Man Goes Off On Black People's Ignorance
Man Goes off on the Black CommunityEnter to Win our Truck: https://hodgetwins.gobigly.com/chevy58844827Join Our Uncensored Email/List: https://officialhodget...
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Black Lives Matter-Ugliness of Racism.
- Thread starter Ocean Breeze
- Start date
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It's apparently a lot of Canadians' notion of an effective, articulate statement of grievance.
President of Calgary's Black Lives Matter movement charged with hate crime
Adora Nwofor was charged with mischief on June 2 in connection with an incident on May 26
Author of the article:Kevin Martin
Published Jun 13, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Adora Nwofor is photographed in Calgary on July 17, 2020.
Adora Nwofor is photographed in Calgary on July 17, 2020. PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia
The head of the Black Lives Matter movement in Calgary has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly impeding access to a Catholic school.
Court records show Adora Nwofor was charged with mischief on June 2, in connection with an incident on May 26, for allegedly “wilfully obstructing and interfering” with the use of a property “primarily used for religious worship and educational purposes.”
It’s alleged she interfered with people’s use of St. Thomas Aquinas School on 26 Avenue S.W. “for reasons of bias, prejudice, or hate based on race or ethnic origin.”
Nwofor, 47, is president of Black Lives Matter YYC and has also been a strong activist for abortion rights.
She led a May 2022 rally at Olympic Plaza in protest of the U.S. Supreme Court’s anticipated overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in that country.
The U.S. top court later followed through on a leaked draft decision and overturned Roe v. Wade.
At the May 15, 2022, rally, Nwofor expressed concerns the U.S. decision could ultimately impact abortion rights in Canada.
Nwofor banned from going within 100 metres of St. Thomas Aquinas
Nwofor appeared via video link before a justice of the peace on June 2, and was released on a non-cash bail with conditions she have no contact with staff and faculty from St. Thomas Aquinas.
She is also barred from going within 100 metres of the school.
Defence lawyer Chad Haggerty appeared on her behalf at the brief proceeding.
When contacted by Postmedia, Haggerty declined to comment on the case.
Other Black Lives Matter activist set to receive verdict on separate case this Thursday
Haggerty also represents Black Lives Matter activist Taylor McNallie, who is set to get a verdict on Thursday in connection with allegations she assaulted an off-duty sheriff on the steps of the Calgary Courts Centre.
McNallie is accused of assaulting Elena Cunningham with a megaphone on April 12, 2021, during a rally protesting the assault of a Black woman by a Calgary police officer.
But McNallie testified she was simply trying to retrieve her phone which Cunningham grabbed while the accused was trying to take her picture when she accidentally struck Cunningham.
She also faces charges for allegedly pouring water on a photographer a week earlier and breaking his eyeglasses.
Justice Peter Barley is scheduled to hand down a verdict on Thursday.
Nwofor’s case is back in court on Friday.
KMartin@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts
torontosun.com
Adora Nwofor was charged with mischief on June 2 in connection with an incident on May 26
Author of the article:Kevin Martin
Published Jun 13, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Adora Nwofor is photographed in Calgary on July 17, 2020.
Adora Nwofor is photographed in Calgary on July 17, 2020. PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia
The head of the Black Lives Matter movement in Calgary has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly impeding access to a Catholic school.
Court records show Adora Nwofor was charged with mischief on June 2, in connection with an incident on May 26, for allegedly “wilfully obstructing and interfering” with the use of a property “primarily used for religious worship and educational purposes.”
It’s alleged she interfered with people’s use of St. Thomas Aquinas School on 26 Avenue S.W. “for reasons of bias, prejudice, or hate based on race or ethnic origin.”
Nwofor, 47, is president of Black Lives Matter YYC and has also been a strong activist for abortion rights.
She led a May 2022 rally at Olympic Plaza in protest of the U.S. Supreme Court’s anticipated overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in that country.
The U.S. top court later followed through on a leaked draft decision and overturned Roe v. Wade.
At the May 15, 2022, rally, Nwofor expressed concerns the U.S. decision could ultimately impact abortion rights in Canada.
Nwofor banned from going within 100 metres of St. Thomas Aquinas
Nwofor appeared via video link before a justice of the peace on June 2, and was released on a non-cash bail with conditions she have no contact with staff and faculty from St. Thomas Aquinas.
She is also barred from going within 100 metres of the school.
Defence lawyer Chad Haggerty appeared on her behalf at the brief proceeding.
When contacted by Postmedia, Haggerty declined to comment on the case.
Other Black Lives Matter activist set to receive verdict on separate case this Thursday
Haggerty also represents Black Lives Matter activist Taylor McNallie, who is set to get a verdict on Thursday in connection with allegations she assaulted an off-duty sheriff on the steps of the Calgary Courts Centre.
McNallie is accused of assaulting Elena Cunningham with a megaphone on April 12, 2021, during a rally protesting the assault of a Black woman by a Calgary police officer.
But McNallie testified she was simply trying to retrieve her phone which Cunningham grabbed while the accused was trying to take her picture when she accidentally struck Cunningham.
She also faces charges for allegedly pouring water on a photographer a week earlier and breaking his eyeglasses.
Justice Peter Barley is scheduled to hand down a verdict on Thursday.
Nwofor’s case is back in court on Friday.
KMartin@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts
President of Calgary's Black Lives Matter movement charged with hate crime
Black Lives Matter YYC president Adora Nwofor has been charged with mischief in an alleged hate-based crime.
Jury awards $25.6M to white Starbucks manager fired after arrests of 2 Black men
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 15, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.
Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination.
In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests. However, she said she was ordered to put a white manager who also wasn’t involved on administrative leave for reasons she knew were false, according to her lawsuit.
Phillips said she was fired less than a month later after objecting to the manager being placed on leave amid the uproar, according to her lawsuit.
The company’s rationale for suspending the district manager, who was not responsible for the store where the arrests took place, was an allegation that Black store managers were being paid less than white managers, according to the lawsuit. Phillips said that argument made no sense since district managers had no input on employee salaries.
