Greg Freeman: Paralyzed Shooting Victim Keeps Fighting Back, And He Wants Others To Join Him. StL P-D 12/5/1999

Headline: PARALYZED SHOOTING VICTIM KEEPS FIGHTING BACK, AND HE WANTS OTHERS TO JOIN HIM
Reporter: By Greg Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: 12/5/1999
Section: METRO, Page: C3, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

Dietrich Smith

Dietrich Smith breathes a little easier today.
Thanks in no small part to his diligence, a gunman who tried to take his life 17 years ago remains behind bars.
It's a small victory for Smith, but one he considers a larger one for other victims of crime.

Smith is a man with a clear message: Fight back. For him, the message has been intensely personal.
   Smith was riddled with gunfire in 1982 as he sat in a car at a drive-in bank downtown. The attack was in revenge for court testimony he had given in another shooting.
   One bullet shattered his spine at belt level, paralyzing him from the waist down. Today he uses a wheelchair to get around.
   Many would have been grateful simply to have survived that shooting. Not Smith.

His assailant was sentenced to life in prison, but comes up periodically for parole. And every time a parole hearing comes up, Smith makes sure he's there. Back in October, he made the three-hour car ride from St. Louis to the Moberly Correctional Center.
   At the hearing, Smith's assailant admitted to being the trigger man in the shooting. That was an improvement over the last parole hearing - two years ago - when he didn't own up to it.
   His assailant has earned a high school certificate in prison. But he's done very little else to rehabilitate himself, in Smith's view. He's also been written up in prison for stabbing another inmate, and for other offenses. Smith doesn't think his assailant is yet ready for prime time.
   Neither does the parole board, which recently let Smith know that the assailant's parole has been denied.

Testifying at the parole hearing has become a ritual for Smith. But it's never an easy thing.
"Every two years, I have to relive this nightmare," he said. "It always takes me to a place in my life that was very painful. But I've got to do it."

He does it not only for himself, but for others.
After his shooting, Smith became a consultant on gangs and crime. "I go to a lot of communities and tell people to stand up against criminals, " he said.

That message is especially important for African-Americans, he says. "Many of us (blacks) consider the criminals against us but also consider the system against us. We're afraid of the criminals but we're also afraid of the system. We don't have a lot of confidence in it.
"But you can't blame the system if you refuse to participate in it and have a say, " he said. "The criminals win every time if you refuse to get involved. And how many of these guys go free and kill someone else because no one was willing to get involved?"

Smith makes it clear that he's not enamored with the system. "The system will let these guys out, especially if you don't take the steps to keep them in, " he said. "The way it's set up, it impedes victims from participating."
For example, he said, if victims want to testify at parole hearings, they have to do all the work and pay all the costs. There's no money available to get victims to parole hearings or make it easier for them to testify there. "It takes some work, " he said.

"But it's worth it, " Smith said. "Even if it's just for peace of mind. And it's a major way of battling crime in the community. If we seriously want to fight crime in our communities, we've got to be willing to stand up to the criminals. We've got to let them know that we won't take it.
"I really believe that one man can make a difference, " he said.

Will he ever stop testifying against his assailant?
   "If he made a serious effort to change his life, I might, " Smith said.
   For now, though, he plans to attend another parole hearing in 2001.
   "He can count on me being there, " Smith said.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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