Police search for hate-crime suspect
Published: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 2:47 p.m. MST
Salt Lake City police have placed a Magna man on their "Most Wanted" fugitives list for his role in a hate crime.
Fa Junior Moi Moi, 20, is facing charges of aggravated assault, a first-degree felony, and a misdemeanor assault charge. Police said he took a picture with an 18-year-old man he met Aug. 9 at an overlook of the city on Churchill Drive.
"He took a photo with the victim, and when he found out he was gay, he assaulted him," police said in a statement Thursday.
The victim had severe broken bones in his face. Moi Moi is believed to have fled to Hawaii, police said.
— Ben Winslow
Source:
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264643,00.html
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Noose found in woods prompts hate crimes legislation
Noose found in woods prompts hate crimes legislation
By Beth Young
Nov 20, 08 1:54 PM
When a noose was found hanging from a Long Island Power Authority tower in the middle of the woods just west of the Southampton Town line in Bridgehampton on October 27, it sparked much public speculation about just what it meant.
It also sparked the Southampton Town Board to pass a resolution on November 14 establishing a policy for Southampton Town Police to follow when investigating hate crimes.
Town Board member Anna Throne-Holst, the board’s liaison to Southampton Town’s Anti-Bias Task Force, introduced the resolution as a walk-on item at Friday’s Town Board work session. She said that it was introduced in reaction to the discovery of the noose, but also in reaction to the heightened racial sensitivity in the wake of the election and the murder of a Hispanic man in Patchogue in an apparent hate crime in the weeks since the noose was found.
“We need to assure the public that we have a policy when things like this happen,” she said. “It’s also important that the Town Board be informed when something like this occurs.”
Though Police Chief James Overton said this week that he was not sure of the intent behind the display of the noose, he did say that the department takes it seriously. Calling the noose “offensive,” he also made reference to a November 1 change in New York State law that makes the display of a noose on “any building or other real property, public or private, without permission of the property owner,” an act of aggravated harassment in the first degree.
“I think there has to be some basic sensitivity to fact that if it looks like it, smells like it, tastes like it to anyone, it should be investigated,” said Ms. Throne-Holst. “What we want to avoid is that we fall into a gray area and something gets overlooked.”
“You can say it’s right near Halloween, it’s a hunting area or a kid’s prank,” she said. “It’s the kind of thing that we don’t take a chance on. As we know, things are happening right around the corner. We need to be very mindful of that and vigilant of that. This is not a thing that the town takes lightly.”
The resolution requires the police department to establish a policy within 30 days. “They haven’t had a specific policy. That’s not to say that they’ve been negligent,” she said.
Chief Overton said that he does not anticipate any difficulty in establishing the policy.
In the meantime, among the dog walkers and bicyclists who often hike the trails around Town Line Road, the noose is just another in a series of long-time problems in an area that neighbors call “no-man’s land.”
A Merchant’s Path resident who walks her dog in the woods near the power lines took a stroll through the woods with a reporter this week to talk about the ongoing problems of shooting and garbage dumping along the trails. She agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, due to fear of retribution from the people who use the area as a shooting range.
“This is like the land of the lost,” said the woman, who said she’d seen two sets of policemen patrolling the area this past weekend, for the first time ever. She said that what tends to transpire in the woods is “yahoo-like messing around.”
The remains of bonfires were strewn all over the dirt Trustee road known as Town Line Road, which intersects the power lines just yards from where the noose was found about two dozen feet up LIPA tower No. 994. Shattered White Flyer skeet littered the ground, while a television set and a furnace door full of bullet holes were not far down the road. Abandoned couches were throughout the woods. The half-decomposed carcass of a deer that had been shot, stripped of its meat and left to rot was not far from the path. Crushed beer cans and empty shells were scattered on the ground. A bicycle hung precariously from the branches of a nearby tree.
The woman said that ATVs and dirt bikes are constantly digging up the road, which is severely rutted.
The property is not far from the Maidstone Gun Club, and the woman speculated that the location is a perfect auditory camouflage, since neighbors are used to hearing gunshots from the club.
Though she said she had been told by the Southampton Town Conservation Board that the shooting could continue as long as it was 500 feet from a house, police officers whom she met over the weekend told her that the shooting is illegal.
Officers of the Southampton Town Police Community Response Unit, which is conducting the patrols, could not be reached for comment.
Mike Bottini, an environmentalist and a Press columnist who often walks the trails, said that he has heard concerns of lead from the shot getting into the groundwater in the area. He said that the Southampton Town Trails Advisory Committee has held a number of cleanups to remove the junk that is often dumped in the woods. He also said that the town could consider fencing off the area around the power lines to keep mischief-makers out.
Source:
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=180937
By Beth Young
Nov 20, 08 1:54 PM
When a noose was found hanging from a Long Island Power Authority tower in the middle of the woods just west of the Southampton Town line in Bridgehampton on October 27, it sparked much public speculation about just what it meant.
It also sparked the Southampton Town Board to pass a resolution on November 14 establishing a policy for Southampton Town Police to follow when investigating hate crimes.
Town Board member Anna Throne-Holst, the board’s liaison to Southampton Town’s Anti-Bias Task Force, introduced the resolution as a walk-on item at Friday’s Town Board work session. She said that it was introduced in reaction to the discovery of the noose, but also in reaction to the heightened racial sensitivity in the wake of the election and the murder of a Hispanic man in Patchogue in an apparent hate crime in the weeks since the noose was found.
“We need to assure the public that we have a policy when things like this happen,” she said. “It’s also important that the Town Board be informed when something like this occurs.”
Though Police Chief James Overton said this week that he was not sure of the intent behind the display of the noose, he did say that the department takes it seriously. Calling the noose “offensive,” he also made reference to a November 1 change in New York State law that makes the display of a noose on “any building or other real property, public or private, without permission of the property owner,” an act of aggravated harassment in the first degree.
“I think there has to be some basic sensitivity to fact that if it looks like it, smells like it, tastes like it to anyone, it should be investigated,” said Ms. Throne-Holst. “What we want to avoid is that we fall into a gray area and something gets overlooked.”
“You can say it’s right near Halloween, it’s a hunting area or a kid’s prank,” she said. “It’s the kind of thing that we don’t take a chance on. As we know, things are happening right around the corner. We need to be very mindful of that and vigilant of that. This is not a thing that the town takes lightly.”
The resolution requires the police department to establish a policy within 30 days. “They haven’t had a specific policy. That’s not to say that they’ve been negligent,” she said.
Chief Overton said that he does not anticipate any difficulty in establishing the policy.
In the meantime, among the dog walkers and bicyclists who often hike the trails around Town Line Road, the noose is just another in a series of long-time problems in an area that neighbors call “no-man’s land.”
A Merchant’s Path resident who walks her dog in the woods near the power lines took a stroll through the woods with a reporter this week to talk about the ongoing problems of shooting and garbage dumping along the trails. She agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, due to fear of retribution from the people who use the area as a shooting range.
“This is like the land of the lost,” said the woman, who said she’d seen two sets of policemen patrolling the area this past weekend, for the first time ever. She said that what tends to transpire in the woods is “yahoo-like messing around.”
The remains of bonfires were strewn all over the dirt Trustee road known as Town Line Road, which intersects the power lines just yards from where the noose was found about two dozen feet up LIPA tower No. 994. Shattered White Flyer skeet littered the ground, while a television set and a furnace door full of bullet holes were not far down the road. Abandoned couches were throughout the woods. The half-decomposed carcass of a deer that had been shot, stripped of its meat and left to rot was not far from the path. Crushed beer cans and empty shells were scattered on the ground. A bicycle hung precariously from the branches of a nearby tree.
The woman said that ATVs and dirt bikes are constantly digging up the road, which is severely rutted.
The property is not far from the Maidstone Gun Club, and the woman speculated that the location is a perfect auditory camouflage, since neighbors are used to hearing gunshots from the club.
Though she said she had been told by the Southampton Town Conservation Board that the shooting could continue as long as it was 500 feet from a house, police officers whom she met over the weekend told her that the shooting is illegal.
Officers of the Southampton Town Police Community Response Unit, which is conducting the patrols, could not be reached for comment.
Mike Bottini, an environmentalist and a Press columnist who often walks the trails, said that he has heard concerns of lead from the shot getting into the groundwater in the area. He said that the Southampton Town Trails Advisory Committee has held a number of cleanups to remove the junk that is often dumped in the woods. He also said that the town could consider fencing off the area around the power lines to keep mischief-makers out.
