This morning at 2:42 AM, a news report has arrived that a man named Clifford D'Angelo Jackson joined a life of crime in order to get to know and understand his father better. Can we really say that this is Jackson's fault for wanting to know more about the man he never got to meet, his father Clifford Durham? The reason Jackson scarcely met his father is that Durham was in behind bars for most of Jackson's twenty-four years of living. Durham was continually in jail for committing one felony after another. After Durham was finally released from the federal penitentiary, Jackson thought that this may be the only chance he may have to spend time with Durham.
But to Jackson's disappointment, Durham was uninterested. Durham was only willing to meet Jackson if Jackson was going to join him in committing crime. Jackson declined Durham's offer twice, but decided to comply after Durham stopped picking up Jackson's calls and ignoring his text messages. Both family members were sentenced to the federal court after attempting to rob a Wells-Fargo Bank on Clairmont Road near I-85 in Dekalb County, and they were also accused of trying to rob William's Cheesesteaks in Stone Mountain.
Clifford D'Angelo Jackson was sentenced to sixteen years in prison, while his father's sentencing was much more complicated. Durham was sentenced for approximately fifty years in prison. Although Judge Duffy understood Jackson's longing for his father, Judge Duffy believed Jackson to be a dangerous man.
Going back to my first question, should Clifford D'Angelo Jackson be held responsible for his actions? Jackson only wanted to make his father's approval-- should he still be blamed? I understand that what Jackson did was wrong, but I believe he should have a lighter sentencing. Jackson's intentions were good and he is very capable of becoming a better person. I find this father-son story to be remarkable and almost heartbreaking because this usually occurs only in movies, but instead this is reality.
http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/son-claims-he-joined-fathers-robbing-crew-stay-clo/nSz28/
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