Keep Bailing

They say hindsight is 20-20 and almost all of us can pinpoint one pivotal moment in time that has entirely changed our lives.  For S.E. Missouri school teacher, Healther Ellis,  it was the moment she switched checkout lines in her local Wal-Mart store, three years ago. (Perhaps it was the same moment for the “Walmart Slapper“.)

Ellis’ alleged line-cutting launched what she claims is a racially charged dispute between herself, white customers and police, that could land her a 15-year prison sentence for assaulting two officers.  She has since filed a formal written complaint with the NAACP.

Heather Ellis goes on trial in the Dunklin County Circuit Court this month.  Several groups have orchestrated marches on her behalf, including the NAACP.  Their demonstration in the town of Kennet, where the incident occured,  was preceded by written threats, allegedly from the Ku Klux Klan.

Dunklin County Prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff defended Kennet in a local paper, saying there was no proof the KKK was involved and that Ellis’ scuffle  was exaggerated.  But last week, he removed himself from the case “in the hope that this would refocus attention on the facts”.  A special prosecutor has since been appointed.

Ellis, who has rejected plea deals, declined to comment, but her father, Rev. Nathaniel Ellis says:  “Why would you plea bargain if you’re innocent? This is not a matter of justice.  It’s a vendetta.”

Heather Ellis now teaches in Loisianna, where she is ironically about to marry a state trooper.  “What a shame the system can destroy a young person’s future like this, [all] because of bad cops,” she wrote in her NAACP letter.  Hopefully, on November 18, 2009, the true story will be revealed.