Source:
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=180937
Three men arrested after spouting racial slurs
Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office
COTTONWOOD - The following is a press release from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office:
On November 15, 2008, at approximately 4 P.M., Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a reported disorderly conduct incident occurring near Western Drive and Highway 260 in Cottonwood. The victim, a Hispanic woman, told deputies she was driving near the “Sizzler” restaurant when 3 males pulled next to her in a truck and began yelling sexual and racial slurs. The males also “flipped” her off and threw things towards her and her passengers who included her mother, aunt and nephew. The truck also displayed a large flag in the bed. Deputies immediately contacted the Cottonwood Police Department requesting assistance to locate the vehicle and suspects.
A short time later, Cottonwood police officers located a truck in the area that displayed a Confederate Flag and contained three males. The victims were taken to the traffic stop location and confirmed identity of the 3 suspects. They were 21-year-old Curtis Alexander, 24-year-old Richard Alexander, and 21-year-old Logan Spude, all Cottonwood residents. Spude and Curtis Alexander admitted to the allegations while Richard Alexander denied involvement. Deputies detected the smell of intoxicating liquor on Spude’s breath.
The three suspects were arrested and booked at the Camp Verde Detention Center on four charges each of Disorderly Conduct. Spude was additionally charged with Interference of a Judicial Procedure for violation of a prior release condition restricting alcohol consumption. Curtis Alexander was charged with Identify Theft for possession of an Arizona Identification Card in Richard’s name with his photo displayed.
Source:
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/cottonwood-local-news-111708-racial-slur-arrest.1c06fd991.html#
COTTONWOOD - The following is a press release from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office:
On November 15, 2008, at approximately 4 P.M., Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a reported disorderly conduct incident occurring near Western Drive and Highway 260 in Cottonwood. The victim, a Hispanic woman, told deputies she was driving near the “Sizzler” restaurant when 3 males pulled next to her in a truck and began yelling sexual and racial slurs. The males also “flipped” her off and threw things towards her and her passengers who included her mother, aunt and nephew. The truck also displayed a large flag in the bed. Deputies immediately contacted the Cottonwood Police Department requesting assistance to locate the vehicle and suspects.
A short time later, Cottonwood police officers located a truck in the area that displayed a Confederate Flag and contained three males. The victims were taken to the traffic stop location and confirmed identity of the 3 suspects. They were 21-year-old Curtis Alexander, 24-year-old Richard Alexander, and 21-year-old Logan Spude, all Cottonwood residents. Spude and Curtis Alexander admitted to the allegations while Richard Alexander denied involvement. Deputies detected the smell of intoxicating liquor on Spude’s breath.
The three suspects were arrested and booked at the Camp Verde Detention Center on four charges each of Disorderly Conduct. Spude was additionally charged with Interference of a Judicial Procedure for violation of a prior release condition restricting alcohol consumption. Curtis Alexander was charged with Identify Theft for possession of an Arizona Identification Card in Richard’s name with his photo displayed.
Source:
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/cottonwood-local-news-111708-racial-slur-arrest.1c06fd991.html#
Racial Slur On Receipt Prompts Call For Boycott
By Rhonda Swan Monday, November 17, 2008, 02:58 PM
A young black man who returned a pair of sneakers to a Journey’s shoe store in Kansas got a receipt with the words “Dumb Nigger” imprinted in the section that asks for the name of the Customer.
The college student was at home visiting parents and had left by the time KMBC Channel 9 reported the story.
His parents, however, are pretty upset. When they went back to the store, they were told that the employee entered a generic code that automatically imprints those words on the receipt.
The father of the young man wants that employee fired.
And now there’s an email campaign calling for a boycott of the store.
The real question is why would a store have those words in their computer system? The employee chose to press the button. The owners created the system. They should be held accountable.
Journey’s has 60 stores in Florida including five in Palm Beach County and one in the Treasure Coast. Those are at the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Boynton Beach Mall in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Mall in West Palm Beach, The Mall at Wellington Green in Wellingtonl, Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, and the Treasure Coast Square Mall in Jensen Beach.
Source:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/blackculture/entries/2008/11/17/racial_slur_on_receipt_prompts.html
A young black man who returned a pair of sneakers to a Journey’s shoe store in Kansas got a receipt with the words “Dumb Nigger” imprinted in the section that asks for the name of the Customer.
The college student was at home visiting parents and had left by the time KMBC Channel 9 reported the story.
His parents, however, are pretty upset. When they went back to the store, they were told that the employee entered a generic code that automatically imprints those words on the receipt.
The father of the young man wants that employee fired.
And now there’s an email campaign calling for a boycott of the store.
The real question is why would a store have those words in their computer system? The employee chose to press the button. The owners created the system. They should be held accountable.
Journey’s has 60 stores in Florida including five in Palm Beach County and one in the Treasure Coast. Those are at the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Boynton Beach Mall in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Mall in West Palm Beach, The Mall at Wellington Green in Wellingtonl, Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, and the Treasure Coast Square Mall in Jensen Beach.
Source:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/blackculture/entries/2008/11/17/racial_slur_on_receipt_prompts.html
On Fox 29 Tonight: Woman May Know Atlantic City Serial Killer
On Fox 29 Tonight: Woman May Know Atlantic City Serial Killer
Last Edited: Thursday, 20 Nov 2008, 1:50 PM EST
Created: Thursday, 20 Nov 2008, 1:33 PM EST
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- On Fox 29 News At 10, Sharon Crowley talks to a prostitute who thinks she knows the Atlantic City serial killer.Slideshow: Sharon With 'Denise' Two years ago, the bodies of four Atlantic City prostitutes turned up in a ditch behind a motel in Egg Harbor Township. The killings are believed to be the work of a serial killer who has never been caught.Denise, 36, tells Crowley she's been selling sex for 20 years.Denise says she believes she knows the man who is the killer, and that he may be one of her own customers.She also says she's given information about one of her own clients to police.Denise told Crowley that the man told her "I would never hurt you, but the other girls deserved it."In this special report, Crowley talks in-depth with Denise about her lifestyle - and the four women she knew who were killed in 2006.And she also talks with Denise about the changes she wants to make, to get away from her current profession.So be sure to watch this special report on Fox 29 News at 10 p.m. tonight.
Source:
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7910192&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Last Edited: Thursday, 20 Nov 2008, 1:50 PM EST
Created: Thursday, 20 Nov 2008, 1:33 PM EST
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- On Fox 29 News At 10, Sharon Crowley talks to a prostitute who thinks she knows the Atlantic City serial killer.Slideshow: Sharon With 'Denise' Two years ago, the bodies of four Atlantic City prostitutes turned up in a ditch behind a motel in Egg Harbor Township. The killings are believed to be the work of a serial killer who has never been caught.Denise, 36, tells Crowley she's been selling sex for 20 years.Denise says she believes she knows the man who is the killer, and that he may be one of her own customers.She also says she's given information about one of her own clients to police.Denise told Crowley that the man told her "I would never hurt you, but the other girls deserved it."In this special report, Crowley talks in-depth with Denise about her lifestyle - and the four women she knew who were killed in 2006.And she also talks with Denise about the changes she wants to make, to get away from her current profession.So be sure to watch this special report on Fox 29 News at 10 p.m. tonight.
Source:
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7910192&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Wis. firefighter union chief out over racial slur
Wis. firefighter union chief out over racial slur
1 day ago
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The head of the Wisconsin firefighters union resigned Tuesday over a racist comment he made the day after Barack Obama became the first African-American elected president.
Rick Gale, who had worked on Obama's Wisconsin campaign, apologized to the union and the public in his resignation letter.
The Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin said Gale's comment was "offensive, inappropriate and racially insensitive and does not reflect the views of our union."
Gale, who headed the union for eight years, admitted in his letter that he used the "single racially charged word" during a private, casual conversation while having drinks with several board members Nov. 5.
"The word has no business in my vocabulary and I should not have used it — not even in private," he wrote.
"In doing so I let myself, the PFFW Executive Board and the entire membership down," he added. "I am sorry. I have asked the PFFW and the public to accept my deepest and sincerest apology."
Gale, a lieutenant with the West Allis Fire Department, said he was also resigning from all the governmental and public boards on which he served.
Those posts include membership on the State of Wisconsin Retirement Board as an appointee of Gov. Jim Doyle, an ardent supporter of Obama throughout the presidential race.
