Whenever I’m out on the bike, pedaling merrily along, I invariably pass women, often comely young ladies in fashionable athletic wear, running, or less often, riding. When I do, I am almost always concerned, because they are: (A) alone, (B) wearing earbuds, (C) mostly staring at the roadway a few feet in front of them, and (D) almost certainly unarmed. When I am approaching them on the opposite side of a long, lonely, semi-rural or rural stretch of road, they often don’t see me at all. When I’m overtaking them from behind, they don’t hear me and often jump and squeal when I’m nearly past them and they spot me in their peripheral vision (I give them a wide berth). I wave, smile and keep them in sight as long as I can in my rearview mirror, but that’s limited by time and terrain. So, I say a prayer for their safety and pedal on. Liberty means the right to make dangerous choices.
Let us, gentle readers, take a moment to behold the face of evil:
(credit: shelby county jail)
This is one Cleotha Abston, 39, a convicted felon and long time offender. He was first apprehended for his crimes at the ripe old age of 11. Among his past crimes are: rape, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping. He was charged with first degree murder, premeditated murder, murder in perpetration of kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in the rape and murder of 34 year-old kindergarten teacher Eliza Fletcher.
Eliza Fletcher
(credit: st. mary’s episcopal school)
She was on an early morning run when Abston was later seen on video attacking, beating and forcing her into his vehicle. He was serving a 24-year sentence when he was released early in 2020. He was arrested within days of the discovery of the video; Fletcher’s body was found a short time later without his help. As with so many other cases of this kind, he should have been behind bars, and because he wasn’t, Eliza Fletcher died horribly, her husband and two young sons left to struggle on without her. Abston was charged in the aggravated kidnapping and rape of another woman a year before Fletcher’s murder.