The lawsuit alleged Starbucks was instead taking steps to “punish white employees” who worked in the area “in an effort to convince the community that it had properly responded to the incident.”
During closing arguments on Friday, Phillips’ lawyer Laura Mattiacci told jurors that the company was looking for a “sacrificial lamb” to calm the outrage and show that it was taking action, Law360 reported. Picking a Black employee for such a purpose “would have blown up in their faces,” she said.
Starbucks denied Phillips’ allegations, saying the company needed someone with a track record of “strength and resolution” during a crisis and replaced her with a regional manager who had such experience, including navigating the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Law360 reported.
Phillips’ attorney, however, cited earlier testimony from a Black district manager, who was responsible for the store where the arrests took place, who described Phillips as someone beloved by her peers and who worked around the clock after the arrests.
In an email to The Associated Press, Mattiacci confirmed the award amount and said the judge will consider awarding back pay and future pay, as well as attorney’s fees. Mattiacci told the New Jersey Law Journal that she will seek about $3 million for lost pay, and roughly $1 million on her fee application. Starbucks declined comment Tuesday.
In the April 2018 incident, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested in a Starbucks coffee shop near tony Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia shortly after the manager called police to report that two men were refusing to either make a purchase or leave the premises. They were later released without charges.
Video of the arrest prompted national outcry and led the current CEO of Starbucks to personally apologize to the men. The company later reached a settlement with both men for an undisclosed sum and an offer of free college education. The company also changed store policies and closed locations across the country for an afternoon for racial-bias training.
The two men also reached a deal with the city of Philadelphia for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs. The Philadelphia Police Department adopted a new policy on how to deal with people accused of trespassing on private property — warning businesses against misusing the authority of police officers.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 15, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.
Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination.
In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests. However, she said she was ordered to put a white manager who also wasn’t involved on administrative leave for reasons she knew were false, according to her lawsuit.
Phillips said she was fired less than a month later after objecting to the manager being placed on leave amid the uproar, according to her lawsuit.
The company’s rationale for suspending the district manager, who was not responsible for the store where the arrests took place, was an allegation that Black store managers were being paid less than white managers, according to the lawsuit. Phillips said that argument made no sense since district managers had no input on employee salaries.
The lawsuit alleged Starbucks was instead taking steps to “punish white employees” who worked in the area “in an effort to convince the community that it had properly responded to the incident.”
During closing arguments on Friday, Phillips’ lawyer Laura Mattiacci told jurors that the company was looking for a “sacrificial lamb” to calm the outrage and show that it was taking action, Law360 reported. Picking a Black employee for such a purpose “would have blown up in their faces,” she said.
Starbucks denied Phillips’ allegations, saying the company needed someone with a track record of “strength and resolution” during a crisis and replaced her with a regional manager who had such experience, including navigating the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Law360 reported.
Phillips’ attorney, however, cited earlier testimony from a Black district manager, who was responsible for the store where the arrests took place, who described Phillips as someone beloved by her peers and who worked around the clock after the arrests.
In an email to The Associated Press, Mattiacci confirmed the award amount and said the judge will consider awarding back pay and future pay, as well as attorney’s fees. Mattiacci told the New Jersey Law Journal that she will seek about $3 million for lost pay, and roughly $1 million on her fee application. Starbucks declined comment Tuesday.
In the April 2018 incident, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested in a Starbucks coffee shop near tony Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia shortly after the manager called police to report that two men were refusing to either make a purchase or leave the premises. They were later released without charges.
Video of the arrest prompted national outcry and led the current CEO of Starbucks to personally apologize to the men. The company later reached a settlement with both men for an undisclosed sum and an offer of free college education. The company also changed store policies and closed locations across the country for an afternoon for racial-bias training.
The two men also reached a deal with the city of Philadelphia for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs. The Philadelphia Police Department adopted a new policy on how to deal with people accused of trespassing on private property — warning businesses against misusing the authority of police officers.
Jury awards $25.6M to white Starbucks manager fired after arrests of 2 Black men
Jurors have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged she and other white employees were unfairly punished
Man indicted in chokehold death of New York subway rider Jordan Neely
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jake Offenhartz And Michael R. Sisak
Published Jun 15, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
EW YORK (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a man who put an agitated New York City subway rider in a fatal chokehold, prosecutors confirmed Thursday.
Daniel Penny was initially charged with manslaughter last month in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who struggled in recent years with homelessness and mental illness.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed the grand jury voted to indict, adding the specific charges will be unveiled at a scheduled June 28 arraignment. Penny had initially been charged with manslaughter in the second degree, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, but a grand jury’s approval of charges was needed for the case to continue.
Neely was shouting at passengers and begging for money when Penny, a former U.S. Marine, pinned him to the floor of the moving subway car with the help of two other riders. Penny then held Neely in a chokehold that lasted more than three minutes until his body went limp.
Penny has said he was protecting himself and other passengers, claiming Neely shouted “I’m gonna’ kill you” and that he was “ready to die” or go to jail for life.
“He was yelling in their faces saying these threats,” Penny said in a video released by his attorneys this week. “I just couldn’t sit still.”
A freelance journalist who recorded Neely struggling to free himself, then lapsing into unconsciousness, said he was acting aggressively and frightening people but hadn’t assaulted anyone. Neely was Black. Penny is white.
Neely’s death prompted protests by many who saw it as an example of racial injustice, setting off a debate about vigilantism and public safety in New York City. Several commentators, including Rev. Al Sharpton, compared the chokehold death to the Bernhard Goetz case in 1984, in which a white gunman shot four Black men on a subway train.
Others have rallied around Penny, including several of the Republican candidates for president. A fund set up to pay for Penny’s legal defense has raised more than $2.8 million, according to his lawyers.
The attorneys, Steven Raiser and Thomas Keniff, said they were confident that a trial jury would find Penny’s actions on the train justified.
“While we respect the decision of the grand jury to move this case forward to trial, it should be noted that the standard of proof in a grand jury is very low and there has been no finding of wrongdoing,” they said.
In a statement, attorneys for the Neely family — Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards — said the grand jury’s decisions “tells our city and our nation that ‘no one is above the law’ no matter how much money they raise, no matter what affiliations they claim, and no matter what distorted stories they tell.”
