No.
That's not how racism works, Tax.
I know you likely WANT it to be like that, but that's not how it is.
Black Lives Matter-Ugliness of Racism.
- Thread starter Ocean Breeze
- Start date
No.
That's not how racism works, Tax.
I know you likely WANT it to be like that, but that's not how it is.
You have niggar heads on ships and Scotsmen too . The canaries ran the Iron Chink since changed to the iron butcher , the machines name plates still said iron chink after they became iron butchers .
Yes that is how it is for any thinking person . If you are looking for micro and macro aggressions you will find them under any tree .
I’ve watched this four times in a row and each time it just gets funnier. I think I might watch it again.
Son of a man who was beaten and died in a New York prison sues guards, officials
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Carolyn Thompson
Published Jan 15, 2025 • 2 minute read
FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows bodycam footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, 43, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., on Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File)
FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows bodycam footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, 43, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., on Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — The son of an inmate who died after a prolonged beating by New York prison guards said in a federal lawsuit Wednesday that his father’s attackers “systematically and casually beat him to death” in a correctional system that tolerates violence.
Robert L. Brooks Sr., 43, died on Dec. 10, a day after the beating at Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Body camera video shows officers repeatedly punching and kicking Brooks, whose hands were cuffed behind his back. Officers struck him in the chest with a shoe and lifted him by the neck and dropped him while employees who were watching the beating appeared indifferent.
His son, Robert L. Brooks Jr., sued the group of more than a dozen guards implicated in the attack, as well as the head of the upstate facility at that time and the commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
“I want the name Robert L. Brooks to be known forever and not just for his last final moments,” Brooks Jr. said at a news conference. He described feeling helpless and devastated while watching the video.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, alleges that defendants at the prison used excessive force and were indifferent to his serious medical need. It also claims gross negligence and wrongful death.
An email seeking comment was sent to state corrections officials Wednesday.
New York’s attorney general this month appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Brooks’ death. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick took over the case as a special prosecutor after Attorney General Letitia James recused herself, citing her office’s representation of several officers in separate civil lawsuits.
The results of Brooks’ autopsy have not been made publicly available. But preliminary findings from a medical examination indicate “concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another,” according to court filings.
The lawsuit says the beating was the sole cause of Brooks’ death.
The lawsuit notes that a watchdog group in 2023 reported “rampant abuse by staff” at Marcy after interviewing people incarcerated there in October 2022. The Correctional Association of New York said they were told of physical assaults in locations without cameras, such as between the gates, in vans and in showers. A guard told one new arrival that this was a “‘hands-on facility,’ we’re going to put hands on you if we don’t like what you’re doing,” according to the report.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered state officials to initiate proceedings to fire employees implicated in the attack. Fifteen correctional officers and two nurses were suspended without pay. One officer quit. Hochul also appointed a new leader for the prison 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of New York City.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Carolyn Thompson
Published Jan 15, 2025 • 2 minute read
FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows bodycam footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, 43, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., on Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File)
FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows bodycam footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, 43, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., on Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — The son of an inmate who died after a prolonged beating by New York prison guards said in a federal lawsuit Wednesday that his father’s attackers “systematically and casually beat him to death” in a correctional system that tolerates violence.
Robert L. Brooks Sr., 43, died on Dec. 10, a day after the beating at Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Body camera video shows officers repeatedly punching and kicking Brooks, whose hands were cuffed behind his back. Officers struck him in the chest with a shoe and lifted him by the neck and dropped him while employees who were watching the beating appeared indifferent.
His son, Robert L. Brooks Jr., sued the group of more than a dozen guards implicated in the attack, as well as the head of the upstate facility at that time and the commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
“I want the name Robert L. Brooks to be known forever and not just for his last final moments,” Brooks Jr. said at a news conference. He described feeling helpless and devastated while watching the video.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, alleges that defendants at the prison used excessive force and were indifferent to his serious medical need. It also claims gross negligence and wrongful death.
An email seeking comment was sent to state corrections officials Wednesday.
New York’s attorney general this month appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Brooks’ death. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick took over the case as a special prosecutor after Attorney General Letitia James recused herself, citing her office’s representation of several officers in separate civil lawsuits.
The results of Brooks’ autopsy have not been made publicly available. But preliminary findings from a medical examination indicate “concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another,” according to court filings.
