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How Cleveland Enabled a Serial Killer
Mark Duncan / AP Photo
As finger-pointing intensifies over how a murderer with ties to the mayor went unnoticed for years, Mansfield Frazier says the real culprit is the misguided war on drugs.
Law enforcement and social service agencies, family members, governmental departments, religious institutions, and an entire community are attempting to place blame on each other for perhaps the most heinous ongoing crime spree in Cleveland’s history. The body count of drug-addicted black women now stands at 11, and the FBI has gotten involved as attention shifts to a vacant house next door to where the first victims were found. Residents are praying that no more bodies are discovered, but a long list of missing Cleveland women remains.
Even the city’s mayor, Frank Jackson, has a personal connection to the crime—his niece has come forward and acknowledged that she lived with the alleged serial killer, Anthony Sowell, for a time last year. The official and community focus, however, still seems to be stuck on exculpation rather than prevention of future tragedies of this kind.
“I knew a couple of these women back in the day, and if there had been some real options in the community, perhaps some, if not all, of them would still be alive today,” said Debbie S. “But we’ll never know.”
The city prosecutor recently stated that a few months ago, when one woman came forward with and accused Sowell of attempted rape, a city detective said she wasn’t a credible witness—in spite of blood splatters in Sowell’s home and other documented evidence. The police chief is now countering that statement by saying it was the prosecutor, not his detective, who didn’t want to move forward on the case.
Meanwhile, the community is up in arms, asking why the police and members of the sheriff’s department—who visited the home on a regular basis, because Sowell was a registered sex offender—failed to notice the stench that has permeated the neighborhood and perplexed residents for years.
But instead of pointing fingers, law enforcement should focus on treating addicts, says one streetwise expert. Chuck W. is a Cleveland drug merchant who admits that he’s a “dealer that never holds.” In other words, he never has to see or touch the product that has caused so much devastation to the city.
“They’re never going to find the right answers because they’re looking in all of the wrong places for all the wrong answers,” he said. “I’m about two years away from getting out of this racket altogether and getting into something legit, and the only thing I’ve ever feared is the feds decriminalizing this stuff, and I knew that was never going to happen. One thing for sure, they’re never going to successfully outlaw the dope game. It’s been 40 years since they started the war on drugs, and they haven’t made a dent in the supply yet. If they want to solve the problem of addiction, they’re going to have to put more money into treatment than trying to catch people like me. I don’t know any crackhead that gets up in the morning and says, ‘Man, I’d sure like to get high today, but I’d better not because it’s against the law.’ That just doesn’t happen.”
Crack cocaine is generally acknowledged to be the most psychologically powerful and addicting street drug the world has ever seen—some say it’s even stronger than mother love. “I used to get high with some women that would sell their own daughters to the drug boys for a couple of rocks,” said Debbie S., a former addict who has been clean for almost five years. “I was fortunate in that I don’t have any kids, and I knew how to hustle, so someone could never have tricked me off into a bad situation like these poor women. I could always find some drugs because I was a good hustler, but what I couldn’t ever find was real treatment.”
According to news reports, all of the dead women had, at one time or another, interacted with the criminal justice system as a result their addictions, but none were successfully treated. “I knew a couple of these women back in the day, and if there had been some real options in the community, perhaps some, if not all, of them would still be alive today,” said Debbie S. “But we’ll never know.”
“The police know who I am and what my people do,” said Chuck W. “What they don’t know is when and where we’re going to do it. If they ever get too close to me, I’m ghost… I’m outta here. This is one big game. They keep the public bullshitted by showing them huge drug busts, just so they can keep on getting funding, but they know they’re only catching a drop in the bucket. If they were winning the so-called war on drugs, the price of a kilo would have gone up, but instead it has gone down, and business is great. Even if they bust me, there’s a bunch of dudes just waiting to take my place. These killings are so sickening I just might get out now. I’ve got granddaughters now, you know.”