Neely, 30, had been arrested multiple times and had recently pleaded guilty to assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station in 2021.
Penny, 24, was released on $100,000 bond following a May 12 court appearance.
In a statement on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the indictment would allow for justice to move forward.
“I appreciate DA Bragg conducting a thorough investigation into the death of Jordan Neely,” he said. “Like I said when the DA first brought charges, I have the utmost faith in the judicial process, and now that the Grand Jury has indicted Daniel Penny, a trial and justice can move forward.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jake Offenhartz And Michael R. Sisak
Published Jun 15, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
EW YORK (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a man who put an agitated New York City subway rider in a fatal chokehold, prosecutors confirmed Thursday.
Daniel Penny was initially charged with manslaughter last month in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who struggled in recent years with homelessness and mental illness.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed the grand jury voted to indict, adding the specific charges will be unveiled at a scheduled June 28 arraignment. Penny had initially been charged with manslaughter in the second degree, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, but a grand jury’s approval of charges was needed for the case to continue.
Neely was shouting at passengers and begging for money when Penny, a former U.S. Marine, pinned him to the floor of the moving subway car with the help of two other riders. Penny then held Neely in a chokehold that lasted more than three minutes until his body went limp.
Penny has said he was protecting himself and other passengers, claiming Neely shouted “I’m gonna’ kill you” and that he was “ready to die” or go to jail for life.
“He was yelling in their faces saying these threats,” Penny said in a video released by his attorneys this week. “I just couldn’t sit still.”
A freelance journalist who recorded Neely struggling to free himself, then lapsing into unconsciousness, said he was acting aggressively and frightening people but hadn’t assaulted anyone. Neely was Black. Penny is white.
Neely’s death prompted protests by many who saw it as an example of racial injustice, setting off a debate about vigilantism and public safety in New York City. Several commentators, including Rev. Al Sharpton, compared the chokehold death to the Bernhard Goetz case in 1984, in which a white gunman shot four Black men on a subway train.
Others have rallied around Penny, including several of the Republican candidates for president. A fund set up to pay for Penny’s legal defense has raised more than $2.8 million, according to his lawyers.
The attorneys, Steven Raiser and Thomas Keniff, said they were confident that a trial jury would find Penny’s actions on the train justified.
“While we respect the decision of the grand jury to move this case forward to trial, it should be noted that the standard of proof in a grand jury is very low and there has been no finding of wrongdoing,” they said.
In a statement, attorneys for the Neely family — Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards — said the grand jury’s decisions “tells our city and our nation that ‘no one is above the law’ no matter how much money they raise, no matter what affiliations they claim, and no matter what distorted stories they tell.”
Neely, 30, had been arrested multiple times and had recently pleaded guilty to assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station in 2021.
Penny, 24, was released on $100,000 bond following a May 12 court appearance.
In a statement on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the indictment would allow for justice to move forward.
“I appreciate DA Bragg conducting a thorough investigation into the death of Jordan Neely,” he said. “Like I said when the DA first brought charges, I have the utmost faith in the judicial process, and now that the Grand Jury has indicted Daniel Penny, a trial and justice can move forward.”
Man indicted in chokehold death of New York subway rider Jordan Neely
A grand jury has indicted a man who put an agitated New York City subway rider in a fatal chokehold, prosecutors confirmed
Chicago cop fired for role in botched raid where Black woman was handcuffed nude
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 16, 2023 • 2 minute read
CHICAGO — A Chicago police sergeant has been fired for his role in a botched 2019 raid at the home of a Black woman who was handcuffed while naked after police officers were sent to the wrong address.
The Chicago Police Board voted 5-3 Thursday to fire Sgt. Alex Wolinski for multiple rules violations and “failure of leadership” in the raid at the apartment of Anjanette Young, according to a 31-page written ruling, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Young, a social worker, was getting ready for bed in February 2019 when several officers serving a no-knock warrant stormed into her apartment on Chicago’s Near West Side searching for a man believed to have an illegal gun.
Police body-camera footage of the raid showed that officers handcuffed Young, who was naked when police arrived, as she repeatedly told them that they were in the wrong place. The city’s law department said Young was naked for 16 seconds but the covering officers put on her kept falling off before she was allowed to get dressed several minutes later.
The botched raid and the city’s handling of it prompted anger from clergy, lawmakers and civil rights activists who decried it as racist and an affront to a Black woman’s dignity.
Young later sued the city over the raid, resulting in the Chicago City Council voting unanimously in December 2021 to pay her $2.9 million to settle her lawsuit.
Young said in a statement released Friday by her attorneys that Wolinski’s firing is “only a small piece of the Justice for which I have been waiting.”
“While my heart goes out to his family because they now suffer the consequences of his abhorrent misconduct, I wish all eight members of the Chicago Police Board would have recognized the need and urgency for Sergeant Wolinski’s removal,” she added.
Then-police Superintendent David Brown brought administrative charges against Wolinski in November 2021, recommending that he be fired.
Wolinski, who had joined the Chicago Police Department in 2002, was accused of violating eight departmental rules, including inattention to duty, disobedience of an order and disrespect to or maltreatment of any person.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability also called for Wolinski’s firing and for suspensions for several other officers present during the raid, although to date no other officers have faced Police Board charges for the raid, the Chicago Tribune reported.
While the incident happened before former Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office in May 2019, her administration later tried to block the police video from airing on television and rejected Young’s Freedom of Information request to obtain video of the incident. Young later obtained it through her lawsuit.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 16, 2023 • 2 minute read
CHICAGO — A Chicago police sergeant has been fired for his role in a botched 2019 raid at the home of a Black woman who was handcuffed while naked after police officers were sent to the wrong address.
The Chicago Police Board voted 5-3 Thursday to fire Sgt. Alex Wolinski for multiple rules violations and “failure of leadership” in the raid at the apartment of Anjanette Young, according to a 31-page written ruling, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Young, a social worker, was getting ready for bed in February 2019 when several officers serving a no-knock warrant stormed into her apartment on Chicago’s Near West Side searching for a man believed to have an illegal gun.