The lawsuit says the beating was the sole cause of Brooks’ death.
The lawsuit notes that a watchdog group in 2023 reported “rampant abuse by staff” at Marcy after interviewing people incarcerated there in October 2022. The Correctional Association of New York said they were told of physical assaults in locations without cameras, such as between the gates, in vans and in showers. A guard told one new arrival that this was a “‘hands-on facility,’ we’re going to put hands on you if we don’t like what you’re doing,” according to the report.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered state officials to initiate proceedings to fire employees implicated in the attack. Fifteen correctional officers and two nurses were suspended without pay. One officer quit. Hochul also appointed a new leader for the prison 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of New York City.
Son of a man who was beaten and died in a New York prison sues guards, officials
The lawsuit says the beating was the sole cause of Brooks' death.
Bunch of White guys beating a bound Black man to death.
Good thing there's no racism. Maybe going through the proper channels will bring him back to life.
Good thing there's no racism. Maybe going through the proper channels will bring him back to life.
Did I say it was because he was Black, or are you just making shit up and claiming I said it?
Child.
Seen it happen to a White guy too. Cop literally split his skull smashing his head into the masonry block wall. He was a big fat donut snarfer. So yeah, good thing there's no racism.
You're right. The fact that White people have bad things happen to them PROVES there's no racism! None. Ever. Anyplace.
Just like the fact that women sometimes have sex voluntarily PROVES there's no rape.
NYPD apologizes for falsely accusing 15-year-old of fatal parade shooting
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jake Offenhartz
Published Feb 10, 2025 • 3 minute read
NEW YORK — New York City police apologized for mistakenly accusing a teenager of a fatal shooting at a Brooklyn parade, then failing to retract the false allegation for nearly five months, despite knowing it was incorrect.
In a statement sent to news outlets Sunday, the NYPD said an image it circulated on social media of Camden Lee, a 15-year-old Brooklyn resident, “mistakenly stated that he was wanted for the fatal shooting” at the West Indian American Day Parade in September.
“The NYPD should have immediately corrected this misstatement,” added the department’s new chief spokesperson, Delaney Kempner. “We apologize for the error and will continue to seek justice for the victims of this shooting.”
The apology followed reporting by The Associated Press on the NYPD’s monthslong refusal to retract the allegation, which spurred death threats against the teenager and questions about the department’s policies for correcting misinformation.
Even after police quietly deleted their online accusations and privately conceded that Lee was not a suspect in the killing, the NYPD had refused to walk back the allegation, ignoring desperate pleas from Lee’s family.
In its updated statement, the police department said Lee was a “person of interest” in the shooting, which remains unsolved, since he was “on the scene before, during, and after the incident.”
They did not elaborate on why Lee was identified among thousands of others at or near the crowded scene or why the mistake was not fixed earlier.
“Even in their apology, they’re painting him with a brush of culpability to cover their mistake,” said Wylie Stecklow, an attorney for Lee’s family. “They’re downplaying what they did and not owning up to the fact that they put him in harm’s way.”
Lee’s mother, Chee Chee Brock, described the statement as a “superficial apology” and questioned why it was not released earlier. She said the family had not heard directly from anyone in the police department about the mistake.
“This could’ve been done in September after we had the meeting,” Brock said. “They don’t understand the damage that it caused.”
The apology, a rare admission of fault by the NYPD, comes as the new police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, has vowed to restore trust in a department rocked by turmoil and turnover. Last month, the NYPD agreed to reform its social media practices after an independent monitor highlighted unprofessional posts by some executives and other online misrepresentations.
Lee, a high school sophomore, said he had attended the Labor Day celebration after leaving football practice with a teammate. Minutes after they arrived, gunfire erupted along the route, killing 25-year-old Denzel Chan and wounding four others, including Lee’s teammate.
Nearly three weeks after the shooting, police shared a photograph of Lee on X and Instagram accusing him of homicide. They widely circulated the image to news outlets, which continued repeating the false allegation long after police had privately acknowledged it was untrue.
According to an attorney for the family, Lee met with homicide detectives days after the initial social media posts and was told he was not a suspect in the killing, but was being sought for questioning about what he had witnessed.
