Letters | Violence rally disrespectful

My beloved brother, Jeffrey Branson, was murdered on July 23 in a case that is still unresolved. The pain of Jeffrey's death is still fresh for my family and me and just the thought of Jeffrey, his grave marker or the sight of his name in print induces waves of overwhelming sorrow.

Recently, a group of people representing Home Health Care and Hospice Staffers held a rally at City Hall to voice their outrage over the violent crimes in Philadelphia, of which a health-care worker was a recent victim. While the rally participants were well-intentioned, the rally was carried out in an inappropriate manner.

The organizers used the actual names of murder victims without the permission of or informing family members.

While the names are in public records, they aren't just letters on pieces of papers. The names represent real people and all they mean to their loved ones. The organizers printed the names on placards resembling grave markers which, as a relative of a deceased crime victim, I believe was extremely insensitive. To add insult to injury, the placards were tossed on the ground in what I consider to be an act of complete disrespect.

I was also personally shocked to see a stranger carrying a grave-marker placard with my brother Jeffrey's full name and age printed on it, and I was horrified to see her toss it on the ground. It is painful enough to grieve over the senseless loss of my brother and to see his name on his actual grave marker, so to have a stranger parade Jeffrey's name around at rally on a placard shaped like a grave marker is a heightened level of incivility, in my view.

The victims of crime are more than just names and statistics, and they shouldn't be flippantly used as "impact statements" at rallies. People have to be sensitive to the memory of the victim as well as the families when planning rallies.

Keeya Branson Davis, Philadelphia