Obama was endorsed for president by the International Association of Fire Fighters, whose general president Harold Schaitberger issued a memo to its Wisconsin affiliates commenting on the resignation by saying Gale's comments were "inexcusable."
"However, this is also an opportunity to restate clearly my fundamental goal of building a union that is free from all forms of bigotry and bias," Schaitberger said.
Gale did not return phone messages left Tuesday at his home and office by The Associated Press seeking comment.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hUz0IKZZNnc0N_lch1zTXE-6m-bgD94HO3MO0
1 day ago
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The head of the Wisconsin firefighters union resigned Tuesday over a racist comment he made the day after Barack Obama became the first African-American elected president.
Rick Gale, who had worked on Obama's Wisconsin campaign, apologized to the union and the public in his resignation letter.
The Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin said Gale's comment was "offensive, inappropriate and racially insensitive and does not reflect the views of our union."
Gale, who headed the union for eight years, admitted in his letter that he used the "single racially charged word" during a private, casual conversation while having drinks with several board members Nov. 5.
"The word has no business in my vocabulary and I should not have used it — not even in private," he wrote.
"In doing so I let myself, the PFFW Executive Board and the entire membership down," he added. "I am sorry. I have asked the PFFW and the public to accept my deepest and sincerest apology."
Gale, a lieutenant with the West Allis Fire Department, said he was also resigning from all the governmental and public boards on which he served.
Those posts include membership on the State of Wisconsin Retirement Board as an appointee of Gov. Jim Doyle, an ardent supporter of Obama throughout the presidential race.
Obama was endorsed for president by the International Association of Fire Fighters, whose general president Harold Schaitberger issued a memo to its Wisconsin affiliates commenting on the resignation by saying Gale's comments were "inexcusable."
"However, this is also an opportunity to restate clearly my fundamental goal of building a union that is free from all forms of bigotry and bias," Schaitberger said.
Gale did not return phone messages left Tuesday at his home and office by The Associated Press seeking comment.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hUz0IKZZNnc0N_lch1zTXE-6m-bgD94HO3MO0
NY hate crime suspect now charged with murder
NY hate crime suspect now charged with murder
By FRANK ELTMAN – 1 hour ago
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A grand jury has charged a Long Island teenager with murder as a hate crime in the stabbing death of an Ecuadorean immigrant.
Jeffrey Conroy was arrested on a charge of manslaughter as a hate crime. An indictment unsealed Thursday added a more serious charge, second-degree murder as a hate crime, in the death of Marcelo Lucero (mar-SEL-oh loo-SER-oh).
As Conroy's six co-defendants were arraigned on gang assault and other charges, prosecutors alleged the group also attacked another Hispanic man in Patchogue (PACH'-awg) who got away a half-hour earlier. Lucero was attacked Nov. 8 near the Patchogue train station.
Conroy's arraignment is scheduled for Monday. All of the teens' attorneys have said they are innocent.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iF4GJzkZAIbhbbVq7PMx-pVH8XMAD94IS0UG0
By FRANK ELTMAN – 1 hour ago
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A grand jury has charged a Long Island teenager with murder as a hate crime in the stabbing death of an Ecuadorean immigrant.
Jeffrey Conroy was arrested on a charge of manslaughter as a hate crime. An indictment unsealed Thursday added a more serious charge, second-degree murder as a hate crime, in the death of Marcelo Lucero (mar-SEL-oh loo-SER-oh).
As Conroy's six co-defendants were arraigned on gang assault and other charges, prosecutors alleged the group also attacked another Hispanic man in Patchogue (PACH'-awg) who got away a half-hour earlier. Lucero was attacked Nov. 8 near the Patchogue train station.
Conroy's arraignment is scheduled for Monday. All of the teens' attorneys have said they are innocent.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iF4GJzkZAIbhbbVq7PMx-pVH8XMAD94IS0UG0
7 Teens in Hate-Slay Case Indicted in Another Assault
7 Teens in Hate-Slay Case Indicted in Another Assault
By ERIK GERMAN newsday.com
November 20, 2008
The seven Patchogue-Medford High School students charged in the death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero were indicted Thursday on an additional hate crime charge in connection with an earlier attack that night, authorities said.One student charged in connection with the crime, Jeffrey Conroy, 17, who police said fatally stabbed Lucero, is expected to face upgraded charges of second-degree murder as early as next week, authorities said.Conroy, of Medford, still faces his initial charge of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime.The indictment, unsealed Thursday at the suspects' arraignment before Judge C. Randall Hinrichs in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, charges all seven teens with conspiracy in Lucero's death and attempted assault second degree as a hate crime in the previous assault.
Facing new charges along with Conroy are: Jordan Dasch, 17, of Medford; Anthony Hartford, 17, of Medford; Nicholas Hausch, 17, of Medford; Christopher Overton, 16, of East Patchogue; Jose Pacheco, 17, of East Patchogue; and Kevin Shea, 17, of Medford.Prosecutors said the group drove together to Medford, looking for Hispanics to attack, and failing to find them went to downtown Patchogue. They first chased and attacked Hector Sierra but he escaped, authorities said.Sierra, 55, of Patchogue, has said he was attacked by a group of young men on a Patchogue street on the same night Lucero was fatally stabbed."They punched me twice on the side of my head, then they struck me on the back of the head, and I fell in the middle of the street," Sierra said. "They kicked me, and I thought, 'they're going to kill me.'"In addition, Hausch and Dasch were each charged with another count of second-degree assault as a hate crime after they attacked Marlon Garcia in front of his home with a BB gun earlier in the day, at about 5 a.m., prosecutors said. Garcia escaped harm.All of the suspects have pleaded not guilty to the charges.The Nov. 8 slaying of Lucero, 37, has caused outrage from Ecuador -- the victim's home country -- to Suffolk County, where County Executive Steve Levy urged "people of goodwill" to denounce intolerance.All of the defendants were originally charged with gang assault.Overton is awaiting sentencing in another case. He pleaded guilty to burglary in another fatal attack in May 2007 in which a 38-year-old East Patchogue man was shot dead when a group of teenagers robbed his home. A neighbor found the victim, Carlton Shaw, dead in his backyard, his 3-year-old son sleeping on his chest.
Source:
http://www.wpix.com/landing/?7-Teens-in-Hate-Slay-Case-Indicted-in-An=1&blockID=140674&feedID=1404
By ERIK GERMAN newsday.com
November 20, 2008
The seven Patchogue-Medford High School students charged in the death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero were indicted Thursday on an additional hate crime charge in connection with an earlier attack that night, authorities said.One student charged in connection with the crime, Jeffrey Conroy, 17, who police said fatally stabbed Lucero, is expected to face upgraded charges of second-degree murder as early as next week, authorities said.Conroy, of Medford, still faces his initial charge of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime.The indictment, unsealed Thursday at the suspects' arraignment before Judge C. Randall Hinrichs in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, charges all seven teens with conspiracy in Lucero's death and attempted assault second degree as a hate crime in the previous assault.
Facing new charges along with Conroy are: Jordan Dasch, 17, of Medford; Anthony Hartford, 17, of Medford; Nicholas Hausch, 17, of Medford; Christopher Overton, 16, of East Patchogue; Jose Pacheco, 17, of East Patchogue; and Kevin Shea, 17, of Medford.Prosecutors said the group drove together to Medford, looking for Hispanics to attack, and failing to find them went to downtown Patchogue. They first chased and attacked Hector Sierra but he escaped, authorities said.Sierra, 55, of Patchogue, has said he was attacked by a group of young men on a Patchogue street on the same night Lucero was fatally stabbed."They punched me twice on the side of my head, then they struck me on the back of the head, and I fell in the middle of the street," Sierra said. "They kicked me, and I thought, 'they're going to kill me.'"In addition, Hausch and Dasch were each charged with another count of second-degree assault as a hate crime after they attacked Marlon Garcia in front of his home with a BB gun earlier in the day, at about 5 a.m., prosecutors said. Garcia escaped harm.All of the suspects have pleaded not guilty to the charges.The Nov. 8 slaying of Lucero, 37, has caused outrage from Ecuador -- the victim's home country -- to Suffolk County, where County Executive Steve Levy urged "people of goodwill" to denounce intolerance.All of the defendants were originally charged with gang assault.Overton is awaiting sentencing in another case. He pleaded guilty to burglary in another fatal attack in May 2007 in which a 38-year-old East Patchogue man was shot dead when a group of teenagers robbed his home. A neighbor found the victim, Carlton Shaw, dead in his backyard, his 3-year-old son sleeping on his chest.
