Horowitz: What is Governor Bill Lee’s Response to Memphis killing spree?



Before residents of Memphis recovered from the shock of a young mother brutally murdered by a career criminal who was released early, they were forced to shelter inside Wednesday night because of a rash of shootings being livestreamed on Facebook by the alleged perpetrator. Now it turns out that individual also should have been in prison but was released early. The uncontrolled crime is yet another indication that big cities in red states are just as bad as blue states because Republican governors like Bill Lee have bought into the lie that we suffer from an over-incarceration rather than an under-incarceration problem.

On Wednesday night, Memphis police apprehended Ezekiel Kelly, 19, after he crashed a stolen vehicle, but not before four innocent people were left dead and three injured from an alleged shooting spree and two carjackings he livestreamed online. Just as in the case of Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer, Cleotha Abston Henderson, Kelly should have been behind bars and the victims should be alive today.

In February 2020, Kelly was charged as an adult with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, using a firearm to commit a dangerous felony, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. If we are a nation that truly is serious about “gun violence,” he should have been behind bars for many years. But as has become the rule rather than the exception in the justice system, the prosecutor accepted a plea deal to convict him only on assault, which triggered a three-year sentence. Then, of course, Kelly failed to serve the sentence and was released after 11 months in prison in March of this year.

Everyone, including the Democrat mayor and the Soros prosecutor in Memphis, is feigning outrage over the early release, but in reality it is the culture of leniency that both parties have adopted over the past decade that has led to this crime wave. This year alone there have been over 100 kidnappings in Memphis. In both 2020 and 2021, Memphis set new homicide records and now boasts the ninth-highest homicide rate in the country and is ranked the most violent metro area in the country.

One could blame this on Democrat politicians, but Republicans control the state and should be able to set policies regarding sentencing. Yet Gov. Bill Lee has been one of the most passionate supporters of de-incarceration, even rivaling the liberal views of the New York and California governors on crime. When he took office, Lee promised to “empty our jails.” He claimed, “We have to be creative and innovative and disruptive and challenge the way we’ve been doing things forever.”

The homicide rate in Tennessee has gone from a low of 5.2 per 100,000 in 2013 to 9.6 in 2020. Motor vehicle thefts have spiked from 183 per 100,000 to over 300. Even smaller cities like Chattanooga have become increasingly dangerous. Where is the outrage from Bill Lee? It’s not just the media that has been silent on the criminal spree.

Thankfully, the state legislature, led by state House Speaker Cameron Sexton, has gone in the opposite direction and recently passed a bill requiring violent criminals to serve 100% of their sentences. Bill Lee strongly opposed the bill. Had Bill Lee supported this effort during his tenure rather than pushing more jailbreak policies, both Kelly and Abston Henderson would have been in jail and their alleged victims would be living today.

Rather than promising tough-on-crime legislation, Bill Lee met yesterday with the phony “conservative” pro-criminal group “Right on Crime” to discuss “criminal justice reform.” They are most certainly not referring to the reforms the residents of Memphis are demanding. Here is a now-deleted tweet from Right on Crime:

Even Republicans who don’t officially identify with the Koch-funded pro-jailbreak organizations tend to focus only on policing or Soros prosecutors. But the bottom line is that GOP legislatures need to tighten laws on juveniles, repeat violent offenders, and pretrial bail for those who are a public safety risk. It’s shocking how even the most violent perpetrators are able to plead down their charges despite clear evidence in this day and age, where cameras and DNA are everywhere. Somehow technology only seems to be used against us, but not against violent criminals. Every loophole throughout the trial process that allows people like this to escape full justice needs to be examined.

Moreover, it’s time that Republicans stop ceding the large (or even mid-sized) cities in red states to Democrats. It’s true that the left has the votes to elect pro-criminal judges and prosecutors in those cities, but state legislatures write the statutes for the entire state. There’s no reason why cities like Memphis and Houston should be as bad as Los Angeles if Republicans actually did their jobs. Then again, that would require us to elect Republicans who actually share Reagan’s view on criminal justice from the victim’s standpoint rather than those of Bill Lee from the criminal’s standpoint.

Whitlock: Memphis murder spree a byproduct of demonic, baby-mama cultural embrace



When trying to make sense of the criminal violence ravaging Memphis, it’s important to recognize that culture kills, not color.

