In his column today, Washington Post columnist Colbert King examines the events surrounding the death of Mysha Lowe, a 15-year old who was killed in July when a car she was in was attacked. It turns out the attacker, 20-year old Joshua Ross, had been assigned to a District youth home over two years ago, but had run away. King places blame for the shooting partly with D.C. government:
Remember last summer when a Post series exposed the extent of the problem in city-run group homes? The mayor declared at that time that the city was going to license all group homes. Well, nothing happened. He also promised to add two police officers to the unit assigned to locate absconders. That, too, was all talk but no action. … If it’s not a crane, a baseball or a night out on the town with the A-list, it gets short shrift. …
Although faulting the mayor for being all talk and no action when it comes to reforming the youth home system, he lauds the reforms implimented by two newly appointed men – City Administrator Robert Bobb and Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Family and Elders Neil Albert.