Source:
http://www.wpix.com/landing/?7-Teens-in-Hate-Slay-Case-Indicted-in-An=1&blockID=140674&feedID=1404
Stamford students arrested on hate crime charge
Stamford students arrested on hate crime charge
By Jeff MorganteenStaff Writer
Posted: 11/20/2008 02:43:03 AM EST
STAMFORD - Four Westhill High School students were arrested last week and charged with yelling racial slurs at black middle schoolers and a crossing guard on the West Side, police said.
The four male students shouted ethnic insults from a moving car several times last week while on their way to school in the morning, police said.
A group of students from Cloonan Middle School and a crossing guard reported separate incidents, Lt. Sean Cooney said.
Lucas Alexander Rossi, 18, of 44 Euclid Ave., was charged Friday with ridicule of race, creed and color, a bias crime that carries a maximum sentence of a $50 fine and an optional 30-day prison sentence. Police charged three other occupants in the same crime but did not identify them because they are younger than 18.
Witnesses gave officers a description of the car and a partial license plate number, Cooney said. Because the incidents occurred in the early morning and along a certain route, officers speculated that the car was headed to Westhill, Cooney said.
Officers found a car that matched the description in the high school parking lot Friday morning and found four occupants. Each was given a summons.
The four are slated to appear Dec. 1 in state Superior Court in Stamford.
- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 964-2215.
Source:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_11029014
By Jeff MorganteenStaff Writer
Posted: 11/20/2008 02:43:03 AM EST
STAMFORD - Four Westhill High School students were arrested last week and charged with yelling racial slurs at black middle schoolers and a crossing guard on the West Side, police said.
The four male students shouted ethnic insults from a moving car several times last week while on their way to school in the morning, police said.
A group of students from Cloonan Middle School and a crossing guard reported separate incidents, Lt. Sean Cooney said.
Lucas Alexander Rossi, 18, of 44 Euclid Ave., was charged Friday with ridicule of race, creed and color, a bias crime that carries a maximum sentence of a $50 fine and an optional 30-day prison sentence. Police charged three other occupants in the same crime but did not identify them because they are younger than 18.
Witnesses gave officers a description of the car and a partial license plate number, Cooney said. Because the incidents occurred in the early morning and along a certain route, officers speculated that the car was headed to Westhill, Cooney said.
Officers found a car that matched the description in the high school parking lot Friday morning and found four occupants. Each was given a summons.
The four are slated to appear Dec. 1 in state Superior Court in Stamford.
- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 964-2215.
Source:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_11029014
Hate crime
Hate crime
Posted: November 13, 2008 903 GMT
NEW YORK–Marcello Lucero was walking to a friend’s house last weekend to watch a movie when his life came to a brutal end. The Ecuadorean native was allegedly beaten and stabbed by a group of teenagers who police said wanted “to beat up some Mexicans.”
Lucero’s death Saturday night on Long Island, New York was quickly labeled a hate crime by authorities. Unfortunately, it’s part of an underreported spike of hate crimes against Hispanics in the last few years. According to the FBI, Anti-Hispanic hate crimes have increased 40 percent since 2003.
Hispanic advocates blame a climate of harsh rhetoric surrounding the national immigration debate, and they surely have a point.
The Justice Department says that out of all bias crimes based on ethnicity, 62 percent target Hispanics, 38 percent everyone else. 62 percent! Though Hispanics are only 14 percent of the population. Those are some scary numbers.
New York’s hate crimes law operates as an enhancement, so if convicted, these defendants will serve longer terms. On the federal level, we need stronger protection against hate crimes against all groups, including gay, lesbian and transgender people. The Matthew Shepard Act would provide that protection. It’s been introduced every year since 1999. President-elect Barack Obama favors it, and so do I. Let’s all speak with a clear, unequivocal voice that hate crimes have no place in this country.
–Lisa Bloom, In Session anchor
http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/13/hate-crime/
Posted: November 13, 2008 903 GMT
NEW YORK–Marcello Lucero was walking to a friend’s house last weekend to watch a movie when his life came to a brutal end. The Ecuadorean native was allegedly beaten and stabbed by a group of teenagers who police said wanted “to beat up some Mexicans.”
Lucero’s death Saturday night on Long Island, New York was quickly labeled a hate crime by authorities. Unfortunately, it’s part of an underreported spike of hate crimes against Hispanics in the last few years. According to the FBI, Anti-Hispanic hate crimes have increased 40 percent since 2003.
Hispanic advocates blame a climate of harsh rhetoric surrounding the national immigration debate, and they surely have a point.
The Justice Department says that out of all bias crimes based on ethnicity, 62 percent target Hispanics, 38 percent everyone else. 62 percent! Though Hispanics are only 14 percent of the population. Those are some scary numbers.
New York’s hate crimes law operates as an enhancement, so if convicted, these defendants will serve longer terms. On the federal level, we need stronger protection against hate crimes against all groups, including gay, lesbian and transgender people. The Matthew Shepard Act would provide that protection. It’s been introduced every year since 1999. President-elect Barack Obama favors it, and so do I. Let’s all speak with a clear, unequivocal voice that hate crimes have no place in this country.
–Lisa Bloom, In Session anchor
http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/13/hate-crime/
Kosher Butcher’s Son Tied To Patchogue Hate Crime
by Doug ChandlerSpecial To The Jewish Week
When the news broke last week of a modern-day lynching of an Ecuadorian immigrant at the hands of a gang of seven high school students in Patchogue, L.I., leaders of the Jewish community stood in the forefront of groups condemning the senseless hate crime and expressing solidarity with the area’s Latino residents.
The American Jewish Committee organized a rally against hate four days after the Nov. 8 murder, and one of the village’s two synagogues, Temple Beth El of Patchogue, hosted a public forum last Friday.
Both the rally and the forum, sponsored by the village and the state Division of Human Rights, drew rabbis who spoke of their horror at the death of Marcelo Lucero, 37, and of the need for healing.
But what
Jewish leaders didn’t know until much later, as it turns out, was that the driver of the SUV in which the teens were riding, Jordan Dasch, 17, of Medford, is the son of a kosher butcher in Plainview, L.I.
As the story made national news, fueled by the dismissive comments of Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy — a staunch opponent of illegal immigrant workers on Long Island — word gradually leaked out about Dasch’s heritage. And as Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota prepared to present the case to a grand jury, a fuller, though incomplete, picture of the teenager began to emerge.
Dasch was a familiar face to some who shopped at the Kosher Food Emporium on Old Country Road, where he and his mother, Bobbie, occasionally worked. Family friends described him as a loner who was often picked on in school because his father, Lawrence, is Jewish.
He was not bar mitzvah, though, and the family is apparently unaffiliated with any synagogue. The spiritual leaders of two synagogues that serve the Medford community, including Temple Beth El, said they don’t know the family.
Dasch’s MySpace page featured a picture of a Jewish star with a Nazi swastika embedded in the middle, according to Long Island Wins, a pro-immigrant organization that downloaded the page before it was removed from the Web site. The group, based in Port Washington, claimed that Dasch referred to himself on the social networking site as a “Nazi Jew.”
Dasch and others teens, all of them classmates at Patchogue-Medford High School, gathered in a local park on the night of the slaying when one of the teens suggested that they go “beat up some Mexicans,” authorities said. They later spotted Lucero and a friend near the Patchogue train station. And then, like a lynch mob, they closed in on the pair, hurling ethnic taunts, according to Assistant District Attorney Nancy Clifford.
One of the teenagers punched Lucero in the face, authorities said, and in the scuffle that followed, Jeffrey Conroy, 17, allegedly plunged a knife into Lucero’s chest, killing him. The friend with him that night was not harmed.
The assailants fled but were quickly arrested by police, who had seen them walking through the community earlier in the evening. Police charged them with felony gang assault, and Conroy was charged with manslaughter as a hate crime. The seven pleaded not guilty at their arraignments on Monday. Authorities were also checking reports that, shortly before the stabbing, they may have beaten another Hispanic man who was walking alone on the street.
Dasch’s father is said to be distraught. He has told friends that his son, a high school senior, said he did not know all of the other teens who rode in his family’s car that fateful night, that he remained in the back of the pack and that he didn’t engage in the fight. He does, however, know Conroy, whose family is said to be well known in the community for their active support of various charities.