Police body-camera footage of the raid showed that officers handcuffed Young, who was naked when police arrived, as she repeatedly told them that they were in the wrong place. The city’s law department said Young was naked for 16 seconds but the covering officers put on her kept falling off before she was allowed to get dressed several minutes later.
The botched raid and the city’s handling of it prompted anger from clergy, lawmakers and civil rights activists who decried it as racist and an affront to a Black woman’s dignity.
Young later sued the city over the raid, resulting in the Chicago City Council voting unanimously in December 2021 to pay her $2.9 million to settle her lawsuit.
Young said in a statement released Friday by her attorneys that Wolinski’s firing is “only a small piece of the Justice for which I have been waiting.”
“While my heart goes out to his family because they now suffer the consequences of his abhorrent misconduct, I wish all eight members of the Chicago Police Board would have recognized the need and urgency for Sergeant Wolinski’s removal,” she added.
Then-police Superintendent David Brown brought administrative charges against Wolinski in November 2021, recommending that he be fired.
Wolinski, who had joined the Chicago Police Department in 2002, was accused of violating eight departmental rules, including inattention to duty, disobedience of an order and disrespect to or maltreatment of any person.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability also called for Wolinski’s firing and for suspensions for several other officers present during the raid, although to date no other officers have faced Police Board charges for the raid, the Chicago Tribune reported.
While the incident happened before former Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office in May 2019, her administration later tried to block the police video from airing on television and rejected Young’s Freedom of Information request to obtain video of the incident. Young later obtained it through her lawsuit.
Chicago cop fired for role in botched raid where Black woman was handcuffed nude
A Chicago police sergeant has been fired for his role in a botched 2019 raid at the home of a Black woman who was handcuffed while naked
Apparently, for her, our government is too weak to fight anti-abortionists even tho' none of the political parties want to even address the issue. Huh, who knew??President of Calgary's Black Lives Matter movement charged with hate crime
Adora Nwofor was charged with mischief on June 2 in connection with an incident on May 26
Author of the article:Kevin Martin
Published Jun 13, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Adora Nwofor is photographed in Calgary on July 17, 2020.
Adora Nwofor is photographed in Calgary on July 17, 2020. PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia
The head of the Black Lives Matter movement in Calgary has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly impeding access to a Catholic school.
Court records show Adora Nwofor was charged with mischief on June 2, in connection with an incident on May 26, for allegedly “wilfully obstructing and interfering” with the use of a property “primarily used for religious worship and educational purposes.”
It’s alleged she interfered with people’s use of St. Thomas Aquinas School on 26 Avenue S.W. “for reasons of bias, prejudice, or hate based on race or ethnic origin.”
Nwofor, 47, is president of Black Lives Matter YYC and has also been a strong activist for abortion rights.
She led a May 2022 rally at Olympic Plaza in protest of the U.S. Supreme Court’s anticipated overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in that country.
The U.S. top court later followed through on a leaked draft decision and overturned Roe v. Wade.
At the May 15, 2022, rally, Nwofor expressed concerns the U.S. decision could ultimately impact abortion rights in Canada.
Nwofor banned from going within 100 metres of St. Thomas Aquinas
Nwofor appeared via video link before a justice of the peace on June 2, and was released on a non-cash bail with conditions she have no contact with staff and faculty from St. Thomas Aquinas.
She is also barred from going within 100 metres of the school.
Defence lawyer Chad Haggerty appeared on her behalf at the brief proceeding.
When contacted by Postmedia, Haggerty declined to comment on the case.
Other Black Lives Matter activist set to receive verdict on separate case this Thursday
Haggerty also represents Black Lives Matter activist Taylor McNallie, who is set to get a verdict on Thursday in connection with allegations she assaulted an off-duty sheriff on the steps of the Calgary Courts Centre.
McNallie is accused of assaulting Elena Cunningham with a megaphone on April 12, 2021, during a rally protesting the assault of a Black woman by a Calgary police officer.
But McNallie testified she was simply trying to retrieve her phone which Cunningham grabbed while the accused was trying to take her picture when she accidentally struck Cunningham.
She also faces charges for allegedly pouring water on a photographer a week earlier and breaking his eyeglasses.
Justice Peter Barley is scheduled to hand down a verdict on Thursday.
Nwofor’s case is back in court on Friday.
KMartin@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts
View attachment 18485
President of Calgary's Black Lives Matter movement charged with hate crime
Black Lives Matter YYC president Adora Nwofor has been charged with mischief in an alleged hate-based crime.
Championing all and any cause in the pursuit of votes puts the spineless mealy mouth in some untenable situations . It is fun watching the following contortions .
Chicago Mayor’s Dumb Response to 50 Shootings Memorial Day Weekend
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White Florida woman accused in fatal shooting of Black neighbour charged with manslaughter
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 26, 2023 • 1 minute read
A white woman accused of firing through her door and fatally shooting a Black mother in front of her 9-year-old son in central Florida was charged Monday with manslaughter and assault.
Susan Lorincz was arrested earlier this month following the fatal shooting of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida. She was formally charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault.
State Attorney William Gladson said his office contemplated filing a second-degree murder charge but prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence that Lorincz had “hatred, spite, ill will or evil intent” toward Owens.
“As deplorable as the defendant’s actions were in this case, there is insufficient evidence to prove this specific and required element of second-degree murder,” Gladson said in a statement.
Emails seeking comment were sent to Amanda Sizemore, Lorincz’s attorney from the public defender’s office, and attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Owens’ family.
Owens was killed June 2 in Ocala, about 133 kilometres north of Orlando.
After the shooting, Lorincz told investigators she had problems for two years with being disrespected by children in the neighborhood — including Owens’ children, who are ages 12, 9, 7 and 3.
According to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Lorincz said she had a headache the day of the shooting and that children were running and yelling outside her apartment. That night, while a few children were playing basketball, Lorincz threw a pair of roller skates at them, hitting one on the feet.
Owens then came over and knocked on her door. Lorincz told investigators that Owens threatened to kill her and banged on the door so hard she feared Owens would break it down.
