Dog Justice

Larry Neal would have been 59 years old yesterday.
Click here to learn more about Larry.

The following is an excerpt from that site:

Larry Neal was a mentally ill heart patient who was secretly arrested in mid-July 2003 and detained until his death on August 1, 2003, in Shelby County Jail in Memphis, Tennessee. Larry spent most of his life from early childhood (age 9 through his mid-20’s) in Western State Mental Hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee. As you may know, during the 1970’s, many such institutions were closed or no longer kept mental patients who presented no apparent threat to the public. After release from Western State, Larry was arrested numerous times for misdemeanors connected with his handicap, paranoid schizophrenia. His family’s requests to the State of Tennessee that Larry be readmitted to an inpatient mental health facility were not granted except on a temporary basis from time to time for crisis intervention. The last ten years of his life, Larry suffered from severe respiratory problems and a heart condition that necessitated prescription drugs for his survival. During the 18 days of Larry’s final incarceration, his family and State-appointed social worker searched for him as a missing person. The jail falsely and repeatedly reported that neither Larry Neal nor a John Doe meeting his physical description was incarcerated in that facility. It is therefore reasonable to assume that Larry received none of his vital prescription heart and psychiatric drugs during incarceration, which likely caused his death. . .

Please also click here to sign the petition!


Larry's sister Mary wrote the following poem (in English, French, and Spanish).

DOG JUSTICE
by Mary Neal

Too bad you weren't a dog, my Brother
In my heart, I cried
Many more people would care about you
And wonder why you died

You had no spots or floppy ears
You never fetched a ball
Instead, you were a human being
But poor, black, and flawed

You died in jail for mental illness
I know down in my heart
Your death would be investigated
If only you could bark

Dog deaths get swift justice
Their abusers are sent to jail
Poor Mama would have closure now
If you'd had a wagging tail

But you were made in God's image
And some day, I have no doubt
The mentally ill and American dogs
Will have at least equal clout

JUSTICE POUR LES CHIENS
par Marie Neal
Tant pis si tu n'étais pas chien, mon Frère
Dans mon coeur, j'ai pleuré
Bien plus de gens t'auraient aimé
Et se seraient demandé
Pourquoi tu es décédé

Tu n'avais ni taches ni oreilles souples
Tu n'a jamais chassé la balle
Plutôt, tu étais Homme
Mais pauvre, Noir, et non-conforme

Tu es mort incarcéré
Pour maladie mentale
Au fond de mon coeur, je sais
Qu'on aurait investigué ton decès
Si seulement tu pouvais aboyer

La mort des chiens
Justice rapidement obtient
Leurs tortionnaires, jetés en tôle
Si tu aurais pu remuer la queue,
Pauvre Maman
Pourrait dejà tourner la page

Mais tu étais fait à l'image
de Dieu. Sans aucun doute, demain
Les malades mentaux
Et les chiens americains
Jouiront au moins d'égal prestige

Copyrights Mary Neal

JUSTICIA PARA LOS PERROS
by Mary Neal

Tanto peor, perro no fuiste
Mi Hermano
En mi corazón, lloré
Muchos más te hubieran amado
Y se hubieran preguntado
Porque moriste

Manchas no tuviste,
Ni flojas orejas
Una pelota nunca trajiste
En vez de eso, Humano fuiste
Pero pobre, Negro, y mal hecho

En la cárcel te moriste
Por enfermedad mental
En mi corazón, yo bien sé
Hubieran investigado tu muerte
Solo
Si ladrar hubieras podido

Muertes de perros
Rápida justicia logran
sus abusadores a prisión los echan
Yá pobre Mamá lograría consuelo
Si cola que mueve hubieras tenido

Pero fuiste creado a la imagen de Dios
algún día, por seguro
Los enfermos mentales
Y perros americanos
Por lo menos tendrán igual prestigio

Copyrights Mary Neal