The lawyer retained by the family, Michael Gajdos, of Patchogue, told The Jewish Week that the family lives in an integrated area and that he has been told that the younger Dasch has black and Hispanic friends — not the kind of friends a “hater” would hang around with. Gajdos also said that neither Jordan Dasch nor either of the family’s two older children have ever had any problems with law enforcement in the past. He described the parents as shocked and “trying to come to grips” with the incident.
Members of the community have been mourning Lucero, a Patchogue resident who reportedly immigrated to the United States 16 years ago and worked at a dry-cleaning business in Riverhead.
Calls have also gone out for reflection and healing, with school officials promising workshops to address intolerance, and the State Division of Human Rights saying that other forums will take place in the future. Among the organizations that have contacted the school district is the Anti-Defamation League, according to Joel Levy, the ADL’s New York regional director, and Manuel Sanzone, principal of the local high school.
In the wake of the murder, one of the most dramatic gestures came from AJC’s Long Island Chapter, which has already built bridges with Long Island’s Hispanic community through the Latino-Jewish Council, a group it organized three years ago. The chapter printed posters with an image of the Statue of Liberty and the words, “We Are All One,” and urged residents and shopkeepers to display them prominently. The move recalled an episode 15 years ago in Billings, Mont., when, in reaction to anti-Semitism, paper menorahs suddenly appeared in windows throughout the city to demonstrate that Jews there were not alone.
“People need to speak out when others are targeted because of their race, ethnicity or religion,” said Caroline Levy, the chapter’s executive director, who noted that the murder took place immediately before the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the anti-Jewish pogrom in Germany. That, in itself, was a reminder that “these kinds of incidents can happen to any group,” she said.But along with those calls has come an intense debate over what some say is a climate of hate that led to the killing and other incidents. Much of the debate has focused on Steve Levy, the county executive, who, shortly after news of the killing broke, told a reporter that the crime would be “a one-day story” anywhere but on his home turf.
In the past, the county executive has tried to deputize county police to act as immigration agents, signed legislation to bar undocumented immigrants from working for county contractors and sought to drive day laborers from local streets. He also founded a national organization to lobby for crackdowns and appeared on “Lou Dobbs,” the CNN host who has long been a vocal critic of illegal immigration.
In the past week, however, Suffolk County’s Levy (who attends a Catholic parish) has apologized for the “one-day” comment and delivered a televised address to residents. In his speech, given Tuesday night, he noted the irony of how the murder nearly coincided with Kristallnacht and said he hoped Lucero’s death would not be in vain.
“Perhaps it can be spark for all of us — yours truly included — to admit our faults, to work more closely with one another, to pay more attention to what our children are doing and to pay more attention to what we say,” Levy said. “Words do matter, and I will do all I can to help ensure that my words are as sensitive as possible toward meeting our goal to heal and to unite.”
Earlier in the week, Levy announced the creation of a five-point plan to fight hate and promote tolerance in the county’s schools and neighborhoods. Among other things, the plan would create a Hispanic liaison between the Suffolk Police Department and the Latino community and work with school boards and PTA’s in combating hate and seek donations for the victim’s family. Advocates for immigrants in the county, as well as Levy himself, have said that hate crimes have gone unrecorded in the area because undocumented immigrants are afraid to contact the police for fear of being arrested and deported.
One of those closely following the discussion is Renee Ortiz, 35, co-chairwoman of the Latino-Jewish Council and, at one point, Steve Levy’s director of minority affairs.
Ortiz, now the chief deputy clerk of the Suffolk County Legislature, believes that the policies and proposals of “certain public officials” have fueled a climate of hate, whether or not that was their intention. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we had a murder and other bias incidents simultaneously,” she said, referring to the killing in Patchogue and other episodes in the past few days, including the distribution of Ku Klux Klan pamphlets in Islip Terrace.
“It’s very personal for me on all levels,” said Ortiz, who left her job with Levy’s administration over policies she could no longer accept. Both Jewish and Hispanic, she described herself as acutely aware of the hatred because of both Jewish history and her sense that Latinos have become a “targeted group.”
“There’s definitely a timeline that leads up to what happened in Patchogue,” said Maryann Slutsky, the campaign director of Long Island Wins. The timeline includes some of Levy’s rhetoric, which she considers inflammatory, Slutsky said.
Although he agrees that “part of solution” relates to the community’s political leadership, Galen Kirkland, the state’s human rights commissioner, said he’s not interested in criticizing public figures or pointing fingers. He’s interested, instead, in promoting healing and unity, he said.
Similarly, Rabbi Steven Moss, chairman of the county’s Human Rights Commission and its Anti-Bias Task Force, said he believes accusations against the county executive and county lawmakers distract from the real issue, which is the crime itself and the hatred harbored by the teens who allegedly participated in it. The question going ahead “is how we deal with young people and educate them in terms of how they should view human life.”
Rabbi Moss also commented on the news concerning Jordan Dasch, saying the community “might never know why he did what he did.” There are all kinds of motivations for why people behave as they do, he said.
“The lesson is not to wring our hands but to treat this as a call — a Torah call, if you will — to increase our education of positive values for the betterment of our children. ... The Torah calls [on] us to choose life.”
Source:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a14071/News/New_York.html
When the news broke last week of a modern-day lynching of an Ecuadorian immigrant at the hands of a gang of seven high school students in Patchogue, L.I., leaders of the Jewish community stood in the forefront of groups condemning the senseless hate crime and expressing solidarity with the area’s Latino residents.
The American Jewish Committee organized a rally against hate four days after the Nov. 8 murder, and one of the village’s two synagogues, Temple Beth El of Patchogue, hosted a public forum last Friday.
Both the rally and the forum, sponsored by the village and the state Division of Human Rights, drew rabbis who spoke of their horror at the death of Marcelo Lucero, 37, and of the need for healing.
But what
Jewish leaders didn’t know until much later, as it turns out, was that the driver of the SUV in which the teens were riding, Jordan Dasch, 17, of Medford, is the son of a kosher butcher in Plainview, L.I.
As the story made national news, fueled by the dismissive comments of Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy — a staunch opponent of illegal immigrant workers on Long Island — word gradually leaked out about Dasch’s heritage. And as Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota prepared to present the case to a grand jury, a fuller, though incomplete, picture of the teenager began to emerge.
Dasch was a familiar face to some who shopped at the Kosher Food Emporium on Old Country Road, where he and his mother, Bobbie, occasionally worked. Family friends described him as a loner who was often picked on in school because his father, Lawrence, is Jewish.
He was not bar mitzvah, though, and the family is apparently unaffiliated with any synagogue. The spiritual leaders of two synagogues that serve the Medford community, including Temple Beth El, said they don’t know the family.
Dasch’s MySpace page featured a picture of a Jewish star with a Nazi swastika embedded in the middle, according to Long Island Wins, a pro-immigrant organization that downloaded the page before it was removed from the Web site. The group, based in Port Washington, claimed that Dasch referred to himself on the social networking site as a “Nazi Jew.”
Dasch and others teens, all of them classmates at Patchogue-Medford High School, gathered in a local park on the night of the slaying when one of the teens suggested that they go “beat up some Mexicans,” authorities said. They later spotted Lucero and a friend near the Patchogue train station. And then, like a lynch mob, they closed in on the pair, hurling ethnic taunts, according to Assistant District Attorney Nancy Clifford.
One of the teenagers punched Lucero in the face, authorities said, and in the scuffle that followed, Jeffrey Conroy, 17, allegedly plunged a knife into Lucero’s chest, killing him. The friend with him that night was not harmed.
The assailants fled but were quickly arrested by police, who had seen them walking through the community earlier in the evening. Police charged them with felony gang assault, and Conroy was charged with manslaughter as a hate crime. The seven pleaded not guilty at their arraignments on Monday. Authorities were also checking reports that, shortly before the stabbing, they may have beaten another Hispanic man who was walking alone on the street.
Dasch’s father is said to be distraught. He has told friends that his son, a high school senior, said he did not know all of the other teens who rode in his family’s car that fateful night, that he remained in the back of the pack and that he didn’t engage in the fight. He does, however, know Conroy, whose family is said to be well known in the community for their active support of various charities.
The lawyer retained by the family, Michael Gajdos, of Patchogue, told The Jewish Week that the family lives in an integrated area and that he has been told that the younger Dasch has black and Hispanic friends — not the kind of friends a “hater” would hang around with. Gajdos also said that neither Jordan Dasch nor either of the family’s two older children have ever had any problems with law enforcement in the past. He described the parents as shocked and “trying to come to grips” with the incident.
Members of the community have been mourning Lucero, a Patchogue resident who reportedly immigrated to the United States 16 years ago and worked at a dry-cleaning business in Riverhead.