Debbie S.’s conclusion? “I really don’t think they want to shut the drug game down,” she said. “Too many people are making a good living off of it. Families that have money or insurance can afford treatment for their loved ones… my family never totally gave up on me. But if you’re poor, it makes no difference if you are black or white, you’re ass-out. I hope no one thinks that this motherfucker killed all of the crack whores in his neighborhood, or in Cleveland for that matter… no one can be that stupid. This will happen all over again sooner or later, you can bet on that—if not in Cleveland, then somewhere else. These women have targets on their backs.”
Mansfield Frazier is a native Clevelander and former newspaper editor. His regular column can be seen on CoolCleveland.com. An avid gardener, he resides in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland with his wife Brenda and their two dogs, Gypsy and Ginger.
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pricklypear
How many of these women had the scars of abortion on their psychs? That is a huge burden to shoulder. Do the research. That is where the abortion clinics are strategically located, where the poor and predominantly black people live. The message is, "You're not fit to be a mother". "You're poor, you're black. Get rid of that baby". By then these women feel they have no choice.
BelleOCosity
You have got to be kidding me pricklypear. What the hell is wrong with you?
scott1607
How is the abortion issue even relevant to this story? Unless you're suggesting the world would have been a better place had Anthony Sowell's mother aborted him...
pricklypear
Thank goodness Barak Obama's mom chose life.
jbo206
prick
Get help. 1) Abortion had nothing to do with the story 2) one of the addicts mentions other addicts giving their children away for drugs... this would be somehow be less of a scar on their psychs than abortion?
pricklypear
Human life is cheap when a woman is encouraged to abort human life growing inside her.
EmmaElisabeth
That is an outrageous jump to make, and is it entirely unrelated to the story. Please do not turn everything into an opportunity to pick a fight about abortion. You are the one that is assuming that these poor black women are running around getting abortions, and you are accusing the clinics of racism?
pricklypear
Yes the clinics are committing genocide.
Cforchange
Ohh pricklyheat what do you have to say to the crack hoe who doesn't even know she's pregnant? Choice - you are hysterical. The only choice for the moment will be which corner will net $10 the quickest?
You are showing how little you know about our American culture - it has nothing to do with race, poverty or pregnancy- it's addiction you fool.
Crack certainly makes you instantly poor no matter your color. You care about nothing else especially not a bump in your belly or the many children left home or wherever while out at the real job of getting yourself fixed.
This situation is about pure chemical dependency and opportunity to freely commit crime. Many opportunities like the Cleveland deal develop once jobs vanish, populations decline in numbers and we let our mentally ill free to roam on the range. Empty housing is not good, suburbanites are on the way to learning this first hand.
Pear you must be drunk with glee over the Stupak amendment - can you blame abortion for the fall of GM too?
pricklypear
Human life is worthless when women are encouraged to get abortions. It's not a baby it's a fetus, right?
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n--Y--cydmillerEmmazon
I know this isn't an abortion issue, BUT..."Do the research. That is where the abortion clinics are strategically located, where the poor and predominantly black people live." Bullpucky....one of the abortion providers in my hometown is in one of the nicest neighborhoods.
kayadams
oh you have GOT to be kidding -- abortion has nothing to do with this. I personally had FOUR abortions because of men taking advantage of me passed out drunk or the fourth time in sobriety when I trusted him when he said, "I had a vasectomy" --- this is a PRIVACY ISSUE ---PLUS would you let a first year medical student perform surgery on you? is a ONE L an attorney? is a fetus a baby? no no no that is why the term is GOING to have a baby... a fetus is NOT a baby. that is why the term is pregnant, NOT I have a baby... one is pregnant and just like a medical school or law school STUDENT completion of the term can garner going from student to doctor or attorney but conception is not the same thing as a baby -- wake up nutcakes -- we women are NOT going to return to back room abortions -- the house should be ashamed of itself -- stupack (sic) will not survive conference....and more importantly rich folk have always gotten abortions safely in hospitals -- had a roommate rich well connected FIVE months pregnant taken care of via hospital in the 1960s........I am soooo happy I did not carry any pregnancy to term it was such a relief each time............and to this day even tho' I NEVER had kids I would not change anything --------
Laura-W
Okay, so talking about abortion is completely off topic in the first place, but still, three of your abortions were because you were passed out drunk and got raped (or taken advantage of, as you put it)? Either get on birth control or get your drinking under control- that is just outrageous.
chengdulaoshi
pricklypear: "Do the research. That is where the abortion clinics are strategically located, where the poor and predominantly black people live."