Lorincz fired a single round from her .380-calibre handgun, the sheriff’s report says, which went through the closed door and fatally struck Owens.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 26, 2023 • 1 minute read
A white woman accused of firing through her door and fatally shooting a Black mother in front of her 9-year-old son in central Florida was charged Monday with manslaughter and assault.
Susan Lorincz was arrested earlier this month following the fatal shooting of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida. She was formally charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault.
State Attorney William Gladson said his office contemplated filing a second-degree murder charge but prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence that Lorincz had “hatred, spite, ill will or evil intent” toward Owens.
“As deplorable as the defendant’s actions were in this case, there is insufficient evidence to prove this specific and required element of second-degree murder,” Gladson said in a statement.
Emails seeking comment were sent to Amanda Sizemore, Lorincz’s attorney from the public defender’s office, and attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Owens’ family.
Owens was killed June 2 in Ocala, about 133 kilometres north of Orlando.
After the shooting, Lorincz told investigators she had problems for two years with being disrespected by children in the neighborhood — including Owens’ children, who are ages 12, 9, 7 and 3.
According to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Lorincz said she had a headache the day of the shooting and that children were running and yelling outside her apartment. That night, while a few children were playing basketball, Lorincz threw a pair of roller skates at them, hitting one on the feet.
Owens then came over and knocked on her door. Lorincz told investigators that Owens threatened to kill her and banged on the door so hard she feared Owens would break it down.
Lorincz fired a single round from her .380-calibre handgun, the sheriff’s report says, which went through the closed door and fatally struck Owens.
White Florida woman accused in fatal shooting of Black neighbour charged with manslaughter
A white woman accused of firing through her door and fatally shooting a Black mother in Florida was charged with manslaughter and assault.
Kansas City teenager Ralph Yarl recounts being shot after he rang the wrong doorbell
'And then it happened, and then I'm on the ground. I fall on the glass, the shattered glass,' Yarl says
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 27, 2023 • 2 minute read
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was no way, Ralph Yarl thought, that the white man pointing the gun at him through the glass door would shoot him. But the Black teenager, who had gone to the wrong house in Kansas City looking for his younger brothers, was wrong a second time.
Yarl’s brothers were actually at a home a block away, and he said in an interview with “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts that aired Tuesday that he hadn’t met the family of his brothers’ friends, “so maybe it was their house.”
After ringing the doorbell, he said, he waited a long time on the porch before the door opened.
“I see this old man and I’m saying, ‘Oh, this must be like, their grandpa,”‘ said Yarl, now 17. “And then he pulls out his gun. And I’m like, ‘Whoa!’ So I like, back up. He points it at me.”
Yarl, whose brothers were actually at a home a block away, braced and turned his head.
“And then it happened, and then I’m on the ground. I fall on the glass, the shattered glass,” he told Roberts, and “then before I know it, I’m running away, shouting, ‘Help me! Help me!”‘
Yarl was bleeding and said he wondered how it was possible that he had been shot in the head. The man he had never met before said only five words to him, he said: “Don’t come here ever again.”
Andrew Lester, 84, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13 shooting.
Lester admitted that he shot Yarl through the door without warning because he was “scared to death” he was about to be robbed by the Black person standing at his door. He remains free after posting $20,000 — 10% of his $200,000 bond.
The shooting drew international attention amid claims that Lester received preferential treatment from investigators after he shot Yarl. President Joe Biden and several celebrities issued statements calling for justice. Yarl’s attorney, Lee Merritt, has called for the shooting to be investigated as a hate crime.
Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, said on “Good Morning America” that she had been worried that her son got a flat tire, but that she then got a call from police telling her about the shooting, and she headed to the hospital. He was partially alert, but it was traumatizing, she said.
Ten weeks later, Yarl is physically recovered but said that he has headaches and trouble sleeping and that sometimes his mind is just foggy.
“You’re looking at a kid that took the SAT when he was in eighth grade — and now his brain is slowed,” Nagbe told Roberts. “So physically he looks fine. But there’s a lot that has been taken from him.”
Yarl said he is seeing a therapist and hopes to continue his recovery by focusing on his passions for chemical engineering and for music.
“I’m just a kid and not larger than life because this happened to me,” Yarl said. “I’m just going to keep doing all the stuff that makes me happy. And just living my life the best I can, and not let this bother me.”
torontosun.com
'And then it happened, and then I'm on the ground. I fall on the glass, the shattered glass,' Yarl says
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 27, 2023 • 2 minute read
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was no way, Ralph Yarl thought, that the white man pointing the gun at him through the glass door would shoot him. But the Black teenager, who had gone to the wrong house in Kansas City looking for his younger brothers, was wrong a second time.
Yarl’s brothers were actually at a home a block away, and he said in an interview with “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts that aired Tuesday that he hadn’t met the family of his brothers’ friends, “so maybe it was their house.”
After ringing the doorbell, he said, he waited a long time on the porch before the door opened.
“I see this old man and I’m saying, ‘Oh, this must be like, their grandpa,”‘ said Yarl, now 17. “And then he pulls out his gun. And I’m like, ‘Whoa!’ So I like, back up. He points it at me.”
Yarl, whose brothers were actually at a home a block away, braced and turned his head.
“And then it happened, and then I’m on the ground. I fall on the glass, the shattered glass,” he told Roberts, and “then before I know it, I’m running away, shouting, ‘Help me! Help me!”‘
Yarl was bleeding and said he wondered how it was possible that he had been shot in the head. The man he had never met before said only five words to him, he said: “Don’t come here ever again.”
Andrew Lester, 84, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13 shooting.
Lester admitted that he shot Yarl through the door without warning because he was “scared to death” he was about to be robbed by the Black person standing at his door. He remains free after posting $20,000 — 10% of his $200,000 bond.
The shooting drew international attention amid claims that Lester received preferential treatment from investigators after he shot Yarl. President Joe Biden and several celebrities issued statements calling for justice. Yarl’s attorney, Lee Merritt, has called for the shooting to be investigated as a hate crime.
Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, said on “Good Morning America” that she had been worried that her son got a flat tire, but that she then got a call from police telling her about the shooting, and she headed to the hospital. He was partially alert, but it was traumatizing, she said.
