Earlier this month, CCV proudly welcomed Aqeela Sherrills as the new Southern California Outreach Coordinator for California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. The following is his profile from Not in Our Name California: Murder Victims Families Speak Out Against the Death Penalty.

I grew up in Watts in South-Central Los Angeles, an epicenter of gang violence. Each of the 10,000 victims of gang violence in Los Angeles County over the past 20 years was somebody's daughter or son crying out for help.

After seeing 13 friends killed in gang wars, I was inspired to bring the warring factions, the Crips and Bloods, together and end the violence. We were able to create a peace treaty between the gangs in 1992, which has sustained for over ten years-not
without problems and challenges, however.  For the past 16 years I've continued working for peace. I believe that where the wounds are, the gift lies.

But in January 2004, this belief was seriously tested when my 18-year-old son, Terrell, was mur-dered. He was an unbelievable kid and after losing him, I thought, ―What is the gift in this?

The young man who killed my son wasn't caught, but we know who he is through the street network. I had the opportunity to retaliate, but I decided that revenge shouldn't be Terrell's legacy. Instead I spoke to the community about why revenge doesn't work. Terrell's killer is a victim too - a victim of a culture that lacks compassion.

You can only kill someone if you have a callous heart; I want to know why this young man had such a callous heart. It's not enough simply to catch him and throw him away or catch him and execute him.

We need to communicate with these individuals and touch their hearts, helping each one find their own humanity and see that violence is not the answer. It's about igniting a conversation about life-what makes people happy or sad; what they fear; what things they can change in the neighborhood. We must be motivated by love for the human being. It's about reverence for human life and spirit.

We have redefined what peace is and what it looks like in this community. Peace is not this utopian idea of dashing through a field of dandelions; it's hard work. The key is that individuals consistently come back to resolve their conflicts and take the next few steps towards peace.

My work is truly an extension of me. As I resolve the wounds in my own life, I'm able to see more of what I need to do in the community I live in and love.

To read more stories, visit www.californiacrimevictims.org.

Comments

Comments are now closed for this item.