Now it is clear to me. At last I can see *their* dastardly plan in all its vile simplicity. It is too late for reasoning! The time to act is now!
First the poor unsuspecting "blacks", then the Middle Class, finally our beloved Corporate Elite vanguard and the unsuspecting Movers and Shakers.
Before you know it, your neighbors will start disappearing, one by one - carted off under cover of darkness to a grim, antiseptic, secular-humanistic fate worse than life.
It's what I've always suspected, but no one would ever listen.
Those Death Panel folks are clever - and highly organized too! Wake Up, Mr. and Mrs. Main Street America.
It is too late to save the inner-city. *They've* already got *their* elitist hooks into the poor and disenfranchised. Now *they* are coming after YOU and your very . . . yes . . you guessed it . . . WAY OF LIFE!
umm, btw - who is "they"?
theschmooze
prick: How many children have you adopted? I have found that those people who bark the loudest about abortion being wrong have never put their money where their mouths are.
kscr14
Very Important story Mr. Frasier, it needs to be told. People will judge so harshly and blame the victim instead of listening to this message. I have a family member that the justice system place him in jail over and over, never getting an ounce of help. The court appointed lawyer told me " It is his choice to get help'. For one, he has little resource in a small town, he sits in jail for petty crimes ( I must add, he has never hurt another person) this time for a year, with zero therapy. At this stage he has lost his job, car, and I do not see how things will improve for him. To me it is a crime to not give therapy to these souls. In my family members case, he was abused by a parent as a child ,and has little self esteem to recover without help.He has sat in jail for eight months this time. He has been to boot camp as a teen, yet never sat down for any one on one therapy. Nobody ever ask "why are you doing these things".The scary thing is he is one of many,the longer they go without help, the more crimes we will see. God bless the poor women in Cleveland.
boredwell
You conflate the failure of available social service programs to adequately provide for those in need, IE, addiction/recovery with "enabling." The hole in the fence that "enables" a predator killer to select and murder his victims is in his/her psyche and his/her ability to exploit the potential victims' weaknesses. This alleged serial killer capitalized on those suffering addiction. The victims' vulnerabilities do not inherently "enable" the killer to fulfill his/her murderous motives. If blame can be assigned, investigating the sheriff department's monthly checks on this man might be more appropriate: why were they impervious to the "stench" emanating from this man's house about which neighbors' persistently complained? In California, officers checking on Stacey Dugard's captor, a convicted sex offender, failed to investigate neighbors' complaints of a tent city in his back yard wherein the kidnapped young woman and her children were living. Serial killers are self-enabling. And even the most vigilant and circumspect can fall prey to their intents.
eurydice9276
Yes, thank you. I was having a hard time making sense of this article. Perhaps the author means that the culture which denies social service programs also encourages neglect on the part of the the legal authorities, which may or may not be true - but, in a way, he's also blaming the victims. He's saying that if, for whatever reason, they weren't available to be killed, a serial killer would not have been tempted. Somehow, I don't think it works like that.
kscr14
Most of the women had serious drug and drinking issues that he used to lure them is what Frasier means and the police felt they were not missing is what I understand.
Granite
I know who all the major dealers and traffickers are in my area--everyone does. They are upstanding members of the community--insurance agency owner, several restaurateurs, and other successful business men. But I never see them arrested--only the poor small time dealing slobs.