Ten weeks later, Yarl is physically recovered but said that he has headaches and trouble sleeping and that sometimes his mind is just foggy.
“You’re looking at a kid that took the SAT when he was in eighth grade — and now his brain is slowed,” Nagbe told Roberts. “So physically he looks fine. But there’s a lot that has been taken from him.”
Yarl said he is seeing a therapist and hopes to continue his recovery by focusing on his passions for chemical engineering and for music.
“I’m just a kid and not larger than life because this happened to me,” Yarl said. “I’m just going to keep doing all the stuff that makes me happy. And just living my life the best I can, and not let this bother me.”
Kansas City teenager Ralph Yarl recounts being shot after he rang the wrong doorbell
There was no way, Ralph Yarl thought, that the white man pointing the gun at him through the glass door would shoot him.
Deputies accused of abusing Black men fired by Mississippi sheriff amid probe
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Michael Goldberg
Published Jun 27, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
JACKSON, Miss. — All five Mississippi deputy sheriffs who responded to an incident where two Black men accused the deputies of beating and sexually assaulting them before shooting one of them in the mouth have been fired or resigned, authorities announced Tuesday.
The announcement comes months after Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker said six deputies from the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department burst into a home without a warrant. The men said deputies beat them, assaulted them with a sex toy and shocked them repeatedly with Tasers in a roughly 90-minute period during the Jan. 24 episode, Jenkins and Parker said.
Jenkins said one of the deputies shoved a gun in his mouth and then fired the weapon, leaving him with serious injuries to his face, tongue and jaw.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced Tuesday that deputies involved in the episode had been fired, but he would not provide the names of the deputies who had been terminated or say how many law enforcement officers were fired. Bailey would not answer additional questions about the episode.
“Due to recent developments, including findings during our internal investigation, those deputies that were still employed by this department have all been terminated,” Bailey said at a news conference. “We understand that the alleged actions of these deputies has eroded the public’s trust department. Rest assured that we will work diligently to restore that trust.”
Bailey’s announcement also follows an Associated Press investigation that found several deputies who were involved with the episode were also linked to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries. Deputies who had been accepted to the sheriff’s office’s Special Response Team — a tactical unit whose members receive advanced training — were involved in each of the four encounters.
Deputies said the raid was prompted by a report of drug activity at the home. Police and court records obtained by the AP revealed the identities of two deputies at the Jenkins raid: Hunter Elward and Christian Dedmon. It was not immediately clear whether any of the deputies had attorneys who could comment on their behalf.
The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department after the episode.
There is no body camera footage of the episode. Records obtained by The AP show that Tasers used by the deputies were turned on, turned off or used dozens of times during a roughly 65-minute period before Jenkins was shot.
Jenkins and Parker have also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and are seeking $400 million in damages. In a statement Tuesday, Malik Shabazz, an attorney representing Jenkins and Parker, celebrated the firing of the officers and called for criminal indictments of deputies by the state attorney general and the Justice Department.
“The firing of the Rankin County Mississippi Sheriff’s deputies involved in the torture and shooting of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker is a significant action on the path to justice for one of the worst law enforcement tragedies in recent memory,” Shabazz said. “Sheriff Bryan Bailey has finally acted after supporting much of the bloodshed that has occurred under his reign in Rankin County.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Michael Goldberg
Published Jun 27, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
JACKSON, Miss. — All five Mississippi deputy sheriffs who responded to an incident where two Black men accused the deputies of beating and sexually assaulting them before shooting one of them in the mouth have been fired or resigned, authorities announced Tuesday.
The announcement comes months after Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker said six deputies from the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department burst into a home without a warrant. The men said deputies beat them, assaulted them with a sex toy and shocked them repeatedly with Tasers in a roughly 90-minute period during the Jan. 24 episode, Jenkins and Parker said.
Jenkins said one of the deputies shoved a gun in his mouth and then fired the weapon, leaving him with serious injuries to his face, tongue and jaw.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced Tuesday that deputies involved in the episode had been fired, but he would not provide the names of the deputies who had been terminated or say how many law enforcement officers were fired. Bailey would not answer additional questions about the episode.
“Due to recent developments, including findings during our internal investigation, those deputies that were still employed by this department have all been terminated,” Bailey said at a news conference. “We understand that the alleged actions of these deputies has eroded the public’s trust department. Rest assured that we will work diligently to restore that trust.”
Bailey’s announcement also follows an Associated Press investigation that found several deputies who were involved with the episode were also linked to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries. Deputies who had been accepted to the sheriff’s office’s Special Response Team — a tactical unit whose members receive advanced training — were involved in each of the four encounters.
Deputies said the raid was prompted by a report of drug activity at the home. Police and court records obtained by the AP revealed the identities of two deputies at the Jenkins raid: Hunter Elward and Christian Dedmon. It was not immediately clear whether any of the deputies had attorneys who could comment on their behalf.
The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department after the episode.
There is no body camera footage of the episode. Records obtained by The AP show that Tasers used by the deputies were turned on, turned off or used dozens of times during a roughly 65-minute period before Jenkins was shot.
Jenkins and Parker have also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and are seeking $400 million in damages. In a statement Tuesday, Malik Shabazz, an attorney representing Jenkins and Parker, celebrated the firing of the officers and called for criminal indictments of deputies by the state attorney general and the Justice Department.
“The firing of the Rankin County Mississippi Sheriff’s deputies involved in the torture and shooting of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker is a significant action on the path to justice for one of the worst law enforcement tragedies in recent memory,” Shabazz said. “Sheriff Bryan Bailey has finally acted after supporting much of the bloodshed that has occurred under his reign in Rankin County.”
Deputies accused of abusing Black men fired by Mississippi sheriff amid probe
Mississippi deputy sheriffs accused of beating and sexually assaulting Black men before shooting one of them in the mouth have been fired
Former Marine Daniel Penny pleads not guilty in NYC subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jun 28, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
NEW YORK — A U.S. Marine veteran who placed a homeless man in a fatal chokehold aboard a New York City subway train last month pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to revised charges.
