From the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange:
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Rosie Brooks has experienced both of a mother’s worst nightmares involving gun violence.
Her son spent a decade behind bars for an accidental shooting in which a young woman was killed. Then, instead of a joyous reunion when he was released from prison in January 2018, it was a day of mourning. He went from behind bars to standing at his mother’s side at his sister’s funeral. Brooks’ daughter Sahara Barkley had been shot on New Year’s Day at a gas station.
“One gunshot changed my whole world,” Brooks said.
She’s one of thousands of mothers who get the news every year that their child has killed or been killed, most often by guns. Though gun violence has diminished over the last several decades, it remains an epidemic in Jacksonville, where the murder rate is routinely the highest the state; some ZIP codes here outpace nations that are the murder capitals of the world. Continue reading >>>
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