Calls have also gone out for reflection and healing, with school officials promising workshops to address intolerance, and the State Division of Human Rights saying that other forums will take place in the future. Among the organizations that have contacted the school district is the Anti-Defamation League, according to Joel Levy, the ADL’s New York regional director, and Manuel Sanzone, principal of the local high school.
In the wake of the murder, one of the most dramatic gestures came from AJC’s Long Island Chapter, which has already built bridges with Long Island’s Hispanic community through the Latino-Jewish Council, a group it organized three years ago. The chapter printed posters with an image of the Statue of Liberty and the words, “We Are All One,” and urged residents and shopkeepers to display them prominently. The move recalled an episode 15 years ago in Billings, Mont., when, in reaction to anti-Semitism, paper menorahs suddenly appeared in windows throughout the city to demonstrate that Jews there were not alone.
“People need to speak out when others are targeted because of their race, ethnicity or religion,” said Caroline Levy, the chapter’s executive director, who noted that the murder took place immediately before the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the anti-Jewish pogrom in Germany. That, in itself, was a reminder that “these kinds of incidents can happen to any group,” she said.But along with those calls has come an intense debate over what some say is a climate of hate that led to the killing and other incidents. Much of the debate has focused on Steve Levy, the county executive, who, shortly after news of the killing broke, told a reporter that the crime would be “a one-day story” anywhere but on his home turf.
In the past, the county executive has tried to deputize county police to act as immigration agents, signed legislation to bar undocumented immigrants from working for county contractors and sought to drive day laborers from local streets. He also founded a national organization to lobby for crackdowns and appeared on “Lou Dobbs,” the CNN host who has long been a vocal critic of illegal immigration.
In the past week, however, Suffolk County’s Levy (who attends a Catholic parish) has apologized for the “one-day” comment and delivered a televised address to residents. In his speech, given Tuesday night, he noted the irony of how the murder nearly coincided with Kristallnacht and said he hoped Lucero’s death would not be in vain.
“Perhaps it can be spark for all of us — yours truly included — to admit our faults, to work more closely with one another, to pay more attention to what our children are doing and to pay more attention to what we say,” Levy said. “Words do matter, and I will do all I can to help ensure that my words are as sensitive as possible toward meeting our goal to heal and to unite.”
Earlier in the week, Levy announced the creation of a five-point plan to fight hate and promote tolerance in the county’s schools and neighborhoods. Among other things, the plan would create a Hispanic liaison between the Suffolk Police Department and the Latino community and work with school boards and PTA’s in combating hate and seek donations for the victim’s family. Advocates for immigrants in the county, as well as Levy himself, have said that hate crimes have gone unrecorded in the area because undocumented immigrants are afraid to contact the police for fear of being arrested and deported.
One of those closely following the discussion is Renee Ortiz, 35, co-chairwoman of the Latino-Jewish Council and, at one point, Steve Levy’s director of minority affairs.
Ortiz, now the chief deputy clerk of the Suffolk County Legislature, believes that the policies and proposals of “certain public officials” have fueled a climate of hate, whether or not that was their intention. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we had a murder and other bias incidents simultaneously,” she said, referring to the killing in Patchogue and other episodes in the past few days, including the distribution of Ku Klux Klan pamphlets in Islip Terrace.
“It’s very personal for me on all levels,” said Ortiz, who left her job with Levy’s administration over policies she could no longer accept. Both Jewish and Hispanic, she described herself as acutely aware of the hatred because of both Jewish history and her sense that Latinos have become a “targeted group.”
“There’s definitely a timeline that leads up to what happened in Patchogue,” said Maryann Slutsky, the campaign director of Long Island Wins. The timeline includes some of Levy’s rhetoric, which she considers inflammatory, Slutsky said.
Although he agrees that “part of solution” relates to the community’s political leadership, Galen Kirkland, the state’s human rights commissioner, said he’s not interested in criticizing public figures or pointing fingers. He’s interested, instead, in promoting healing and unity, he said.
Similarly, Rabbi Steven Moss, chairman of the county’s Human Rights Commission and its Anti-Bias Task Force, said he believes accusations against the county executive and county lawmakers distract from the real issue, which is the crime itself and the hatred harbored by the teens who allegedly participated in it. The question going ahead “is how we deal with young people and educate them in terms of how they should view human life.”
Rabbi Moss also commented on the news concerning Jordan Dasch, saying the community “might never know why he did what he did.” There are all kinds of motivations for why people behave as they do, he said.
“The lesson is not to wring our hands but to treat this as a call — a Torah call, if you will — to increase our education of positive values for the betterment of our children. ... The Torah calls [on] us to choose life.”
Source:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a14071/News/New_York.html
'March For Unity' supports Hardwick hate crime victims
'March For Unity' supports Hardwick hate crime victims
by Jacqueline Lindsay/Warren Reporter
Wednesday November 19, 2008, 3:20 PM
HARDWICK -- Township residents banned together for a "March For Unity" Saturday, Nov. 15 to rally around a Hardwick family targeted in a hate crime, which is being attributed to the family's support of President-elect Barack Obama.
On the eve of Election Day after Barack Obama was declared winner of the presidential election, Alina and Gary Grewal and their eight-year-old daughter made a large cloth banner declaring "President Obama Victory '08," and strung it proudly across the front lawn of their Hardwick home. The next evening the couple was dismayed to find the banner had been stolen. But, they were even more horrified when they awoke the following day to find a six-foot tall wooden cross erected on their lawn, which had been burned with the banner. The three-foot wide cross was made with two-by-fours and attached to a metal frame.
"My first thought was that I had been hit in the stomach. I couldn't believe in 2008 that somebody would think of doing something like this," Gary said. "My eight-year-old daughter saw this (burned cross). I will never forget it and I will not let these people live this down."
Gary said they could have simply thrown the cross away and buried the incident, but the couple decided they couldn't let it go. Instead, they reported the crime to the Hope State Police and the incident is currently under investigation by the State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gary reported. "If they did this today and we don't bring them to justice, what will they do tomorrow?" Gary questioned. "I don't think this is an act of a teenage kid. Somebody took a lot of time thinking about doing this."Community members gathered at the Hardwick Municipal Building for Saturday's march. They marched to the Grewal's home on Millbrook Road for a rally where several officials and other people spoke, and then proceeded back to the municipal building for refreshments. Information put out by the group said they held the march to "support civil rights and free speech" and it was a "non-partisan effort to engage the community in the politics of inclusion and tolerance." "Some people have been unable to accept the fact that Barack Obama has been elected President, and have expressed their anger in racist and hateful ways, as we have seen on the lawn of Alina and Gary Grewal," said a release issued by the group. "Please do your part in showing that political expression will not be silenced and acts of intimidation and hate will not be ignored." The Grewals said the incident was picked up by several local and national television networks and newspapers, which aired stories. Since then the family has received hundreds of e-mails, letters and voice messages from people around New Jersey and New York."They can't believe this would happen in Hardwick, New Jersey," Gary said. "It gives me a lot of strength. It tells me that even though we have some bad elements in our community, the vast majority of people are good people."
Source:
http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2008/11/march_for_unity_supports_hardw.html
by Jacqueline Lindsay/Warren Reporter
Wednesday November 19, 2008, 3:20 PM
HARDWICK -- Township residents banned together for a "March For Unity" Saturday, Nov. 15 to rally around a Hardwick family targeted in a hate crime, which is being attributed to the family's support of President-elect Barack Obama.
On the eve of Election Day after Barack Obama was declared winner of the presidential election, Alina and Gary Grewal and their eight-year-old daughter made a large cloth banner declaring "President Obama Victory '08," and strung it proudly across the front lawn of their Hardwick home. The next evening the couple was dismayed to find the banner had been stolen. But, they were even more horrified when they awoke the following day to find a six-foot tall wooden cross erected on their lawn, which had been burned with the banner. The three-foot wide cross was made with two-by-fours and attached to a metal frame.
"My first thought was that I had been hit in the stomach. I couldn't believe in 2008 that somebody would think of doing something like this," Gary said. "My eight-year-old daughter saw this (burned cross). I will never forget it and I will not let these people live this down."