Daniel Penny, 24, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who was shouting and begging for money on the Manhattan train, according to witnesses.
Penny pinned him to the ground with the help of two other passengers and held him in a chokehold for more than three minutes. Neely, 30, lost consciousness during the struggle.
The chokehold death, which was caught on bystander video, has prompted fierce debate, with some praising Penny as a good Samaritan and others accusing him of racist vigilantism. Penny is white and Neely was Black.
At a brief arraignment on Wednesday, Penny, who is free on bond, uttered only the words “not guilty” before leaving the courtroom with his lawyers.
Penny was initially arrested on the manslaughter charge in May, but a grand jury earlier this month added the negligent homicide count, potentially giving a trial jury the option of finding him guilty of the lesser charge.
To get a manslaughter conviction, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years, prosecutors would have to prove Penny recklessly caused Neely’s death while being aware of the risk of serious harm.
A conviction for criminally negligent homicide would require the jury to find that Penny unjustifiably put Neely at risk of death, but failed to perceive that risk. The maximum penalty would be four years in prison.
Penny, who served in the Marines for four years and was discharged in 2021, has said he acted to protect himself and others from Neely, who allegedly shouted “I’m gonna’ kill you” and said he was “ready to die” or go to jail for life.
Following the arraignment, an attorney for Penny, Steven Raiser, predicted that a Manhattan jury would empathize with the experience of confronting erratic subway behavior while “confined underground.”
“Danny isn’t the only one on trial,” he said. “The rights of people to defend one another will be on a trial too.”
Neely’s family members and their supporters have said Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness, was crying out for help and was met with violence.
Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, was in attendance for the arraignment on Wednesday. At a brief press conference, an attorney for the Neely family, Donte Mills, sought to paint Penny as a vigilante killer who hasn’t taken responsibility for his actions.
“Daniel Penny did not have the courage to look Jordan’s father Andre in the eyes,” Mills said. “But from now on, don’t be shocked when justice happens for Jordan, for you or for anyone.”
Neely’s death aboard an F train in Manhattan quickly became a flashpoint in the nation’s debates over racial justice and crime. Republican politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have hailed Penny as a hero, helping him to raise more than $3 million in legal expenses.
Meanwhile, civil rights leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, have compared the killing to the 1984 subway shooting of four Black men by Bernhard Goetz, a white man dubbed the “subway vigilante” who was eventually acquitted of charges in the shooting except for carrying an unlicensed gun.
“A good Samaritan helps those in trouble. They don’t choke him out,” Sharpton said during Neely’ May 19th funeral. “What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family shouldn’t have to stand by themselves.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jun 28, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
NEW YORK — A U.S. Marine veteran who placed a homeless man in a fatal chokehold aboard a New York City subway train last month pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to revised charges.
Daniel Penny, 24, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who was shouting and begging for money on the Manhattan train, according to witnesses.
Penny pinned him to the ground with the help of two other passengers and held him in a chokehold for more than three minutes. Neely, 30, lost consciousness during the struggle.
The chokehold death, which was caught on bystander video, has prompted fierce debate, with some praising Penny as a good Samaritan and others accusing him of racist vigilantism. Penny is white and Neely was Black.
At a brief arraignment on Wednesday, Penny, who is free on bond, uttered only the words “not guilty” before leaving the courtroom with his lawyers.
Penny was initially arrested on the manslaughter charge in May, but a grand jury earlier this month added the negligent homicide count, potentially giving a trial jury the option of finding him guilty of the lesser charge.
To get a manslaughter conviction, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years, prosecutors would have to prove Penny recklessly caused Neely’s death while being aware of the risk of serious harm.
A conviction for criminally negligent homicide would require the jury to find that Penny unjustifiably put Neely at risk of death, but failed to perceive that risk. The maximum penalty would be four years in prison.
Penny, who served in the Marines for four years and was discharged in 2021, has said he acted to protect himself and others from Neely, who allegedly shouted “I’m gonna’ kill you” and said he was “ready to die” or go to jail for life.
Following the arraignment, an attorney for Penny, Steven Raiser, predicted that a Manhattan jury would empathize with the experience of confronting erratic subway behavior while “confined underground.”
“Danny isn’t the only one on trial,” he said. “The rights of people to defend one another will be on a trial too.”
Neely’s family members and their supporters have said Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness, was crying out for help and was met with violence.
Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, was in attendance for the arraignment on Wednesday. At a brief press conference, an attorney for the Neely family, Donte Mills, sought to paint Penny as a vigilante killer who hasn’t taken responsibility for his actions.
“Daniel Penny did not have the courage to look Jordan’s father Andre in the eyes,” Mills said. “But from now on, don’t be shocked when justice happens for Jordan, for you or for anyone.”
Neely’s death aboard an F train in Manhattan quickly became a flashpoint in the nation’s debates over racial justice and crime. Republican politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have hailed Penny as a hero, helping him to raise more than $3 million in legal expenses.
Meanwhile, civil rights leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, have compared the killing to the 1984 subway shooting of four Black men by Bernhard Goetz, a white man dubbed the “subway vigilante” who was eventually acquitted of charges in the shooting except for carrying an unlicensed gun.
“A good Samaritan helps those in trouble. They don’t choke him out,” Sharpton said during Neely’ May 19th funeral. “What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family shouldn’t have to stand by themselves.”
Former Marine Daniel Penny pleads not guilty in NYC subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely
A U.S. Marine veteran pleaded not guilty in the fatal chokehold of a man who was behaving erratically on a New York City subway train.
DuhSantis is proposing a new Floriduh "Choke Your Ground" law, which will state that a White person can kill a Black person if the White person really, really feels like it.
Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed asked for new trial but court said no
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Juan A. Lozano
Published Jun 28, 2023 • 3 minute read
HOUSTON — An appeals court on Wednesday denied a new trial request from longtime Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, whose supporters say there is evidence to back his claims of innocence.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals accepted a 2021 recommendation from a lower court judge, who had ruled against several claims made by Reed, including that he’s not guilty.
