WS Chronicle

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We’ve all either had or heard about people having those “I can’t believe it!” moments. A soldier serves bravely in Iraq only to come home and be hurt in a car accident; the family headed for a funeral only to be killed before they get there … Those moments leave us shaking our heads and asking “Why?”

Kalvin Michael Smith has had his “I can’t believe it!” moment. He spent nearly 30 years in prison, then gained his freedom, only to be seriously shot after being free for about four months. There’s no telling-what a man who believes he is innocent of a crime goes through in prison, for 20 years. But to have freedom and then have some unknown person try to take it away from him personally – there’s no telling how he must feel about that, either.

Kalvin Michael Smith has moved from being called a person who victimized to a person who is a victim. Some people think he deserved to be shot. Some might even think he should have died.

But when you say you are innocent and hope to prove that one day, then you are critically shot, you have to fight on two fronts. Who shot Kalvin Michael Smith? How were the police so quick to accuse him of a crime but has not found the person who shot him yet?

Winston-Salem Police have said that people in the community have been tight-lipped when it comes to giving them information in some crimes. Even with incentives such as Crime Stoppers, some crimes go unsolved.

Who shot Kalvin Michael Smith?

We need more people to help Smith now just as they did when he was in prison.

Kalvin Michael Smith has questions, we are sure. He says he still has to prove his innocence in a court of law, but how can he do that if he’s facing these physical and mental set-backs?

The person or people who shot him should be found and brought to justice as soon as possible. Is anyone helping the police toward that end?

Kalvin Michael Smith is finding out the hard way about life in 21st century Winston-Salem. The question is, does anybody care?