In the five months since the initial allegation, Lee has received numerous death threats that have pushed his family into hiding, forcing him to leave the city and miss school for weeks at a time.
“It takes me to a dark place,” Lee told the AP. “I don’t feel like myself anymore. I don’t have the opportunity to explain my side of the story. Everyone is so fixed on this one image of me: murderer.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jake Offenhartz
Published Feb 10, 2025 • 3 minute read
NEW YORK — New York City police apologized for mistakenly accusing a teenager of a fatal shooting at a Brooklyn parade, then failing to retract the false allegation for nearly five months, despite knowing it was incorrect.
In a statement sent to news outlets Sunday, the NYPD said an image it circulated on social media of Camden Lee, a 15-year-old Brooklyn resident, “mistakenly stated that he was wanted for the fatal shooting” at the West Indian American Day Parade in September.
“The NYPD should have immediately corrected this misstatement,” added the department’s new chief spokesperson, Delaney Kempner. “We apologize for the error and will continue to seek justice for the victims of this shooting.”
The apology followed reporting by The Associated Press on the NYPD’s monthslong refusal to retract the allegation, which spurred death threats against the teenager and questions about the department’s policies for correcting misinformation.
Even after police quietly deleted their online accusations and privately conceded that Lee was not a suspect in the killing, the NYPD had refused to walk back the allegation, ignoring desperate pleas from Lee’s family.
In its updated statement, the police department said Lee was a “person of interest” in the shooting, which remains unsolved, since he was “on the scene before, during, and after the incident.”
They did not elaborate on why Lee was identified among thousands of others at or near the crowded scene or why the mistake was not fixed earlier.
“Even in their apology, they’re painting him with a brush of culpability to cover their mistake,” said Wylie Stecklow, an attorney for Lee’s family. “They’re downplaying what they did and not owning up to the fact that they put him in harm’s way.”
Lee’s mother, Chee Chee Brock, described the statement as a “superficial apology” and questioned why it was not released earlier. She said the family had not heard directly from anyone in the police department about the mistake.
“This could’ve been done in September after we had the meeting,” Brock said. “They don’t understand the damage that it caused.”
The apology, a rare admission of fault by the NYPD, comes as the new police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, has vowed to restore trust in a department rocked by turmoil and turnover. Last month, the NYPD agreed to reform its social media practices after an independent monitor highlighted unprofessional posts by some executives and other online misrepresentations.
Lee, a high school sophomore, said he had attended the Labor Day celebration after leaving football practice with a teammate. Minutes after they arrived, gunfire erupted along the route, killing 25-year-old Denzel Chan and wounding four others, including Lee’s teammate.
Nearly three weeks after the shooting, police shared a photograph of Lee on X and Instagram accusing him of homicide. They widely circulated the image to news outlets, which continued repeating the false allegation long after police had privately acknowledged it was untrue.
According to an attorney for the family, Lee met with homicide detectives days after the initial social media posts and was told he was not a suspect in the killing, but was being sought for questioning about what he had witnessed.
In the five months since the initial allegation, Lee has received numerous death threats that have pushed his family into hiding, forcing him to leave the city and miss school for weeks at a time.
“It takes me to a dark place,” Lee told the AP. “I don’t feel like myself anymore. I don’t have the opportunity to explain my side of the story. Everyone is so fixed on this one image of me: murderer.”
NYPD apologizes for falsely accusing 15-year-old of fatal parade shooting
New York City police apologized for mistakenly accusing a teenager of a fatal shooting at a Brooklyn parade.
Family of Sonya Massey, Black woman shot in home by sheriff’s deputy, accepts $10M settlement
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John O'connor
Published Feb 12, 2025 • 2 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — County officials in Springfield, Illinois, have agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman shot and killed in her home last summer by a sheriff’s deputy responding to her call for help.
The Sangamon County Board approved the settlement Tuesday night, allowing taxpayers to avoid a drawn-out and likely traumatic lawsuit over the summertime shooting by former deputy Sean Grayson.
The county maintains a settlement fund with a balance of $1.5 million. But according to local news reports, county administrator Brian McFadden said the rest of the payment will come from reserves in other county funds.
“To pay for this particular settlement, we will not be raising taxes, we will not be issuing additional debt, we will not be cutting services,” McFadden said. “We can handle this through what is in place in those reserves.”