Jamelyn
It is naive to suggest that de-criminalizing drugs would fix the problems of inner city drugs and crime. In drug infested neighborhoods across the country, its as if the drug trade has already been decriminalized - everyone knows where drugs are sold and who's dealing and the police do little to stop it. Social workers have told me awful stories of how people game the system at regulated methadone clinics. And recent celebrity prescription drug deaths are only a preview of what would happen if "recreational" narcotics were decriminalized.
I agree that there need to be many more opportunities for treatment, both court ordered and voluntary. Its smarter, and cheaper than incarceration, and could save many families and many lives. But bottom line, decriminalization of drugs as a solution to drug related problems is a naive and dangerous fantasy that the media indulges in. Stop and take a look around. That's foolishness.
Mansfieldf
Pricklypear,
Are you suggesting because the victims were poor and black they must have had abortions, which, in turn, drove them to a life of drugs, and thus made them easy prey for the alleged killer, who, according to your twisted and racist logic, must have been a righteous avenger for the unforgiving God you believe in. Wow.
And as for eurydice9276, the article does not say that he would not have been tempted, it says that minus their addiction they would not have been such easy targets.
The point is, drug treatment is not easily available for those who do not have health insurance, nothing more, nothing less.
larrysf
drug treatment is available to all who really want it. stop with all the whining about rich and poor and black and white. you are a racist. everything you see and say and believe is filtered throughthe dialectic of white vs. black. racist thinnking permeates your arguments. get over it.
kscr14
Drug treatment is not available to all that want it, smaller towns have zero resources or advice , many hospitals have closed this program ..Most programs are very expensive and not available for the average joe. I am not a expert by any means on this issue,but,we all need to worry about drug addicts. In our city we have many robberies of the pharmacy(at gunpoint). We have had vet offices robbed, and for sure home invasions for money. The pan handlers around the grocery store in my city is the norm(drug related). It does affect us all.
winterparkmom
Try telling the meth addicts in Appalachia that they can get treatment. There is none there, yet you're saying that everyone who wants treatment can get it. You are naive and uninformed.
chengdulaoshi
larrysf: "drug treatment is available to all who really want it." wow, that *is* Headline News. (tm)
"everything you see and say and believe is filtered throughthe dialectic of white vs. black" umm, see and say again?
***
1) Drug Treatment - In most cities in America, a seedy mattress in a lice-ridden homeless shelter is not available to "all who really want it".
Such shelters are turning hundreds away at the door every evening, with winter's bone-freezing nights right around the corner.
"Sorry, Charlie, no room at the Inn."
The last time I crunched the numbers, quality drug treatment cost tens of thousands of dollars and the waiting list to enter such programs was prohibitively long. Many of these tragic folks can't scrounge together enough scratch to buy their next fix, much less pony up tens of thousands of dollars for state-of-the art rehab.
Not to mention the fact that a drug-addled cerebral cortex is hardly the optimal psychic milieu for plotting a successful course to mental self-help.
2) Dialectic - Generally speaking, the term "dialectic" refers to a method of reasoning (or logical argument) in which two opposing points-of-view are subjected to rigorous rhetorical analysis.
Such "dialectical" arguments generally take the form of thesis, antithesis and synthesis - point, counter-point, resolution and (frequently) new, improved thesis.
The theory behind dialectical arguments is that the Truth, if it exists, dwells in the middle of two Extremes - what some have called the "tertium quid," or "third something."
By subjecting an issue to dialectical analysis, the pros-and-cons of opposing viewpoints are identified, and a new synthesis emerges which moves the argument forward to some ultimate Truth.
In this light, "everything you see and say and believe is filtered through the dialectic of white vs. black" really makes no rhetorical sense, since the core meaning of "dialectic" is the fruitful struggle of opposing points of view.
Perhaps the term you are searching for is "dichotomy," or better yet, "false dichotomy," a fallacious, non-existent forced choice between two extremes.
