Pubdate: Tue, 08 Aug 2000
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2000 The Sun-Times Co.
Contact:  401 N. Wabash, Chicago IL 60611
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Author: Mary Mitchell, BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

At the funeral of Tsarina Powell, a woman pressed into my hand an
envelope containing a $200 check in donations collected from co-workers.

She hoped the money would help the Powell family cope with the tragic
and violent end to the 12-year-old girl's life.

Tsarina was killed on July 10 as she fled her bed when her home was
sprayed with gunfire. Like many of the people who sent flowers, the
young woman who gave me the check felt that what happened to Tsarina
was the last straw.

She wanted to show that she cared about the life of this special girl
who managed to make the most out of her trying circumstances. Both of
Tsarina's parents are deceased, and Tsarina lived with an older sister
and other unrelated adults on South Honore.

Two suspects, Derrick L. Martin, 19, and Michael Barnes, 28, have been
charged with first-degree murder in connection with Tsarina's shooting.

But these suspects are not the only people responsible for Tsarina's
death.

According to police sources, Tsarina became an unintended victim when
an older sister moved into the home, trying to escape a drug debt.

If this family knew the woman was being chased by armed drug dealers
and didn't seek police help, they bear some of the blame for what
happened to Tsarina.

This tragedy could have been prevented had one of Tsarina's adult
relatives refused to allow a family member who was mixed up with
criminals to seek refuge in their home.

Instead of giving her a place to hide, the family should have called
the police and helped the woman clean up her dangerous lifestyle.

If the woman refused the family's help, so be it. But there was no
reason for family members to jeopardize their own safety trying to
save someone from a mess she created.

Drug use and drug dealing are hard to hide. Neighbors who live near a
drug house notice the strange activities. And anyone who has had to
deal with a relative's drug habit knows that addicts are
untrustworthy.

The investigation into Tsarina's death revealed that a sister, who did
not live in the Honore house, was given guns and narcotics to hold
after a battery occurred on the West Side. The guns came up missing,
as did the drugs. When demands were made for payment, the woman fled
to the Honore house and hid out until the day before the house was
sprayed with bullets.

It would be difficult to prove the woman knew that the gunmen were
coming, but it is at least highly coincidental that she left the house
the day before the gunmen arrived.

Still, there is no law that holds adults accountable under such
circumstances, even though parents and guardians can be charged with
neglect for committing other dangerous acts, such as leaving a child
home alone.

Putting a child in a situation where he or she may be killed as a
result of an adult's criminal behavior is even more
reprehensible.

Parents and guardians who strap their kids into car seats and then
drive off under the influence of drugs and alcohol, for instance,
should be severely prosecuted if any harm befalls their children.

That is why I can't see giving this family any financial help.
Instead, I am forwarding the $200 check, along with my matching check,
to Sadie Waterford Manor, a home for girls located in Crestwood.

The home serves girls ranging from 10 to 18 years old. Many of them
have been removed from abusive and neglectful situations.

Because of her innocence, Tsarina in her death has sparked a movement
to confront violence associated with gangs and drugs. I applaud the
efforts being made by hundreds of people to end this kind of street
violence.

Still, little will change until adults make better moral
decisions--even if it means turning their backs on wayward family members.
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