What is a hero?
It’s not the person who stands by and watches someone being hurt and does nothing. It’s not the witness who tearfully now says, “Oh, yeah, I’ve known who committed the Brown’s Restaurant murders. My friend told me years ago.” And it’s not the women–Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla–who knew for nine years, who told a roommate, family members and friends, but not the police.
Coming forward to report the knowledge of the crime was more than a moral or legal obligation. It was an urgent necessity that should have outweighed their fears. If they feared so much for their lives, where was that fear when they told other people?
These women are no heroes.
Yes, the police need their testimony.
Yes, sometimes there are compromises or deals to get the big criminals.
But don’t offend the families of the victims, or their memories, by calling either of these women a “hero.”
