Remember the “Iraq’s Most Wanted” playing cards?
Police and nonprofit Crime Stoppers of Oregon released a similar deck this morning, each card profiling an unsolved murder. On each card is the face of the person killed, making for a pretty grisly game of gin rummy.
Also, instead of putting the cards into the hands of soldiers and law enforcement officers, the cards are replacing regular decks in jails in four counties at $1 a pop. “People who engage in criminal behavior brag about [it] to other inmates,” Sergeant Paul Weatheroy from the Portland Police Bureau’s cold case unit explained. He hopes the cards with help inmates cough up clues in the 52 unsolved crimes.
“The Mayor of 42nd Avenue,” Edward Victor Morgan, who was murdered 15 years ago today, is the six of diamonds. Joshua Michael Jeffries, the youngest victim in Portland’s cold case file, is the eight of hearts. Earl Richard Barker, shot and killed less than a year ago, is the Queen of hearts.
Are these available to the general public? I’d really like to have a deck.
My Uncle was Edward “Eddie” Morgan, and my family and I would love for the people of Oregon to never forget his case. He was murdered while out walking one morning on one of his frequent early morning walks. It was a drive by shooting on the corner of his street; they shot him eight times all over his body. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Eddie’s case is frequently aired on news channel 8 as one of the important cold case murders. In the end though, Eddie would have forgiven the people who did this to him, he just wasn’t the type to feel hate. Eddie was the type who rang the bell for the Salvation Army donations at Christmas time. Eddie was the type who walked you to your car at night to make sure you got there safe. Eddie was the type who helped the people in the neighborhood work on their house or in their yard (as long as you paid him in food). Eddie was the type who personally knew all the weather men on news channel 8, from frequent calls and walks to their studios. Eddie was the type who volunteered in the local businesses wherever they could use him. Eddie was a human being with a family, a family who deserves to know what really happened. I hope these deck of cards will open a new door for us.