Also, "stop all the whining," "you are a racist," and "get over it" are *ad hominem* terms which are really not helpful to you, because they lend no support to your core thesis and are unlikely to win converts to your point of view - a worthy and laudable goal which I hope would be one of your motivations for posting to a public forum such as TDB.
Otherwise, what's the point?
Insulting your audience gives one a temporary, albeit delusive feeling of moral superiority, but is a poor strategy for making friends and influencing people.
*cheers*
eurydice9276
Your interpretation is the same as mine, even it I used the word "temptation" and you used the words "easy target." The author's argument is a variation of the one directed at all women who suffer at the hands of sexual predators - that there's something about their behavior which caused them to be targets, instead of directing the blame toward the psychopath who wants to sexually abuse and kill people, or to the law enforcement officials who evidently considered these women to be disposable.
It's a sad thing these women were drug addicts and they certainly should have had access to drug treatment, but getting treatment won't necessarily make them more safe from a psychopath determined to kill.
Efficacy
This says it all but he means legalization not decriminalization.
"I'm about two years away from getting out of this racket altogether and getting into something legit, and the only thing I've ever feared is the feds decriminalizing this stuff, and I knew that was never going to happen.
drjonathan
Thank you for a fantastic article! The observation I like best is your point that 'fighting' drugs has now become a multi-billion dollar business (nationwide, and at least a multi-million dollar business in Cleveland I'm sure). If the police found a slolution to the drug problem, a significant amount of their funding would disappear...and while I don't necessarily think they would intentionally foster the drugs in their neighborhoods, I do think they are aware of which hand really feeds them. They don't want their budgets to disappear, so they will always be more ready to take on the side of the drug-war that requires big funding... and less ready to take on the side that might actually end the problem... and thier jobs... for good.
larrysf
Mr.Frazier is too quick to point fingers. Help IS available, free. I cleaned up after 25plus years of abuse by attending NA and AA. The issue in this case is not with drug treatment or lack thereof for poor black women, but how ridiculously blind our criminal justice system is in dealing with sexual predation. Overcrowding in jails is NOT a reason to release these subhuman monsters back into society. Need more space to keep these beasts inside? Stop prosecuting people for non-crimes like posession of marijuana, simple prostitution, gambling, etc. Sexual predators seem to never get well. Keep them locked up and make crimes against chidren capital offenses.
pricklypear
I think you are onto something and would like to tell you and other TDB readers about an author I heard on NPR's Kojo Nnamdi show rebroadcast today. The name ot the author is Paul Butler
Professor of Law, George Washington University; the book is "Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice" (New Press).
Maybe if the men weren't locked away in prison they could protect their women and children.
jpaden
The hole in the fence is law enforcement that can not or will not keep track of these sexual predators. This is the worst case, but it is not the only case where horrendous things were done to women right under the noses of police and parole officers. The bottom line is that many in law enforcement and government just don't feel in their guts that the safety of women and children is more important than covering their own butts!
MatKen
I don't know that there is any truth to that. Certainly not in this case. Mr. Sowell was well known by law enforcement and was visited regularly. He was visited on the morning of his arrest in fact. Mr. Sowell is most likely a sociopath and as such was very good at playing the game. He was cooperative with law enforcement and generally kept his nose clean save for an incident here or there. They knew exactly who he was and where he lived and kept tabs on him.
Imo, what society needs to realize is that this is generally unnavoidable and there is nobody to blame but the killer himself. Everyone one of us could walk out of our office right now and kill someone and nobody could or should have known this in advance of our action. You take that reality coupled with a sociopath preying on people that by most accounts disappeared from their families often, and often for months at a time, and you have a recipe for this event. Add in the fact that there was a sausage factory nearby (as is common for an area that was once was a very slavic neighborhood) to act as scapegoat for the stench and this couldnt have worked out any better for Mr. Sowell.