Massey’s family had scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning.
Grayson, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in Massey’s death after her exchange with Grayson over removing a hot pot from a stovetop.
The case has drawn national attention as another example of police shooting Black people in their homes. It forced the premature retirement of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, who hired Grayson, and prompted an agreement with the Justice Department for more training on non-discriminatory policing, de-escalation techniques and dealing with mental health disabilities.
Massey, whose mental health issues were the subject of several 911 calls from herself and her mother in the days leading up to the shooting, called emergency responders early on July 6 to report a suspected prowler. Grayson and another deputy responded. During a conversation in her living room, Grayson noticed a pot of water on the stove and directed the other officer to remove it.
Massey retrieved the pot and joked with Grayson about how he backed away from it, then told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson yelled at her to drop the pot and drew his weapon. Massey apologized and ducked behind a counter. Grayson fired three shots, striking her just below the left eye.
Grayson remains jailed despite a unanimous 4th District Appellate Court ruling in November that his pre-trial detention was improper because prosecutors failed to show there were no conditions under which Grayson could be released without posing a threat to the community. Illinois eliminated cash bail in a law that took effect in 2023, allowing judges to order detention only with sufficient cause.
The Illinois Supreme Court is considering an appeal of that ruling.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
John O'connor
Published Feb 12, 2025 • 2 minute read
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — County officials in Springfield, Illinois, have agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman shot and killed in her home last summer by a sheriff’s deputy responding to her call for help.
The Sangamon County Board approved the settlement Tuesday night, allowing taxpayers to avoid a drawn-out and likely traumatic lawsuit over the summertime shooting by former deputy Sean Grayson.
The county maintains a settlement fund with a balance of $1.5 million. But according to local news reports, county administrator Brian McFadden said the rest of the payment will come from reserves in other county funds.
“To pay for this particular settlement, we will not be raising taxes, we will not be issuing additional debt, we will not be cutting services,” McFadden said. “We can handle this through what is in place in those reserves.”
Massey’s family had scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning.
Grayson, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in Massey’s death after her exchange with Grayson over removing a hot pot from a stovetop.
The case has drawn national attention as another example of police shooting Black people in their homes. It forced the premature retirement of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, who hired Grayson, and prompted an agreement with the Justice Department for more training on non-discriminatory policing, de-escalation techniques and dealing with mental health disabilities.
Massey, whose mental health issues were the subject of several 911 calls from herself and her mother in the days leading up to the shooting, called emergency responders early on July 6 to report a suspected prowler. Grayson and another deputy responded. During a conversation in her living room, Grayson noticed a pot of water on the stove and directed the other officer to remove it.
Massey retrieved the pot and joked with Grayson about how he backed away from it, then told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson yelled at her to drop the pot and drew his weapon. Massey apologized and ducked behind a counter. Grayson fired three shots, striking her just below the left eye.
Grayson remains jailed despite a unanimous 4th District Appellate Court ruling in November that his pre-trial detention was improper because prosecutors failed to show there were no conditions under which Grayson could be released without posing a threat to the community. Illinois eliminated cash bail in a law that took effect in 2023, allowing judges to order detention only with sufficient cause.
The Illinois Supreme Court is considering an appeal of that ruling.
Family of Sonya Massey, Black woman shot in home by sheriff’s deputy, accepts $10M settlement
County officials in Springfield, Illinois, have agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Sonya Massey.
Good for them. Our money is a bitch to counterfeit. Not that it is really worth doing anyway.
Homeowner pleads guilty to shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl who rang the wrong doorbell
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Heather Hollingsworth
Published Feb 14, 2025 • 3 minute read
Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, April 19, 2023, in Liberty, Mo.
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — An 86-year-old Kansas City man pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the white man’s doorbell by mistake.
Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M, where he is a member of ROTC and the school’s marching band.
As part of a plea deal, Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a charge that Judge David Chamberlain said carries up to seven years behind bars. Lester, who will be sentenced on March 7, was hunched over as he was wheeled into the courtroom, his hands folded.
Yarl and his mother, Cleo Nagbe, sat in the front row during the hearing.
In a statement issued after Lester’s plea, Nagbe thanked her family’s supporters who “saw Ralph’s humanity, and rejected a world where fear and prejudice endanger innocent lives.”
