Maybe Baton Rouge’s slogan should be “Give us your angry, dishonest and psychopathic.” Whether it’s links to terrorism, the looming presence of a killer or long-time crooked politicians, the city is grabbing national headlines.
While some of the people or events are only indirectly related to the area, others pop up on national television nightly and are giving our fair town a bad name. Let’s take a look at the city’s lengthy rap sheet.
John Allen Muhammad, the 41-year-old suspected sniper, was born and raised in Baton Rouge and graduated from Scotlandville High in 1978. He served in the Gulf War and was involved with the Louisiana National Guard from 1978 to 1985. After leaving the city, he embraced Islam and changed his last name from Williams to Muhammad. He allegedly shot 13 bystanders, killing 10 and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Police announced Thursday that the alleged sniper is a suspect in a Sept. 23 Baton Rouge homicide.
Yasser Esam Hamdi, a 21-year-old from Baton Rouge, was captured in Afghanistan and is accused of being a member of al-Qaida. The case is still pending.
The West Nile virus has been rampant around the city, but officials have said it is on the decline. The outbreak caused eight deaths and 261 reported cases.
Two hurricanes hit near the city only weeks apart, and the storms had The Weather Channel’s crew stationed in hotels around the city looking to get an exclusive with either Lili or Isidore. Dan Rather even showed up from behind his news desk and pretended to be a sideline reporter.
With a serial killer still on the loose, women around the city and the LSU campus are scared to walk to their cars at night. DNA evidence showed the killer was responsible for the deaths of Pam Kinamore, Charlotte Murray Pace and Gina Wilson Green. The city currently also has more than 30 unsolved murders to date.
The cases appeared on the TV show America’s Most Wanted. Last summer, Pace’s mother appeared on Good Morning America and CNN interviewed Chancellor Mark Emmert about the killings.
Stories about or related to the serial killer have appeared on Fox News, MSNBC and Glamour magazine to name a few. The National Enquirer called The Reveille newsroom looking for an interview and a few staff members received interview requests too.
LSU fired Steven Hatfill, an adjunct professor and bioterrorism expert, in September, before he even reported to work. The University did this largely because of the public relations nightmare associated with his alleged involvement in last year’s anthrax attacks. Hatfill’s press conference during the investigation, where he cried like a baby and accused the FBI of violating his civil rights, aired on national news networks.
Former Gov. Edwin Edwards began serving a 10-years prison sentence after a lengthy appeals process. The 75-year-old was convicted in May 2000 for shaking down riverboat casino owners and applicants. His son Stephen also has currently started serving a seven-year term for the same offense.
Despite the state’s bad reputation for crooked politicians, Edwards is only the second governor to be sent to jail. Richard Leche was the other – he went to prison in 1940 for mail fraud.
Other politicians have faced Edward’s fate too. Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown began serving a six-month sentence in federal prison after he was convicted of lying to an FBI agent.
In August, Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom was indicted on 21 counts, including allegations that he took bribes. Eleven of the charges were dropped.
Unfortunately, all these negative occurrences take away from any good happenings around the city, which hurts many important areas such as business and tourism. Who wants to visit or live in the backyard of serial killers, snipers, crooks and deadly mosquitoes?
The really bad part of the Baton Rouge media blitz is it prevents any positive news from coming out. Has there been any good news lately? I can’t think of any, so maybe no news is good news.
With all the attention given to Baton Rouge this past year, it’s surprising the city has not put in a bid to gain a sports franchise or host the 2020 Olympics. Maybe then the city could get some positive public relations.