i was at an engagement party tonight when i got the news by text. i am not a hateful person, george, but i hope that you never again take a breath of air and feel free. i hope this verdict weighs your spirit and soul down, like being buried alive. i hope that the burden of walking free proves more unbearable than incarceration. i hope that your cousin who accused you of molestation presses charges, that none of the mitigating evidence in your defense be allowed in court. i hope that you are never hired for another job, or allowed to vote again. i hope that nobody ever speaks to you again, that you endure a life of complete social isolation until you are dead and buried in a grave. these are all the punishments meted out daily to men and women of color who sit on the wrong side of justice. it shocks the conscience that a man such as you be set free. --AL.