“While this marks a step toward accountability, true justice requires consequences that reflect the severity of his actions — anything less would be a failure to recognize the harm he has caused,” she said.
The state will seek a five-year prison sentence for Lester, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson told reporters after the hearing.
“Self-defense has limits,” Thompson said.
Under the first-degree assault charge, Lester was facing a potential sentence of between 15 and 30 years behind bars, depending on the circumstances. One of the key elements of second-degree assault is that defendants “have the burden of injecting the issue of influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause.”
“This is probably perceived as some middle ground, and the heat of passion would be what was the motivation for the shooting,” said J.R. Hobbs, a Kansas City defense attorney who is not involved in the case. “If he was afraid or whatever, it may not rise to a full defense. The parties might agree to that because on one hand, it’s a felony conviction — no trial, no possible appeal. On the other hand, with a lesser statutory limit, the defendant’s exposure is less as well.”
Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep on the night of April 13, 2023, after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings.
Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense and that he was terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed. Authorities say Lester shot Yarl twice: first in the head, then in the arm.
The shooting shocked the country and renewed national debate about gun policies and race in the U.S.
Yarl testified at an earlier hearing that he rang the bell and then waited for someone to answer for what seemed “longer than normal.” As the inner door opened, Yarl said, he reached out to grab the storm door.
“I assume these are my brothers’ friends’ parents,” he said.
He said Lester shot him in the head and uttered, “Don’t come here ever again.” Although the bullet didn’t penetrate Yarl’s brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester then shot him in the arm. The teen was taken to the hospital and released three days later.
His family said the shooting took a big emotional toll and they have filed a lawsuit against the retired aircraft mechanic.
Salmon said last year that Lester’s physical and mental condition had deteriorated. He said Lester has had heart issues, a broken hip and has been hospitalized. Lester also has lost 50 pounds (23 kilograms), which Salmon blamed on the stress of intense media coverage and death threats he subsequently received.
During Friday’s hearing, the judge asked Lester whether he was in poor health. Lester responded yes.
A judge had previously ordered a mental evaluation of Lester but allowed for the trial to proceed after its completion. The results of that evaluation were not released publicly.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Heather Hollingsworth
Published Feb 14, 2025 • 3 minute read
Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, April 19, 2023, in Liberty, Mo.
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — An 86-year-old Kansas City man pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the white man’s doorbell by mistake.
Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M, where he is a member of ROTC and the school’s marching band.
As part of a plea deal, Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a charge that Judge David Chamberlain said carries up to seven years behind bars. Lester, who will be sentenced on March 7, was hunched over as he was wheeled into the courtroom, his hands folded.
Yarl and his mother, Cleo Nagbe, sat in the front row during the hearing.
In a statement issued after Lester’s plea, Nagbe thanked her family’s supporters who “saw Ralph’s humanity, and rejected a world where fear and prejudice endanger innocent lives.”
“While this marks a step toward accountability, true justice requires consequences that reflect the severity of his actions — anything less would be a failure to recognize the harm he has caused,” she said.
The state will seek a five-year prison sentence for Lester, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson told reporters after the hearing.
“Self-defense has limits,” Thompson said.
Under the first-degree assault charge, Lester was facing a potential sentence of between 15 and 30 years behind bars, depending on the circumstances. One of the key elements of second-degree assault is that defendants “have the burden of injecting the issue of influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause.”
“This is probably perceived as some middle ground, and the heat of passion would be what was the motivation for the shooting,” said J.R. Hobbs, a Kansas City defense attorney who is not involved in the case. “If he was afraid or whatever, it may not rise to a full defense. The parties might agree to that because on one hand, it’s a felony conviction — no trial, no possible appeal. On the other hand, with a lesser statutory limit, the defendant’s exposure is less as well.”
Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep on the night of April 13, 2023, after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings.
Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense and that he was terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed. Authorities say Lester shot Yarl twice: first in the head, then in the arm.
The shooting shocked the country and renewed national debate about gun policies and race in the U.S.
Yarl testified at an earlier hearing that he rang the bell and then waited for someone to answer for what seemed “longer than normal.” As the inner door opened, Yarl said, he reached out to grab the storm door.
“I assume these are my brothers’ friends’ parents,” he said.
