What Made Two Murders Distinct

Crime and race dominated local news last week, especially in the District, after a spate of murders prompted Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey to declare a "crime emergency." Two horrific murders riveted readers' attention and brought questions about why The Post did not give the murders equal display and why race is not always reported for suspects.

Wheaton reader Morey Rothberg noted that the murder of a white man, Alan Senitt, was on Page 1 and the murder of Chris Crowder, who was black, was on the front of the Metro section.

Rothberg asked: "Can you think of a reason why the white man would get front-page treatment while the black man wouldn't? Why does the white man merit a photo with the story but the black man doesn't? Did geography and skin color have any impact on where these two stories were placed in the newspaper? I don't see anything about the Senitt story that would merit front-page treatment over that of Crowder."

Both murders were shocking. Senitt's throat was cut, and Crowder, who was paralyzed from the waist down and used a wheelchair, was shot seven times. Crowder was well known among District politicians and active in some black neighborhood organizations. He had filed papers to run for mayor. Senitt was British and active in former Virginia governor Mark Warner's presidential campaign. Both murders happened in the morning's wee hours. Senitt was killed in Georgetown and Crowder near the new convention center.

Both stories could have been on Page 1, played comparably. Why they weren't goes to editors' decisions and what was known on deadline about both stories. Interestingly, the Senitt killing was first scheduled for the Metro front and moved to Page 1 as details became clear. The Crowder death was originally scheduled for Page 1 and was moved to Metro when the motive did not become clear.

How stories are displayed also depends on where you get your paper. In the District edition, Crowder's death had a one-column headline at the top of the Metro front and two pictures. In the Maryland and Virginia editions, it had a smaller one-column head at the bottom of the page with no pictures. (Rothberg saw the Maryland edition.)

It was an easy call to put Senitt's killing on Page 1. The victim's throat was cut -- very brutal for a street robbery. There was an attempt to rape his female companion. And there were quick arrests and charges against two men, a woman and a male juvenile. The three adults, all black, were pictured in the next day's paper. And, yes, it was in affluent Georgetown. A police commander in that district was temporarily reassigned after making this public comment: "This is not a racial thing to say that black people are unusual in Georgetown."

Crowder's death also was brutal. Why shoot someone in a wheelchair seven times? There was no evidence of a robbery, and police still are puzzled as to suspects and motive. The reward for information in the case has risen to $50,000.

Managing Editor Philip Bennett said, "We chased the story of Mr. Crowder's killing with several reporters, but by that night we concluded after a lot of discussion that we just didn't know enough about the circumstances of the shooting to put the story on the front page. Almost a week later, we still don't have a motive or any identified suspects. We've stayed on the story, covering a memorial vigil and a community meeting to address crime in the neighborhood, and we'll continue to report and write about Mr. Crowder's life and death."

While crime stories have been based mostly in the District recently, The Post also reported that armed robberies are up in the suburbs -- 30 percent in Fairfax County and 10 percent in Montgomery County.

A suburban robbery story brought in another complaint about race. Jeff Clark of Germantown wrote: "I was just wondering while looking at the Virginia Briefing (Page B5, July 11) whether the ice cream vendor noticed what race the men were who robbed and beat him. Could it be that the young men were black or Hispanic . . . and The Post decided not to publish that tidbit?

"As someone who works in Reston, I would like to know more about what these individuals looked like for my own safety. It seems that The Post once again puts political correctness above the safety of the region's citizens."

As the story said, the robbers wore bandanas over their faces. Post policy is that "race and ethnic background . . . should be used in crime stories when we have enough specific identifying information to publish a police description of a suspect who is being sought."

Tom Jackman, who wrote the story, said, "We did not mention their race or skin color, because it was not particularly descriptive in terms of identifying the suspects. Whether they were black, white or brown, skin tone alone really doesn't narrow the field. There are a lot of people of all three colors, and in varying shades, in Reston.''

The curiosity of readers about race is understandable, but, practically, what help is it to know that a suspect was black or mixed-race or a whiter shade of pale if there aren't enough details to be able to identify a suspect and call the police? Or if it's not pertinent to the crime. Will knowing the color of a person's skin make you feel any safer?

Deborah Howell can be reached at 202-334-7582 or athttp://ombudsman@washpost.com.