Cleveland activists to rally April 8 in 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett's murder, an anniversary rally on their demands for systemic changes in Cuyahoga County Job and Family Services since Aniya's death last year...Aniya's mom and her mom's boyfriend have been convicted of murder in her death, Aniya one of some 45 children murdered since 2015 while under the purview of Job and Family Services.... Call activist Alfred Porter Jr at 216-804-7462 for more info.... By editor Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog
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| Four-year-old greater Cleveland murder victim Aniya Day-Garrett |
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| Sierra Day and Deonte Lewis |
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| Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish |
By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief
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| Four-year-old murder victim Aniya Day- Garrett and her father, Mickhal Garrett |
Activists say the rally is an update rally and a anniversary rally from April 8, 2018 when they camped out overnight outside of the Jane Edna Hunter Building to demand systemic changes by Job and Family Services, and to call out Cuyahoga County Council and County Executive Armond Budish.
At this year's rally, which is not an overnight rally, they will again take testimony from victims of Job and Family Services regarding the abuse and murder of children and families under its watch, as well as regarding excessive sentences of Black men by the 34 largely White judges of the general division common pleas court.
The mother of Day- Garrett and the mother's boyfriend, both found guilty of aggravated murder and other charges, a celebrated case of child murder that has gained nationwide attention and has rocked the largely Black major American city of Cleveland, were both sentenced to life in prison by Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick last month.
The death penalty was not on the table.
The child's mother, Sierra Day, 24, and her boyfriend, Deonte Lewis, 27, were both found guilty of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, permitting child abuse, endangering children and tampering with evidence.
Day was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, and Lewis will be eligible for parole after 24-years in prison.
Lewis' family members, who are upset at what they call an excessive sentence and say they will rally on Monday with activists, broke into tears after the verdict by a 12-member Cuyahoga County jury that deliberated for a day was read in open court.
Speaking before a packed courtroom, Judge McCormick called the death "a committed form of torture."
Activists say McCormick's sentence against Lewis is excessive and indicative of an ongoing pattern of excessive sentences against young Black men.
Others disagree as the debate looms on as to whether Lewis was a live-in boyfriend and whether his silence or culpability relative to the abuse of Aniya merits a life sentence.
Public records reveal that since 2015 more than 44 kids that have come through the office of child and protective services have been murdered and classified as homicide victims among 269 kids.
Most of the murder victims are Black and poor, like Aniya, data show.
David Merriman, a former special assistant to former county executive Ed FitzGerald and a former deputy chief of staff for Health and Human Services under county executive Budish, is the administrator of Job and Family Services for the county.
A Democrat and former Beachwood councilman, state representative and speaker of the Ohio House, Budish assumed office as county executive in 2015.
He has said nothing publicly on the issue since the verdict.
There have been some improvements or recommendations from Job and Family Services authorities and county officials since Aniya's untimely death last year, including recommendations for more social workers and investigators, and a citizen's advisory board comprised of eight to 10 members of the greater Cleveland community.
But community activists complain the initiatives are minimal, and after the fact.
Community activists remain upset with the system over the Black child's murder.
Neither Day, nor Lewis, took the stand during the five-day trial.
Their attorneys said at trial that there was no direct evidence that links their clients to the crime and that neither delivered the alleged blow that allegedly killed the innocent child.
Prosecutors relied primarily on testimony from first responders, including police.
Cuyahoga County Job and Family services social worker Lorra Greene testified and said Day was a good mother at first, but lost her way after she began dating Lewis.
Assistant County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia praised the jury verdict and said justice prevailed. And at trial, she called Day a "master manipulator."
Defense attorneys have not said whether they will appeal, though sources say an appeal is likely, given the severity of the crimes.
Aniya died on March 11 2018 at an area hospital after police were called that day to her mother's home at Cultural Garden Apartments on Lake Shore Boulevard in suburban Euclid, Ohio for a report of an unresponsive child.
The boyfriend lived there too, said prosecutors, a statement Lewis and his attorneys have denied.
The child was not breathing and had marks on her feet and legs, trial court records reveal.
Led by Black Lives Matter Cleveland, activists immediately began protesting.
The county medical examiner said the four-year-old suffered a stroke from blunt force trauma to the head and was malnourished and weighed hardly 29 pounds.
Mickhal Garrett, Aniya's biological father, told the jury he filed a complaint with Cuyahoga County Job and Family Services when he allegedly saw signs of abuse and that he also filed a report with East Cleveland police.
Still, said Garrett, who has since filed a wrongful death claim in his daughter's death against the county, Job and Family Services and an array of other defendants, kept her in the custody of her mother, and even after he sought custody.
Mickhal Garrett, Aniya's biological father, told the jury he filed a complaint with Cuyahoga County Job and Family Services when he allegedly saw signs of abuse and that he also filed a report with East Cleveland police.
Still, said Garrett, who has since filed a wrongful death claim in his daughter's death against the county, Job and Family Services and an array of other defendants, kept her in the custody of her mother, and even after he sought custody.
Though state authorities have stripped the affiliated day care of its licence for allegedly failing to report the abuse and at least one employee in the matter has been fired from Job and Family Services, accountability from county officials and others involved in the sordid case is little to none, activists say.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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