester, 20; and Timothy Grimes, were riding in a car when it broke down in a desolate patch of land on the Cross Bay BoulevardCross Bay Boulevard
Cross Bay Boulevard is the main north–south road in Howard Beach, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. In the south, it originates in The Rockaways, runs over the Cross Bay Bridge into Broad Channel and then over the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge into Howard Beach...
near Broad Channel. Three of the men walked about three miles north to seek help in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, an insular, mostly white community. Sylvester remained behind to watch the car. They had an argument with some white teens who were on their way to a party, and after an argument, left.
Saturday, December 20, 1986
By 12:30 a.m. on the morning of the 20th, the men reached the New Park Pizzeria on Cross Bay BoulevardCross Bay Boulevard
Cross Bay Boulevard is the main north–south road in Howard Beach, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. In the south, it originates in The Rockaways, runs over the Cross Bay Bridge into Broad Channel and then over the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge into Howard Beach...
. After having a quick meal, the men left the pizzeria at 12:40 a.m. where they were confronted by a group of about ten white men who were with the group they had earlier confronted. Racial slurs were exchanged. A fight ensued, and Sandiford and Griffith were seriously beaten. Griffith, while trying to evade his tormentors, ran in front of a moving car, driven by the son of a police officer and was killed. His body was found on Shore Parkway at 1:03 a.m.
Arrests
The killing of Griffith provoked strong outrage and immediate condemnation by then Mayor of New York Ed KochEd Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
. On 22 December three arrests were made of local teenagers; the accused were Jon Lester, Scott Kern and Jason Ladone. The driver of the car that struck Griffith, 24-year old Dominick Blum was not charged with any crime and was cleared by a grand jury in May, 1987.
Protests
To protest the killing of Griffith 1,200 demonstrators marched through the streets of Howard Beach on December 27, 1986. In week leading up to protest march, Al Sharpton made threats to residents, but on the day of protest, he had people march peacefully. A heavy NYPD presence kept angry locals who were screaming at the highly emotional crowd of marchers.Legal proceedings
One of the victims, Cedric Sandiford and the Griffith family retained the services of Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon MasonC. Vernon Mason
C. Vernon Mason is an African-American lawyer from Tucker, Arkansas. Best known for his involvement in several high profile New York City cases in the 1980s, including the Bernhard Goetz, Howard Beach, and Tawana Brawley incidents, Mason has not practiced law since his 1995 disbarment. He then...
, two controversial attorneys who would earn infamy for their role in the Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley is an African-American woman from Wappinger, New York. In 1987, at the age of 15, she received national media attention in the United States for accusing six white men, some of whom were police officers, of having raped her...
affair the following year. Maddox raised the ire of the NYPD and Commissioner Benjamin Ward
Benjamin Ward
Benjamin Ward was the first African American New York City Police Commissioner. Ward was one of 11 children and was born in the Weeksville section of Brooklyn, New York.-Military and Police experience:...
by accusing them of trying to cover up facts in the case and aid the defendants.
Governor Cuomo intercedes
After prosecutorial witnesses repeatedly refused to cooperate with Queens D.A. John J. Santucci, Governor of New YorkGovernor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Mario Cuomo
Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo served as the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, and is the father of Andrew Cuomo, the current governor of New York.-Early life:...
appointed Charles Hynes special prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
to handle the Griffith case on January 13, 1987. The move came after heavy pressure from black leaders on Cuomo to get Santucci off the case, who was seen as too partial to the defendants to prosecute the case effectively.
New indictments
Twelve defendants were indicted by a grand jury on February 9, 1987, including the original three charged in the case. Their original indictments had been dismissed after the witnesses refused to cooperate in the case.Verdicts
After a lengthy trial and 12 days of jury deliberations, the three main defendants were convicted on December 21, 1987, of manslaughter, a little over a year after the death of Griffith. Kern, Lester and Ladone were convicted of second-degree manslaughter and Michael Pirone, 18 was acquitted. Ultimately nine people would be convicted on a variety of charges related to the death of Griffith.Sentencing
On January 22, 1988, Jon Lester was sentenced to ten to thirty years imprisonment. On February 5, Scott Kern was sentenced to six to eighteen years imprisonment, and on February 11, 1988, Jason Ladone received a sentence of five to fifteen years imprisonment.Aftermath
Cedric Sandiford, one of the principal victims and witnesses in the Griffith case died of AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related complications in 1991, and in December 1999, the street where Griffith lived was renamed "Michael Griffith Street."
Jason Ladone, then 29, was released from prison after serving 10 years in April 2000, and later became a city employee. He was arrested again in June 2006, on drug charges. In May 2001, Jon Lester was released and deported to his native England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, while Scott Kern, the last of the main three perpetrators was released from prison in 2002.
In 2005 the Griffith case was brought back to the public's attention after another racial attack in Howard Beach. A black man, Glenn Moore, was beaten severely with a metal baseball bat by Nicholas Minucci, who was convicted in 2006. The case was revisited yet again by the media, after the death of Michael Sandy
Michael Sandy
Michael Sandy was an African-American man from Brooklyn, New York, who died after being hit by a car while trying to escape four attackers who attempted to rob him because he was gay.- Background :...
, 29, who was beaten and hit by a car after being chased onto the Belt Parkway
Belt Parkway
The Belt System is a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The system comprises four officially separate parkways; however, three of the four are signed as the Belt Parkway...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, in October 2006.