BENNINGTON — A routine bail hearing in the criminal case of a Londonderry man accused of eluding Manchester police and violating conditions of release came to represent a minority mom’s struggles with an addicted son, her hopes for rehabilitation with the real possibility of a life lost behind bars, and what race and justice means here in the Green Mountain State.
Kwesi Wilson, 39, an African American, is accused in a five-count criminal case in Bennington County of a negligent high-speed chase through the streets of Manchester last month. An affidavit charges that Wilson eluded police officers in a stolen car while weaving through the crowded streets and violated conditions of release from a still-pending case in Windsor County. Wilson, a three-time convicted felon, is currently charged as a habitual offender in Vermont, which carries the possibility of a life sentence if he is found guilty.
Wilson has a lengthy criminal record in Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. He has two pending cases in Windham County and was on probation in Connecticut stemming from a drug conviction. More charges of violating probation are still possible. He also has a history of failure to appear at court dates.
At a weight of evidence hearing in Bennington Wednesday morning, Bennington County Judge Kerry McDonald-Cady made the logical decision to keep Wilson behind bars without bail after reviewing his long record and weighing community safety and risk of flight factors. As part of that hearing, Wilson’s mother testified on behalf of her son to try and persuade the judge to allow Wilson to remain with her at her home on a 24/7 curfew while he awaited trial. The mother told the court that her son has struggled with drug addiction for years without help and that after getting convicted in the past, he has struggled to get any decent job, that without those things, it’s a losing battle.
“This is really tough, said Evaney Wilson, Wilson’s mother, after the hearing concluded. “He’s tried multiple times to get jobs. As an African American living in Vermont, this is a very racial state. Racially divided. I’m not saying that people who break the law shouldn’t be accountable, but I’ve seen it too much. Statistics have shown that African Americans are stopped 100 times more than whites are. To me, that’s not justice, in injustice.”
According to research released in 2020 by the University of South Carolina, African American’s are”63 percent more likely to be stopped even though, as a whole, they drive 16 percent less.” Taking this into account, African Americans were “about 95 percent more likely to be stopped.”
When stopped, African Americans were “115 percent more likely than whites to be searched,” even though “contraband was more likely to be found in searches of white drivers.”
Wilson went on to speak about her frustration with the system, with her son’s addiction, and with the lack of support for individuals, especially African Americans, after coming in contact with the criminal justice system and being released back into the community.
“There seems to be a white law and a black law here,” Wilson said. “You can see it nationally in the Donald Trump case- 34 felonies, and he’s still running for President. For people coming out of prison, there has to be some kind of support system to help these people get help, especially minorities in this very white state, and help them find jobs so they have even a small chance at rehabilitation and dignity. A person without a job is lost. Giving someone probation without those safeguards is like saying, “Just go out there on your own and try to make it. I dare you.” They wind up right back in here. It’s unfair, especially to those struggling with substance abuse, to say that. We are making stations for people to inject themselves with this poison. Why can’t we set systems up to help rehabilitate them so they don’t wind up right back here? With treatment programs and jobs? I’m just saying give these people a chance to turn it around.”
“Over $60,000 every year to keep an inmate in jail. It does nothing to keep a drug addict in prison. That’s not rehabilitation. There are more drugs in the jails than there are on the street. My son he should be held accountable like everyone should, but this drug thing, it is a terrible disease, and the only way to really help is to get them treatment and something to live for a job, family, and the chance to turn it around.”
After the judge continued the hold without bail, Wilson stood and turned around. He smiled back at his mom sitting in the last row of the empty courtroom, mouthing, “I love you.” She smiled, then waved back at him, wiping a tear away.
“I just want to give him a chance to get better,” she said as she walked away. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”