The fixation on color stands in the way of addressing the cultural rot that has turned the Home of the Blues into Satan’s House of Horror. Memphis is America’s most dangerous city. Each day brings new news of the chaos and anarchy terrorizing the Birthplace of Rock & Roll.

Wednesday, a teenage black boy streamed on Facebook Live his daylong shooting spree. Ezekiel Kelly’s murderous rampage caused Memphis residents to shelter in place as law enforcement hunted the deranged 19-year-old. Shooting out the window of two separate moving cars, Kelly allegedly killed four people and wounded three others in a “joyride” that started at 1 a.m. and ended in the early evening with his arrest.

Kelly is just the latest Memphis alleged killer to make national news.

A week ago, Cleotha Abston, a 38-year-old black man, allegedly abducted, raped, and murdered a schoolteacher out on an early-morning jog. In mid-July, a trio of Latino boys ages 15 to 20 allegedly murdered a 52-year-old female pastor during a carjacking. In mid-August, 32-year-old Tifanee Wright, a black woman, allegedly shot and killed a 60-year-old political activist in a dispute over money.

The recent high-profile spate of violence will make Memphis a national talking point. Memphis is the new Chicago, the new Baltimore, the new Philadelphia, the new Compton, the new Name the Major City plagued by violent crime.

The conversation will be justifiably framed as a “black” problem or a problem for “people of color.” Justifiable is not the same as accurate. Culture kills, not color.

Black people have embraced a culture of death.

Virtually every day on social media, someone accuses me of unfairly criticizing black people. I allegedly hate myself and other black people because I constantly criticize black influencers who advocate for black people by policing the behavior and culture of white people.

Yesterday, after I published my column about why South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley should fear Memphis far more than Provo, Utah, a man purporting to be a Christian minister complained that I was “anti the black agenda.” Staley canceled South Carolina’s games against Brigham Young University because a BYU fan allegedly yelled racial slurs at a Duke volleyball player. I argued that Staley’s players would be in far more danger when they played at Memphis in 2023.

I don’t hate myself or black people. I hate the culture black people have embraced. I’m critical of the high-profile advocates of the progressive, secular, hedonistic, and materialistic culture that currently defines “black culture.”

They have a worldview that directly opposes my biblical worldview. They believe the highest form of humanity is victimhood. I reject that. With Jesus on my side, I cannot fail. My ultimate victory is assured. They believe that white people control the destiny of black people. I reject that, too. They believe in the attainment of financial wealth by any means necessary. I don’t. They believe the improvement of white people improves black people. I believe my improvement improves me. I could go on and on.

Bottom line: “Tha Culture” is satanic. Its wicked intent and manifestation can be most easily seen in commercial hip-hop music.

Memphis’ importance to “Tha Culture” was elevated a year ago when a relatively unknown rapper, Young Dolph, was murdered. Corporate media and the other satanic co-conspirators all pretended that Young Dolph was Young Elvis Presley. Young Dolph was nothing more than a local Memphis rapper who promoted a satanic worldview.

His successor is his cousin, Jay Fizzle, a 28-year-old deadbeat with more than 20 kids. Fizzle recently sat down for an interview with at least 15 of his “baby mamas.” He wants to do a TV show about his kids and their mothers.

If you want to understand what’s the matter with Memphis, watch the Jay Fizzle interview on YouTube. If you want to understand why I call “Tha Culture” satanic, watch the Jay Fizzle interview.

“Baby mama” culture produces 19-year-olds who livestream their killing sprees. The destruction of family destroys all morals, norms, and order.

Culture kills, not color.

I will never apologize for hating the culture that celebrates, tolerates, and proliferates a mindset that teaches black people to see themselves as victims, dependent on white guilt, and criminals.

Our fixation on color prevents us from examining the culture we’ve adopted or been assigned.

Last week, the Tennessee Titans announced a partnership with the Memphis rap group Three Six Mafia. The NFL franchise hired DJ Paul and Juicy J to write a theme song for the organization. This is an example of the NFL being “inclusive” and reaching out to the black community.

Three Six Mafia is a clever way of saying 666, the number that signifies the Devil, the antichrist. It’s taken from the Book of Revelation, chapter 13, verse 18: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.”

