They say justice is blind. You probably wouldn’t get an argument from Sharon Conroy.
She’s seen all too much of it.
She’s also seen three young men – charged in the brutal attack that led to the death of her only son - laugh their way through the system.
Yesterday she saw them stand and offer an apology.
Finally, she hoped to see justice delivered.
She came away disappointed. It’s hard not to sympathize with her.
Conroy, who still lives in Lansdowne, dutifully showed up at every court hearing for the three teens charged in the death of her son, Sean. The 36-year-old Starbucks manager was the victim of a gang attack on a center city SEPTA subway concourse.
Ameer Best, 18, Nasheer Fisher, 17, and Kinta Stanton, 17, all were sentenced Thursday to 12 and a half to 25 years in jail.
Before hearing their fate, each stood, faced Sharon Conroy, and offered apologies for jumping her son in what appeared to be little more than a dare. Young men who had skipped school.
They had time to kill. Literally.
The three likely will be out of prison long before they even reach the age of Sean Conroy, who grew up in Upper Darby.
That fact was not lost on his mother.
“I’m disappointed,” she said outside the Criminal Justice Center. “I don’t think anybody left there happy today. As a parent, we were hoping for the maximum. Realistically, at least something equal to Sean’s life expectancy.”
But it was clear something else was bothering her. It was the young defendants’ callous attitude as they made their way through the justice system.
“I wake up to the sounds of his pleas for mercy while you laughed,” she said. “I don’t understand how you could laugh. You laughed right up to the verdict.”
Justice is supposed to be blind. It’s not supposed to laugh in your face.
You probably wouldn’t know that from the death of Sean Conroy, and the cavalier attitude of those responsible for snuffing out his life, and leaving his loved ones to pick up the pieces.
She’s seen all too much of it.
She’s also seen three young men – charged in the brutal attack that led to the death of her only son - laugh their way through the system.
Yesterday she saw them stand and offer an apology.
Finally, she hoped to see justice delivered.
She came away disappointed. It’s hard not to sympathize with her.
Conroy, who still lives in Lansdowne, dutifully showed up at every court hearing for the three teens charged in the death of her son, Sean. The 36-year-old Starbucks manager was the victim of a gang attack on a center city SEPTA subway concourse.
Ameer Best, 18, Nasheer Fisher, 17, and Kinta Stanton, 17, all were sentenced Thursday to 12 and a half to 25 years in jail.
Before hearing their fate, each stood, faced Sharon Conroy, and offered apologies for jumping her son in what appeared to be little more than a dare. Young men who had skipped school.
They had time to kill. Literally.
The three likely will be out of prison long before they even reach the age of Sean Conroy, who grew up in Upper Darby.
That fact was not lost on his mother.
“I’m disappointed,” she said outside the Criminal Justice Center. “I don’t think anybody left there happy today. As a parent, we were hoping for the maximum. Realistically, at least something equal to Sean’s life expectancy.”
But it was clear something else was bothering her. It was the young defendants’ callous attitude as they made their way through the justice system.
“I wake up to the sounds of his pleas for mercy while you laughed,” she said. “I don’t understand how you could laugh. You laughed right up to the verdict.”
Justice is supposed to be blind. It’s not supposed to laugh in your face.
You probably wouldn’t know that from the death of Sean Conroy, and the cavalier attitude of those responsible for snuffing out his life, and leaving his loved ones to pick up the pieces.
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