Gary said they could have simply thrown the cross away and buried the incident, but the couple decided they couldn't let it go. Instead, they reported the crime to the Hope State Police and the incident is currently under investigation by the State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gary reported. "If they did this today and we don't bring them to justice, what will they do tomorrow?" Gary questioned. "I don't think this is an act of a teenage kid. Somebody took a lot of time thinking about doing this."Community members gathered at the Hardwick Municipal Building for Saturday's march. They marched to the Grewal's home on Millbrook Road for a rally where several officials and other people spoke, and then proceeded back to the municipal building for refreshments. Information put out by the group said they held the march to "support civil rights and free speech" and it was a "non-partisan effort to engage the community in the politics of inclusion and tolerance." "Some people have been unable to accept the fact that Barack Obama has been elected President, and have expressed their anger in racist and hateful ways, as we have seen on the lawn of Alina and Gary Grewal," said a release issued by the group. "Please do your part in showing that political expression will not be silenced and acts of intimidation and hate will not be ignored." The Grewals said the incident was picked up by several local and national television networks and newspapers, which aired stories. Since then the family has received hundreds of e-mails, letters and voice messages from people around New Jersey and New York."They can't believe this would happen in Hardwick, New Jersey," Gary said. "It gives me a lot of strength. It tells me that even though we have some bad elements in our community, the vast majority of people are good people."
Source:
http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2008/11/march_for_unity_supports_hardw.html
Dragging death case triggers protest
Associated Press
Dragging death case triggers protest
05:22 PM CST on Monday, November 17, 2008
Also Online
11/14: Prosecutors say it's not a hate crime
10/27: Black man's death opens old racial wounds
PARIS — Protesters galvanized by a dragging death that stirred memories of the notorious James Byrd case rallied outside an East Texas courthouse Monday to speak out against a justice system they consider racist.
About 60 people, led by a contingent from the New Black Panther Party, met at the Lamar County Courthouse to bring attention to the death of Brandon McClelland. Authorities have said two suspects, both of them white, purposely ran over and killed McClelland, a black man, following an argument on the way home from a late-night beer run in September.
McClelland's body was dragged about 70 feet beneath a pickup truck and dismembered by the trauma near Paris, a city about 95 miles northeast of Dallas with a history of tense relationships between blacks and whites.
The death came 10 years after Byrd was killed in Jasper, another East Texas town. Byrd was chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for three miles.
"How do we get justice for Brandon McClelland?" cried Anthony Bond, founder of the Irving chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"We can't get justice for Brandon," answered another man. "He's dead."
Authorities have disputed that racism was the motivation for McClelland's death, citing the victim's decade-long friendship with the two suspects. They also point out that McClelland was run over and not chained to the back of a truck, as Byrd was.
That stance angered McClelland's mother and activists, who pressured Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young to step aside in part because he once was the court-appointed defense attorney for one of the suspects.
That suspect, Shannon Finley, was charged with murder in 2003 for the fatal shooting of a friend. He eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter with Young as his counsel. Finley served four years in prison.
In that same case, McClelland pleaded guilty to perjury for providing a false alibi for Finley's whereabouts on the night of the shooting. He was sentenced to five years' probation but served some jail time when he violated its terms, prosecutor Bill Harris said.
Young has recused himself from the McClelland case, citing his past association with Finley. A judge has appointed former Dallas County assistant DA Toby Shook as special prosecutor.
Sitting mostly alone away from the speakers, McClelland's mother said she was attending "to see that justice gets done for my son." She blamed Young for Finley's short sentence.
"If he had done the right thing, I'm positive my son would be alive today," Jacquline McClelland said.
Young spokesman Allan Hubbard declined to comment.
The protest, held just around the corner from a 20-foot tall Confederate war memorial statue dedicated to "Our Heroes," attracted about a dozen white onlookers who watched from the parking lot about 30 yards away.
Rock Banks, whose arms were covered in sleeves of tattoos, identified himself as a grand titan in the East Texas Ku Klux Klan. He wore a baseball cap depicting a skull wearing a cowboy hat set against a Confederate flag. He explained that his "boss sent me here" to keep an eye on the protest.
"People come from outside and start trouble and leave this place stewing," Banks said. "If those two boys killed that man, they should get what they deserve. But it ain't got nothing to do with Jasper."
David Stewart, who said he owns a business in Paris, handed out a flyer saying that the New Black Panther Party is a racist organization.
"The Black Panthers have no business being here when they are racist themselves," Stewart said. "They are labeling us as racists because of a couple isolated incidents."
Source:
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa081117_wz_draggingprotest.1c0b42133.html#
Dragging death case triggers protest
05:22 PM CST on Monday, November 17, 2008
Also Online
11/14: Prosecutors say it's not a hate crime
10/27: Black man's death opens old racial wounds
PARIS — Protesters galvanized by a dragging death that stirred memories of the notorious James Byrd case rallied outside an East Texas courthouse Monday to speak out against a justice system they consider racist.
About 60 people, led by a contingent from the New Black Panther Party, met at the Lamar County Courthouse to bring attention to the death of Brandon McClelland. Authorities have said two suspects, both of them white, purposely ran over and killed McClelland, a black man, following an argument on the way home from a late-night beer run in September.
McClelland's body was dragged about 70 feet beneath a pickup truck and dismembered by the trauma near Paris, a city about 95 miles northeast of Dallas with a history of tense relationships between blacks and whites.
The death came 10 years after Byrd was killed in Jasper, another East Texas town. Byrd was chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for three miles.
"How do we get justice for Brandon McClelland?" cried Anthony Bond, founder of the Irving chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"We can't get justice for Brandon," answered another man. "He's dead."
Authorities have disputed that racism was the motivation for McClelland's death, citing the victim's decade-long friendship with the two suspects. They also point out that McClelland was run over and not chained to the back of a truck, as Byrd was.
That stance angered McClelland's mother and activists, who pressured Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young to step aside in part because he once was the court-appointed defense attorney for one of the suspects.
That suspect, Shannon Finley, was charged with murder in 2003 for the fatal shooting of a friend. He eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter with Young as his counsel. Finley served four years in prison.
In that same case, McClelland pleaded guilty to perjury for providing a false alibi for Finley's whereabouts on the night of the shooting. He was sentenced to five years' probation but served some jail time when he violated its terms, prosecutor Bill Harris said.
Young has recused himself from the McClelland case, citing his past association with Finley. A judge has appointed former Dallas County assistant DA Toby Shook as special prosecutor.
Sitting mostly alone away from the speakers, McClelland's mother said she was attending "to see that justice gets done for my son." She blamed Young for Finley's short sentence.
"If he had done the right thing, I'm positive my son would be alive today," Jacquline McClelland said.
Young spokesman Allan Hubbard declined to comment.
The protest, held just around the corner from a 20-foot tall Confederate war memorial statue dedicated to "Our Heroes," attracted about a dozen white onlookers who watched from the parking lot about 30 yards away.
Rock Banks, whose arms were covered in sleeves of tattoos, identified himself as a grand titan in the East Texas Ku Klux Klan. He wore a baseball cap depicting a skull wearing a cowboy hat set against a Confederate flag. He explained that his "boss sent me here" to keep an eye on the protest.
"People come from outside and start trouble and leave this place stewing," Banks said. "If those two boys killed that man, they should get what they deserve. But it ain't got nothing to do with Jasper."
David Stewart, who said he owns a business in Paris, handed out a flyer saying that the New Black Panther Party is a racist organization.
"The Black Panthers have no business being here when they are racist themselves," Stewart said. "They are labeling us as racists because of a couple isolated incidents."
Source:
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa081117_wz_draggingprotest.1c0b42133.html#
Special prosecutor appointed in dragging-death case
Special prosecutor appointed in dragging-death case
By JEFF CARLTON
Associated Press
Nov. 13, 2008, 4:38PM
DALLAS — The district attorney prosecuting a racially charged dragging death in East Texas has recused himself because he once represented one of the murder suspects, leading to the appointment of a special prosecutor, officials said Thursday.
Before he held public office, Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young was the court-appointed lawyer for one of the suspects in the September death of 24-year-old Brandon McClelland. Authorities said that suspect and another man, who are both white, purposely ran over McClelland, a black man, following an argument on the way home from a late-night beer run Sept. 16.
McClelland's body was dragged about 70 feet beneath a pickup truck and dismembered by the trauma near Paris, about 95 miles northeast of Dallas.
McClelland's mother, members of the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and other groups have compared the killing to the notorious dragging death of James Byrd 10 years ago in Jasper. Activists have planned a Monday rally at the Lamar County Courthouse.
In 2003, Young defended Shannon Finley, who was charged with murder and eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter for fatally shooting a friend in the head. Finley served four years in prison.