He said Lester shot him in the head and uttered, “Don’t come here ever again.” Although the bullet didn’t penetrate Yarl’s brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester then shot him in the arm. The teen was taken to the hospital and released three days later.
His family said the shooting took a big emotional toll and they have filed a lawsuit against the retired aircraft mechanic.
Salmon said last year that Lester’s physical and mental condition had deteriorated. He said Lester has had heart issues, a broken hip and has been hospitalized. Lester also has lost 50 pounds (23 kilograms), which Salmon blamed on the stress of intense media coverage and death threats he subsequently received.
During Friday’s hearing, the judge asked Lester whether he was in poor health. Lester responded yes.
A judge had previously ordered a mental evaluation of Lester but allowed for the trial to proceed after its completion. The results of that evaluation were not released publicly.
Homeowner pleads guilty to shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl who rang the wrong doorbell
"Self-defense has limits," Thompson said.
Juror urges clemency for Alabama man facing execution
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Kim Chandler
Published Feb 22, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has cleared the way for the execution of a man whose innocence claim is supported by a juror from his trial.
Justices on Friday authorized the execution of Robin “Rocky” Myers, who was convicted in the 1991 killing of his neighbour, Ludie Mae Tucker. The execution will be carried out by nitrogen gas at a date set by the governor’s office.
A juror at his 1994 trial is among those urging Gov. Kay Ivey to consider clemency and leave Myers in prison for the rest of his life, instead of sending him to the death chamber.
“I know he is innocent. They never proved he did it. They never proved he was in the house,” juror Mae Puckett said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press after the court decision.
Kacey Keeton, a lawyer for Myers, said his case is “rife with examples of failure.” She said there is no physical evidence linking him to the crime. An earlier lawyer abandoned the case, causing Myers to miss a key 2003 deadline for federal appeals. A prosecution witness has since recanted. And a judge overrode the jury’s wish that he be spared from a death sentence.
“For those who support the death penalty, Rocky Myers’s case should give you pause. I believe, without reservation, that Rocky Myers did not commit a murder, but you don’t have to agree with me on that to believe that the death penalty is not appropriate in this case,” Keeton, his attorney, said.
The crime
Tucker, 69, was fatally stabbed in her Decatur home in October of 1991. Her cousin, who was also attacked but survived, testified that the doorbell rang during the middle of the night. She heard a man asking about using the telephone. Then she heard Tucker screaming out her name.
Before she died, Tucker told police that her attacker was a short, stocky Black man but could not identify him.
Myers lived across the street with his family. LeAndrew Hood, Myers’ son who was 11 at the time of Tuckers’ death, said they would go buy ice from Tucker.
“She knew us. She had enough breath to say it was a short, stocky Black man. If it was my father, all she had to do was say it was the man across the street,” Hood said.
Puckett said she and a few other jurors had doubts about the allegations. But she feared if the case ended in mistrial, another jury would sentence Myers to death. So, Puckett said she agreed to a compromise — find him guilty but recommend life in prison. Jurors voted 9-3 that he serve life in prison. However, the judge sentenced Myers to death anyway under Alabama’s now-abolished system that let judges decide death sentences.
“The deck was stacked against him before it ever started. It was just an awful, awful thing, and it still is,” Puckett said of Myers.
Earle Schwarz, a lawyer from Tennessee, represented Myers for a time after signing up through a national network of lawyers offering pro bono services. The Tennessee lawyer, who volunteered to work on Myers initial appeals, acknowledged he did not tell Myers when he stopped working on his case, according to court documents. Myers, who reads at a fourth-grade level according to his attorneys, didn’t know his lawyer had left and missed a 2023 deadline to file for a federal habeas corpus petition. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals called it an “inexcusable abandonment” but said Myers should have attempted to figure out what was happening in his case.
The U.S. Supreme Court bars the execution of intellectually disabled people. Myers scored a 64 and 71 on IQ tests given when he was an adolescent, and scored 73, on an IQ test given in 2013, according to his lawyers. The state maintains a psychologist in 2006, placed his IQ at 84, a level that would make him eligible for execution. His attorneys said that score is an outlier.
The Alabama attorney general’s office wrote in a court filing that Puckett’s concerns aren’t proof of innocence.