The evil is hiding in plain sight. Look at the NFL’s choice in Super Bowl halftime entertainment last year – Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. The most powerful force in popular culture – the NFL – believes the best way to show affection toward black people is by embracing a musical genre that celebrates a satanic worldview.

Tha Culture is killing us. It’s not white people or black people killing us. It’s the culture we’ve chosen to embrace.

I’m going to continue objecting to this culture. I’m going to continue criticizing the black and white people who promote this death culture. If that makes me a sellout, consider me bought and sold.

Suspected Memphis mass shooter a violent felon who was released from jail early



Four people are dead and three more were injured in the string of shootings that paralyzed Memphis, Tennessee, with fear on Wednesday night. The suspect, 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly, is a convicted felon who was freed from jail early. He was captured by police after crossing state lines and has been charged with first-degree murder.

Kelly reportedly claimed he wouldn't be going back to jail and livestreamed his alleged crimes on Facebook. The videos have since been taken down.

Police indicated that the 19-year-old began his violent spree at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, around which time a 24-year-old gunshot victim was found dead in his driveway in the 3100 block of Lyndale Avenue.

At 4:38 p.m., police responded to another shooting, this time in the 900 block of South Parkway East. A man was found with multiple gunshot wounds dead inside his car. Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis indicated that Kelly had pulled up next to the victim in a grey vehicle, shot him, and fled.

Minutes later, Kelly allegedly shot a woman in the leg on Norris Road near Interstate 240. The injured woman was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. Kelly is said to have again fled the scene, but this time in a dark sedan.

During the shootings, which continued well after the injured woman was rushed to hospital, police issued multiple warnings, telling people to "shelter in place." Public bus service was suspended, people were instructed to stay in their homes, and a minor-league baseball game was placed on lockdown.

\u201chttps://t.co/oFj7eUn6LG\u201d
— Memphis Police Dept (@Memphis Police Dept) 1662595216

Around 6 p.m., Kelly allegedly walked into an AutoZone store, took aim at an unsuspecting man and pulled the trigger. On his livestream, he allegedly said, "Check this s*** out. I pull up and do this s*** ... What do those n***** say? No faking? No faking. You heard me, this s*** for real."

The AutoZone victim survived, but was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

After the AutoZone shooting, the Memphis Police Department launched a citywide manhunt and asked additional partner agencies for help in locating Kelly.

Just after 7 p.m., Kelly allegedly killed a woman, stealing her grey Toyota SUV. Minutes later, he allegedly shot a man, who was subsequently taken to the hospital.

According to officials, Kelly soon traded in his stolen vehicle for a new ride. He allegedly stole a Dodge Challenger in Southaven, Mississippi.

Police identified the stolen vehicle on Interstate 55 and gave chase. The resulting high-speed pursuit ended when Kelly wrecked the stolen vehicle.

The Shelby County sheriff's office and the MPD took Kelly into custody without incident near Ivan Road and Hodges Road, where he had crashed.

\u201cFROM THE SCENE: Video shows the moments 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly was captured after allegedly going on a shooting spree across the Mid-South. https://t.co/3OKscsoXpK\u201d
— FOX13 Memphis (@FOX13 Memphis) 1662607826

MPD lifted the shelter-in-place warning around 9:30 p.m.

In February 2020, Kelly was charged as an adult with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, using a firearm to commit a dangerous felony, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. His attempted murder charge was dismissed and he pled guilty to aggravated assault, receiving a three-year sentence in April 2021.

Despite the three-year sentence, he was released 11 months later in March.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said, "If Mr. Kelly served his full 3-year sentence, he would still be in prison today and 4 of our fellow citizens would still be alive. ... Our judicial system is too often a revolving door. A citizen emailed me today: 'Until/unless there are real consequences for criminal behavior, it will continue.' I agree 100%."

Former Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich, defeated and replaced by Democrat Steve Mulroy in August, recently suggested that Memphis, Tennessee, would soon look like San Francisco, which saw a marked spike in violent crimes over the past few years under Democratic district attorneys. "The answer to our crime problem is not simply releasing people from prison."

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mulroy said, "People are frightened, people are angry. In times like this, it's sometimes hard for people to know what to do."

This violent sequence of events took place only days after 38-year-old Cleotha Abston was charged in connection with the Friday abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher in Memphis, which Mulroy termed "an isolated attack."

Suspect accused of driving around Memphis shooting at people has been taken into custody youtu.be