The Ride is the story of the heinous and gruesome murder of ten year old, Jeffrey Curley, a case that is familiar to many in the Massachusetts area. The book works its way from the grisly crime to the years afterward. It focuses on the family of Jeffrey, heavily weighted on the life of Cambridge Firefighter Bob Curley, Jeffrey’s father. Charles Jaynes and Salvatore Sicari, both from Jeffrey’s neighborhood were convicted of the murder. Within this essay I will demonstrate from The Ride the relationship between reporting and suffering that may have been brought on for the crime victims of this case, the relationship between the victim profiles and the victim family profiles, the role in which the family may have played in the crime, relationships that developed between the victim and the victim’s families of this event and how the Restorative Justice Model would have better served the victims of this crime.
The indirect victims, The Curley’s, as a result of this crime experienced a magnitude of media sensation from the very onset of the event. Some of it being in helpful, useful ways and some times in negative ways. Once it was reported that Jeffrey Curley was missing, the media went to great lengths to get his information publicized and to bring awareness to the Boston area of his disappearance. Hundreds of community members gathered and started conducting their own searches. Fliers were made depicting a young Little League player and posted in almost every business and on every street pole. Persons who were not familiar or an acquaintance of the Curley’s offered their help and services in the search for the missing boy. The innocence of the young boy portrayed in the fliers tore at the heartstrings of all Boston residents.
Along with all the positive outpouring from the community and the media, also came negative aspects. Nearly every media outlet in the Boston area took up camp on the streets in and around the Curley home, often times
References: Macquarrie, B. (2009) The Ride. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.