LaShawn Ajamu is a Canton native who has become all too familiar with the issues facing both Ohio homicide survivors and individuals wrongfully convicted. In 1997, LaShawn’s brother, James Nero, was murdered in Canton, Ohio following a minor traffic accident. When James asked for the other driver’s insurance information, the driver returned with a gun and shot James twice.
In 2003, LaShawn met a man named Kwame Ajamu at a bus stop in Cleveland. They rode the bus together for six months. Kwame was then just a guy who had been labeled a convicted felon, a murderer. In 1975 Kwame–who then went by the name Ronnie Bridgeman–was sentenced to death along with his brother and his best friend for a murder the teenagers did not commit. The three teenagers were resentenced to life after Ohio’s death penalty law was ruled unconstitutional in 1978. Shortly after Kwame was paroled, he met LaShawn. In 2011 the case against LaShawn’s husband and co-defendants had fallen apart. The Ohio Innocence Project uncovered evidence of police misconduct. In December 2014 LaShawn’s husband was officially exonerated of all charges.
LaShawn has been a tireless advocate for victims’ rights. She addressed the Ohio legislature in 2015 about the true needs of Ohio’s murder victims’ families. She testified before a joint legislative committee studying the needs of homicide survivors. LaShawn has also been published by The Toledo Blade in 2017. An excerpt from her July 22nd article reads as follows:
In 1997, my brother, James Nero, was brutally gunned down in a road-rage incident in Canton. After a minor accident, James insisted that the other driver provide his insurance information. Instead, the driver returned from his car with a gun and shot my brother in the face. Then he shot James again, point-blank as he lay on the pavement…
James was just 20, and a proud father to an 18-month-old son. He was engaged to be married to his son’s mother. Like every 20-year old, he had many plans and dreams. I thank God that I saw James on the last day of his life, because during our last time together, he hugged me and told me that he loved me. At least I have that to remember him by…
Instead of wasting resources trying to execute a handful of killers, Ohio can do better for all victims’ families. My family could have used counseling and other kinds of support instead, which I believe would have helped our recovery and grief. Ohio does provide some support to victims’ families, but it varies greatly among Ohio’s 88 counties. Fix that. Trained, certified, qualified mental health professionals must be available to any family experiencing homicide. They should be available to all, without disparity of access based on race, economics, geography, or prior unrelated encounters with law enforcement. Fix that too.