“The affidavit, read in the light most favorable to Myers, states only that some of the jurors had doubts as to Myers’s guilt _ it does not prove that he was actually innocent or that the trial court erred by overriding the jury’s recommendation,” state lawyers wrote.
Keeton said the only remaining chance for Myers now is clemency.
“Clemency is designed as a failsafe. If the system fails_as it has repeatedly failed Mr. Myers_clemency is there to save his life,” she said.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Kim Chandler
Published Feb 22, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has cleared the way for the execution of a man whose innocence claim is supported by a juror from his trial.
Justices on Friday authorized the execution of Robin “Rocky” Myers, who was convicted in the 1991 killing of his neighbour, Ludie Mae Tucker. The execution will be carried out by nitrogen gas at a date set by the governor’s office.
A juror at his 1994 trial is among those urging Gov. Kay Ivey to consider clemency and leave Myers in prison for the rest of his life, instead of sending him to the death chamber.
“I know he is innocent. They never proved he did it. They never proved he was in the house,” juror Mae Puckett said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press after the court decision.
Kacey Keeton, a lawyer for Myers, said his case is “rife with examples of failure.” She said there is no physical evidence linking him to the crime. An earlier lawyer abandoned the case, causing Myers to miss a key 2003 deadline for federal appeals. A prosecution witness has since recanted. And a judge overrode the jury’s wish that he be spared from a death sentence.
“For those who support the death penalty, Rocky Myers’s case should give you pause. I believe, without reservation, that Rocky Myers did not commit a murder, but you don’t have to agree with me on that to believe that the death penalty is not appropriate in this case,” Keeton, his attorney, said.
The crime
Tucker, 69, was fatally stabbed in her Decatur home in October of 1991. Her cousin, who was also attacked but survived, testified that the doorbell rang during the middle of the night. She heard a man asking about using the telephone. Then she heard Tucker screaming out her name.
Before she died, Tucker told police that her attacker was a short, stocky Black man but could not identify him.
Myers lived across the street with his family. LeAndrew Hood, Myers’ son who was 11 at the time of Tuckers’ death, said they would go buy ice from Tucker.
“She knew us. She had enough breath to say it was a short, stocky Black man. If it was my father, all she had to do was say it was the man across the street,” Hood said.
Puckett said she and a few other jurors had doubts about the allegations. But she feared if the case ended in mistrial, another jury would sentence Myers to death. So, Puckett said she agreed to a compromise — find him guilty but recommend life in prison. Jurors voted 9-3 that he serve life in prison. However, the judge sentenced Myers to death anyway under Alabama’s now-abolished system that let judges decide death sentences.
“The deck was stacked against him before it ever started. It was just an awful, awful thing, and it still is,” Puckett said of Myers.
Earle Schwarz, a lawyer from Tennessee, represented Myers for a time after signing up through a national network of lawyers offering pro bono services. The Tennessee lawyer, who volunteered to work on Myers initial appeals, acknowledged he did not tell Myers when he stopped working on his case, according to court documents. Myers, who reads at a fourth-grade level according to his attorneys, didn’t know his lawyer had left and missed a 2023 deadline to file for a federal habeas corpus petition. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals called it an “inexcusable abandonment” but said Myers should have attempted to figure out what was happening in his case.
The U.S. Supreme Court bars the execution of intellectually disabled people. Myers scored a 64 and 71 on IQ tests given when he was an adolescent, and scored 73, on an IQ test given in 2013, according to his lawyers. The state maintains a psychologist in 2006, placed his IQ at 84, a level that would make him eligible for execution. His attorneys said that score is an outlier.
The Alabama attorney general’s office wrote in a court filing that Puckett’s concerns aren’t proof of innocence.
“The affidavit, read in the light most favorable to Myers, states only that some of the jurors had doubts as to Myers’s guilt _ it does not prove that he was actually innocent or that the trial court erred by overriding the jury’s recommendation,” state lawyers wrote.
Keeton said the only remaining chance for Myers now is clemency.
“Clemency is designed as a failsafe. If the system fails_as it has repeatedly failed Mr. Myers_clemency is there to save his life,” she said.
’HE IS INNOCENT’: Juror urges clemency for Alabama man facing execution
Justices on Friday authorized the execution of Robin "Rocky" Myers, who was convicted in the 1991 killing of his neighbour, Ludie Mae Tucker.