What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones? by Charlie LeDuff

The Essay What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones? was an essay with the purpose of enlightening people on the brutal circumstances in Detroit and it’s effect on citizens, while also creating a need to help. Written by Charlie LeDuff, the essay enlightens readers about crime and injustice in Detroit. LeDuff has received the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for contributing to the New York Times series “How Race is lived in America.” He also has an upcoming memoir titled Detroit: An American Autopsy which, similarly to the essay, shows startling facts about Detroit. The essay combines startling facts and statistics with a tragic story in order to connect and elicit sympathy from an American audience. The story describes an instance in which the SWAT team, or police, abandoned protocol. They threw a flash bang grenade into the downstairs flat in which an innocent girl, named Aiyana, and her grandmother resided. The leading officer who had recently been in a TV show, shot and killed Aiyana only seconds later. The suspect in a recent murder, whom the SWAT team was after, was living in the upstairs flat. This unnecessary brutality, lack of protocol, and the unnecessary nature allowed LeDuff to outline the injustice occurring in Detroit. LeDuff combines pathos and logos as he enlightens readers about the injustice. LeDuff informs readers that, “Detroit’s East Side is now the poorest, most violent quarter of America’s poorest, most violent city. The Illiteracy, child poverty, and unemployment rates hover around 50%.” Using numbers allows the audience to visualize the situation and understand the background of the story. To connect with the emotions of a reader, pathos is used. A woman was recently evicted from her home, and her son murdered. She was quoted saying, “Desperation… feels like someone’s reaching down your throat and pulling out your guts.”(LeDuff, 125) His strong diction and use of a metaphor connects with the audience’s emotions and creates empathy and a need to help. By exposing all of these emotions and facts, LeDuff succeeded in informing people about the dire situation in Detroit, and creating a need to help. 

Injustice In Detroit, Injustice Everywhere
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Quote: Desmond Tutu
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