MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In response to the violence Memphis has seen this weekend and in past weeks, the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office will hold its annual Season of Remembrance event.
Monday, the DA's office will honor homicide victims in the county at an event at the University of Memphis.
This has been a really tough year for the county. Two-year-old Charvez Atkins, 17-year-old Corteria Wright, 62-year-old Richard Clark, and Nurse Allison Parker are just a few names that are on the lengthy list of innocent lives lost this year to violent crimes.
Life for many will never be the same after the deaths of their loved ones. The Memphis Police Department said as of November 23, the year-to-date number of murders in 2022 is 216, and there have been 263 homicides in 2022.
Homicides include killings from actions like self-defense, but all murders are exclusively classified as illegal killings.
Resident Andrea Vaughn shared how her nephew died after a senseless murder.
"This young man felt the need to use his gun and shoot at some kids, which is not something that I understand, but unfortunately my nephew was one of the kids who lost his life out of five,” Vaughn explained.
Her nephew was 15-year-old Damien Smith Jr. Someone shot and killed him outside of a home on Ratliff Lane near Downtown Memphis on Valentine’s Day when he was on his way to an after-school program.
Vaughn, whom we spoke with when her nephew was killed, said Damian was a smart kid who always wanted to learn.
Loved ones of long-time pastor rev. Autura Eason-Williams, who was shot and killed in her driveway in Whitehaven in July, said she was a devoted mother and a respected leader.
"I know for a fact that she had in her heart, a real heart for the least and the last and the lost, and that is we need to reach the folks that are most at risk of being killed, and those that are most at risk of taking up the gun,” President of the board of directors of UMNC Memphis, Mark Matheny expressed.
Most recently, Dewayne ‘Amir’ Tunstall was one the first of three victims who police said Ezekiel Kelly shot and killed during a mobile mass shooting across Memphis in September.
District Attorney Steve Mulroy said his office has been working to cut down on crime, but he will need the community to help him.
“I understand some people may be concerned about their safety and others may be skeptical about the fairness of the system, but we’re going to try to turn that around,” Mulroy said. ‘We’re going to try to make the system fair, to try to restore public confidence in the and get the community to cooperate with law enforcement in a way it hasn’t been.”
Mulroy said that means providing tips, reporting crimes, and serving as witnesses which is the most important key to helping to curve crime.
Mulroy added that they have also been working on interventions for young people.
“The rise of violent crime has been a problem for a long time. It’s been rising steadily in the last decade, especially in the last couple of years. It’s not going to turn around overnight, but we are doing our best to stem that.”
Monday afternoon the annual Season of Remembrance will be at the Rose Theater at the University of Memphis.
The reception starts at 5:00 p.m. and the ceremony will start at 5:30 p.m. There will be free parking in the garage, next to the theater.
The office is also asking family and friends to bring an ornament to place on a wreath to honor their loved ones.
During the ceremony, someone will read the names of all victims so that they each have their separate remembrance moment.
“Events like this that focus the community’s attention on it, that would be your potential offenders out there, really appreciate the effects on the community and what they’re doing, maybe that is part of the solution…we hope,” Mulroy stated.
This is the first year where a clergy person will be presiding, which Mulroy said sends a good message of inclusion. Cordova High School's Concert Singers will also perform.