Social services are readily available in Cleveland and most major cities. Anyone that has ever dealt with chemical dependancy will tell you that one must want help before any help will ever actually work. We could have a clinic on every corner right next to the bar but that wouldnt have prevented this tragedy. Sadly, nothing other than luck would have.
dhampton100
The sad part of this is that we view this entire episode as no more than the latest news story. It only resonates with those who have to bury their loved ones. I have been drug-free for over six years now and throughout the entire experience I longed for someone to help me figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Finally, I was forced to look inside and unwind my wrong thinking to get well. We should be willing, as a nation to invest more tax dollars to help our own citizens. If we refuse to sacrifice for others when the same problem knocks on the door of our loved one we have no one to blame but our own stingy selfishness for the heartbreak that comes with burying a child..
BlakewilliamsNYC
Hampton is right...
How sad this all is. Several women were brutally raped and murdered - and a solid, cohesive piece is written about the *possible* causes behind these heinous crimes, and as usual - people get bitch-slapped with socio-conservative hoopla. The author clearly makes a strong point regarding the obvious failures of the U.S government to enforce a drug free America. These citings aren't made with sensationalism - or bravado, they're made with researchable data, available to any common American. Frazier is right - if the "War-on-drugs" was indeed working, prices would be sky-rocketing, and addicts would be striving not to be addicts.
Lets step aside here for one moment. There is clearly an issue happening here right in front of us. Politics should be left out of this - yet, politics need to be brought right to the fore-front...
seems to be the climate in which we all live in lately
hydrashe
We need to face the fact that we as humans will self medicate. It comes in many forms from coffee to crack even exercise. Yes exercise! It's a good thing but when you go to an extreme its simply an endorphin high. I have heard people say that pot wont be legal because they cant figure out how to tax it. Give me a break there is already a tax stamp. Indiana is one of the states that has one. The real reason is because it would eat into the pharmaceutical industry big time. Just look at its benefits which grow each time they try to prove how bad it is. Then take a look at what the drug companies want us to take and their side affects. Then the drugs they want us to take to treat or cover up the side affects. The law says a drug is illegal if the benefits do not out weigh the side affects. Now watch the commercials about lawsuits against all the drugs approved that are killing people! They already know how to sell it... just like liquor and cigarettes but the lobbyists for the pharmaceutical companies line enough pockets to prevent it. As for addiction can someone tell me why we put addicts in prison? It is easier to get drugs in jail then re-hab. it is cheaper to put someone through re-hab then house them in prison. Re-hab might not work the first or fifth time but prison never works. We already know this what is not really known is the money trail because it costs more to house prisoners then it is in someones best interest to keep the place packed. And why not it's us the tax payer who is flipping the bill. The biggest crime here is that the man who killed those women was a registered sex offender which means he had already gotten caught but was released and it wouldn't surprise me if his sentence was reduced to make room for a "pothead". Look at your local Sheriffs' website under registered sex offenders. A lot of these sites show you the length of their sentence and when they were released. In my area alone there are 92 registered in a 2 mile radius and some of them didn't serve a day. Even if their crime involved a child under the age of 12!!!! I have found when something doesn't make sense it's because I haven't seen it through greedy eyes. When you ask yourself who is getting rich off this decision then it makes sense. It is a shame but it is true.
neilkevin
I am regular reader of your blog and found every of post very informative. Thanks for sharing about this killer , He is really horrible.
xmas presents
aspiecelia
It is true everywhere that poor women who are on drugs and/or are prostitutes are often treated like their lives are not worth anything. We have seen this in several serial killer cases. The families scream about it and just get put off. They only take notice when a large number of them are missing or bodies start to turn up. It is also true that it is very difficult for poor people to get treatment for addiction. The prison systems are packed full of people who were arrested on drug crimes who get no treatment and are released on the streets with no job or place to live. There are companies who make a lot of money off supplying the prisons and building prisons. They lobbied our legislators to pass these laws. Instead of paying for treatment and other rehabilitation whch would cut down on crime they simply ignore it even though it is the most important solution to the problem.
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