Despite the ruling, Reed’s execution is not expected anytime soon. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that he should have a chance to argue for testing of crime-scene evidence that he says will exonerate him. The following month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ordered that additional legal briefs be filed on whether Reed should be granted additional DNA testing.
Reed was condemned for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. Prosecutors say he raped and strangled Stites as she made her way to work at a supermarket in Bastrop, a rural community about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Austin.
“In sum, Reed has failed to make an affirmative, persuasive showing that, likelier than not, he is innocent of Stacey Stites’s murder,” the Texas appeals court wrote in its 129-page ruling Wednesday.
Jane Pucher, an attorney with the Innocence Project, which is representing Reed, criticized the appeals court’s ruling.
“Mr. Reed’s conviction and death sentence violates the most central tenets of our Constitution and cannot stand,” Pucher said in a written statement. “We will continue to fight for Mr. Reed’s freedom and bring him home to his family.”
The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which argued the case on behalf of the state during the appeals process, didn’t return an email seeking comment Wednesday.
In a statement, Stites’s sister, Debra Oliver, said she was grateful for the appeals court’s ruling and reiterated her family’s belief in Reed’s guilt and that Stites and Reed never had a relationship, as Reed has claimed.
“My sister’s memory has been lost in the media circus created around this very open and shut case,” Oliver said. “Stacey was a daughter, a sister and a friend with her whole life ahead of her. Reed took that all away. It is time for Reed to accept responsibility for his heinous crimes and for justice to prevail.”
Reed, 55, has long maintained that Stites’ fiance, former police officer Jimmy Fennell, was the real killer. Reed says Fennell was angry because Stites, who was white, was having an affair with Reed, who is Black. Fennell, who served time for sexual assault and was released from prison in 2018, has denied killing Stites. Reed’s attorneys have also accused prosecutors of suppressing evidence.
Prosecutors say his claims of an affair with Stites were not proved at trial, Fennell was cleared as a suspect and Reed had a history of committing other sexual assaults.
Reed was first scheduled to be executed in November 2019. The Texas Court of Criminal appeals put the execution on hold and state District Judge J.D. Langley was appointed to review the case.
In his October 2021 ruling, Langley denied Reed’s claim that prosecutors had suppressed evidence. He was also critical of witnesses who had testified in a July 2021 hearing in support of Reed’s claims that he was in a relationship with Stites and had not sexually assaulted her before she was killed.
In its Wednesday ruling, the appeals court described those witnesses as “frankly unimpressive.”
Several forensic experts testified in July 2021 that Stites died hours earlier than the timeline presented by prosecutors. Defense experts had suggested Stites could have died during the times that Fennell testified he was with her.
But the appeals court said that “Reed’s scientific and forensic evidence does not affirmatively show that Reed is innocent.”
Reed’s efforts to stop his execution in 2019 received support from such celebrities as Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey. Lawmakers from both parties also asked that officials take another look at the case.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Juan A. Lozano
Published Jun 28, 2023 • 3 minute read
HOUSTON — An appeals court on Wednesday denied a new trial request from longtime Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, whose supporters say there is evidence to back his claims of innocence.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals accepted a 2021 recommendation from a lower court judge, who had ruled against several claims made by Reed, including that he’s not guilty.
Despite the ruling, Reed’s execution is not expected anytime soon. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that he should have a chance to argue for testing of crime-scene evidence that he says will exonerate him. The following month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ordered that additional legal briefs be filed on whether Reed should be granted additional DNA testing.
Reed was condemned for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. Prosecutors say he raped and strangled Stites as she made her way to work at a supermarket in Bastrop, a rural community about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Austin.
“In sum, Reed has failed to make an affirmative, persuasive showing that, likelier than not, he is innocent of Stacey Stites’s murder,” the Texas appeals court wrote in its 129-page ruling Wednesday.
Jane Pucher, an attorney with the Innocence Project, which is representing Reed, criticized the appeals court’s ruling.
“Mr. Reed’s conviction and death sentence violates the most central tenets of our Constitution and cannot stand,” Pucher said in a written statement. “We will continue to fight for Mr. Reed’s freedom and bring him home to his family.”
The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which argued the case on behalf of the state during the appeals process, didn’t return an email seeking comment Wednesday.
In a statement, Stites’s sister, Debra Oliver, said she was grateful for the appeals court’s ruling and reiterated her family’s belief in Reed’s guilt and that Stites and Reed never had a relationship, as Reed has claimed.
“My sister’s memory has been lost in the media circus created around this very open and shut case,” Oliver said. “Stacey was a daughter, a sister and a friend with her whole life ahead of her. Reed took that all away. It is time for Reed to accept responsibility for his heinous crimes and for justice to prevail.”
Reed, 55, has long maintained that Stites’ fiance, former police officer Jimmy Fennell, was the real killer. Reed says Fennell was angry because Stites, who was white, was having an affair with Reed, who is Black. Fennell, who served time for sexual assault and was released from prison in 2018, has denied killing Stites. Reed’s attorneys have also accused prosecutors of suppressing evidence.
Prosecutors say his claims of an affair with Stites were not proved at trial, Fennell was cleared as a suspect and Reed had a history of committing other sexual assaults.
Reed was first scheduled to be executed in November 2019. The Texas Court of Criminal appeals put the execution on hold and state District Judge J.D. Langley was appointed to review the case.
In his October 2021 ruling, Langley denied Reed’s claim that prosecutors had suppressed evidence. He was also critical of witnesses who had testified in a July 2021 hearing in support of Reed’s claims that he was in a relationship with Stites and had not sexually assaulted her before she was killed.
In its Wednesday ruling, the appeals court described those witnesses as “frankly unimpressive.”
Several forensic experts testified in July 2021 that Stites died hours earlier than the timeline presented by prosecutors. Defense experts had suggested Stites could have died during the times that Fennell testified he was with her.
But the appeals court said that “Reed’s scientific and forensic evidence does not affirmatively show that Reed is innocent.”
Reed’s efforts to stop his execution in 2019 received support from such celebrities as Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey. Lawmakers from both parties also asked that officials take another look at the case.
Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed asked for new trial but court said no
An appeals court on Wednesday denied a new trial request from longtime Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed