Frustration with what they see as too-lenient charges brought dozens to the Lowndes County Courthouse lawn Saturday, where the family of a 13-year-old Black child threatened at gunpoint demanded the suspect be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
In the week since the video showing a white 16-year-old suspect calling Jaryan Cox racial slurs and forcing him to do jumping jacks before striking him with the handgun went viral on Facebook, the victim’s mother, Joscia Shinn, said she has yet to hear from law enforcement about any changes to the suspect’s misdemeanor simple assault charge. Those charges, as of now, are being handled in youth court.
If the situation were reversed, Shinn said her son wouldn’t have fared nearly as well as the white teen who held him at gunpoint.
“When he pulled that gun and threatened my child’s life, that was aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” the mother said to the crowd of roughly 100 demonstrators, many wearing T-shirts declaring, “We will be heard.” “That would have been done (to my child). My child would be so far under the jail right now, he could sip tea with the devil. He’s 13. They would have still charged him as an adult.”
The suspect was arrested and charged Aug. 3 and is currently awaiting a grand jury to hear the case. Sheriff Eddie Hawkins and 16th Circuit Court District Attorney Scott Colom agree there’s a chance the teenager’s charge could be raised to a felony at that point, stemming from both this incident and other prior incidents.
But for the Shinn family, upgraded charges couldn’t come soon enough.
Laqulia Shinn, the victim’s aunt and organizer of Saturday’s demonstration, said she hopes the suspect will be held to the same standard she believes her nephew would have.
“We just want justice, and we want fair justice,” she said. “We want him to be treated as if he was Jaryan if Jaryan did it.”
Shinn said the trauma from the incident has been hard on the entire family, requiring them all to seek counseling. Cox spoke briefly, recounting the incident.
“How I felt in that situation, I felt shocked, and when he pulled that gun on me and hit me with that gun … it’s just so hard to speak about it,” he said.
‘It’s time for a change’
Speakers called for unity among community members to address what they believe are deep inequities in the local criminal justice system and its treatment of Black men. Several demonstrators stepped up from the audience to share their own loved ones’ stories.
“It’s time for all of us to come together and show them that the people run this state. The people run this city,” Laqulia Shinn said. “Y’all’s vote matters. If they can’t work with you, they won’t work for you.
“We share some of the same pain, whether you’re white or you’re Black,” she added. “We still bleed the same blood.”
Walter Shinn encouraged the crowd to remember which city leaders were absent from the demonstration Saturday when they go to cast their ballots in the future.
“You’ve got people that y’all have elected to be leaders for y’all,” he said. “But where are they? They should be out here fighting just as well.”
The victim’s mother asked those in attendance to use their spending power to send a message, drawing chants of “enough is enough” from the crowd.
“If your Black life doesn’t matter to these people, your Black dollars shouldn’t either,” she told the crowd. “Take your money to West Point to spend it. Go there to buy your groceries. Go there to get your gas. Go to Starkville. … Once you stop spending money here, and they start coming up short, somebody’s going to start listening.”
After the demonstration, Virginia Lewis, great-aunt to Cox, told The Dispatch the family was grateful for the turnout of supporters.
“This is a time we all need to come together and stand with one another,” she said. “This ain’t about color, nothing. It’s about the love for one another. … I would like to see justice and the system change. It’s time for a change.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
