A Tennessee judge has made headlines for alleging black men are doing a better job at killing one another than the Klu Klux Klan.
Montgomery County Judge Wayne Shelton went on a lengthy rant Friday (Jan. 4) while presiding over a preliminary hearing involving Vincent Bryan Merriweather accused of gunning down another black man.
“I grew up in a time where people wore white robes and they shot at black people,” Shelton said. “And now we see young black men wearing black hoodies shooting at black men — and doing a much more effective job than the Klan ever thought about doing.”
According to witness testimony, Merriweather, 26 and the victim, Antorius Gallion 22, exchanged gunfire between their cars on Nov. 19. The two attended a local high school game and their feet supposedly brushed against one another in the stands, which led to a stare down. Gallion was shot in the head.
Along with Merriweather, Cedrick Stacker, 23, and Marques Lamarr Kelly, 25 have all been charged with homicide. Merriweather turned himself into police without incident
This isn’t the first time Shelton has spoken against the violence within the black community. In May 2015, Shelton lamented over two recent high school graduates who shot and killed another young black man following a high school graduation.
“That’s the absolute tragedy,” Shelton said of the 2015 crime.“It’s black men killing black men. The Klan doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. “Who doesn’t care about black lives now? I’ll let you answer that. I’m tired of black men killing black men. If I offended anyone … I can’t help it.”
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