Activists said the appointment of former Dallas prosecutor Toby Shook is a victory for McClelland's family, who had argued that Young's prior defense of Finley should disqualify him. Young had originally assigned the case to an assistant, but McClelland's mother said she thought the DA would still be able to exert influence.
"I think he should have recused himself," said Brenda Cherry, a Paris community activist who is close to McClelland's mother. "I had a concern he wouldn't be fair."
Shook agreed with Young's decision, saying "it's usually best in these situations to recuse yourself, although he didn't necessarily have to do so."
Lamar County spokesman Allan Hubbard declined to comment. There was no answer at the home of McClelland's mother, and McClelland's father did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press.
Finley and Charles Crostley remain in the Lamar County Jail on bonds totally $800,000 and $525,000, respectively, according to online jail records.
They have not been indicted. The grand jury met Thursday but Shook did not present the case because he said he is still getting familiar with its details. The grand jury next convenes Dec. 11, and Shook said he expects to seek indictments then.
Shook is a former assistant district attorney in Dallas County. He successfully tried the escaped prisoners who became known as the notorious "Texas Seven" after they killed an Irving police officer while they were on the lam in 2000. Shook lost the 2006 election for district attorney to current Dallas County DA Craig Watkins and is now in private practice.
The special prosecutor said he has not decided whether he believes the McClelland killing was racially motivated. In Texas, a determination of racial bias in a crime can increase penalties, but not for murder charges. Such a finding, however, would be a symbolic victory for McClelland's family and activists, who said he was targeted because he was an African-American.
Deric Muhammad, a Nation of Islam member who is monitoring the case, praised the Shook appointment as "a step in the direction of justice."
"If this case is prosecuted fairly and not tinged with the racism and bias that has haunted Paris and Lamar County for decades, it could very well represent a start in a healing process for Blacks, as well as concerned Whites in Paris," Muhammad wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Shook said he is not worried about taking over such a charged case.
"It doesn't bother me to step into a case with a lot of emotion in it," Shook said. "Most murder cases do have a lot of emotion."
Source:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6111023.html
By JEFF CARLTON
Associated Press
Nov. 13, 2008, 4:38PM
DALLAS — The district attorney prosecuting a racially charged dragging death in East Texas has recused himself because he once represented one of the murder suspects, leading to the appointment of a special prosecutor, officials said Thursday.
Before he held public office, Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young was the court-appointed lawyer for one of the suspects in the September death of 24-year-old Brandon McClelland. Authorities said that suspect and another man, who are both white, purposely ran over McClelland, a black man, following an argument on the way home from a late-night beer run Sept. 16.
McClelland's body was dragged about 70 feet beneath a pickup truck and dismembered by the trauma near Paris, about 95 miles northeast of Dallas.
McClelland's mother, members of the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and other groups have compared the killing to the notorious dragging death of James Byrd 10 years ago in Jasper. Activists have planned a Monday rally at the Lamar County Courthouse.
In 2003, Young defended Shannon Finley, who was charged with murder and eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter for fatally shooting a friend in the head. Finley served four years in prison.
Activists said the appointment of former Dallas prosecutor Toby Shook is a victory for McClelland's family, who had argued that Young's prior defense of Finley should disqualify him. Young had originally assigned the case to an assistant, but McClelland's mother said she thought the DA would still be able to exert influence.
"I think he should have recused himself," said Brenda Cherry, a Paris community activist who is close to McClelland's mother. "I had a concern he wouldn't be fair."
Shook agreed with Young's decision, saying "it's usually best in these situations to recuse yourself, although he didn't necessarily have to do so."
Lamar County spokesman Allan Hubbard declined to comment. There was no answer at the home of McClelland's mother, and McClelland's father did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press.
Finley and Charles Crostley remain in the Lamar County Jail on bonds totally $800,000 and $525,000, respectively, according to online jail records.
They have not been indicted. The grand jury met Thursday but Shook did not present the case because he said he is still getting familiar with its details. The grand jury next convenes Dec. 11, and Shook said he expects to seek indictments then.
Shook is a former assistant district attorney in Dallas County. He successfully tried the escaped prisoners who became known as the notorious "Texas Seven" after they killed an Irving police officer while they were on the lam in 2000. Shook lost the 2006 election for district attorney to current Dallas County DA Craig Watkins and is now in private practice.
The special prosecutor said he has not decided whether he believes the McClelland killing was racially motivated. In Texas, a determination of racial bias in a crime can increase penalties, but not for murder charges. Such a finding, however, would be a symbolic victory for McClelland's family and activists, who said he was targeted because he was an African-American.
Deric Muhammad, a Nation of Islam member who is monitoring the case, praised the Shook appointment as "a step in the direction of justice."
"If this case is prosecuted fairly and not tinged with the racism and bias that has haunted Paris and Lamar County for decades, it could very well represent a start in a healing process for Blacks, as well as concerned Whites in Paris," Muhammad wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Shook said he is not worried about taking over such a charged case.
"It doesn't bother me to step into a case with a lot of emotion in it," Shook said. "Most murder cases do have a lot of emotion."
Source:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6111023.html
Marion County deputies, officers make arrests
By Star & Enterprise Staff ReportsPublished: November 20, 2008
Marion County Sheriff Department
On Nov. 14, deputies arrested Carroll W. Cornish, 49, of Hartford, Conn., for driving under suspension and driving left of center.
On Nov. 13, deputies arrested Bryan Chase Sparks, 25, of Marion, for breaking into motor vehicle, possession of burglary tools, conspiracy and grand larceny.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested James Brandon Jackson, 22, of Nichols, for criminal domestic violence and malicious injury to property.
On Nov. 10, deputies arrested Daniel Roberts II, 20, of Mullins for public disorderly conduct and threatening public official.
On Nov. 9, deputies arrested Jessica Hunt, 27, of Marion, for driving under suspension and open container.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Terry Latrell Blackmon, 17, of Mullins, for Lynching- second degree and violation of gang law.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Briand Johnson, 17, of Mullins, for lynching- second degree and violation of gang law.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Jeffery Gurley, 26, of Marion, for criminal domestic violence.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Joseph Deamin Isreal, 18, of Marion, for simple possession of marijuana and unlawful carrying of pistol.
On Nov. 12, deputies arrested Floyd Emery Henderson, Jr., 46, of Marion, for simple possession of marijuana and driving under the influence, open container and driving left of center.
City of Marion
On Nov. 13, officers arrested David Dudley Martin, 27, of Marion for criminal domestic violence.
On Nov. 13, officers arrested Susan M. Skipper, 21, of Marion for criminal domestic violence.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested two juveniles for shoplifting.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Anthony Raynard Randall, 18, of Marion for drug equipment violations, disorderly conduct and giving false information to police.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Jessica Listina Fling, 27, of Marion for giving false information to police.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Kendrea Marquel Hannah, 20, of Mullins for driving under suspension, second offiense.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Tony Dewayne Rollins, 20, of Marion for simple possession of marijuana and disorderly conduct.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Monique Dixon Johnson, 19, of Marion for simple possession of marijuana and disorderly conduct.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested John Allen Fogan, 55, of Marion for driving under the influence.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested Adrian N. Williams, 19, of Latta, for shoplifting.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested Jerry Alvin Fleming, 47, of Marion for simple assault.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested Kimberly Robinson, 23, of Marion for malicious damage to personal property.
On Nov. 9, officers arrested Tony Allen Legette, 45, of Marion for public drunkenness.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested two juveniles for petit larceny.
On Nov. 9, officers arrested George Davis, 37, of Marion for disorderly conduct. On
On Nov. 9, officers arrested Rodney Tremaine Baldwin, 33, of Marion for criminal domestic violence, first offense.
On Nov. 9, officers arrested Kwame Christopher Campbell, 18, of Marion for having no S.C. driver’s license in possession.
On Nov. 8, officers arrested Jessica Leann Legette, 20, of Marion for simple possession of marijuana.
Source:
http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/article/marion_county_deputies_officers_make_arrests2/19229/
Marion County Sheriff Department
On Nov. 14, deputies arrested Carroll W. Cornish, 49, of Hartford, Conn., for driving under suspension and driving left of center.
On Nov. 13, deputies arrested Bryan Chase Sparks, 25, of Marion, for breaking into motor vehicle, possession of burglary tools, conspiracy and grand larceny.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested James Brandon Jackson, 22, of Nichols, for criminal domestic violence and malicious injury to property.
On Nov. 10, deputies arrested Daniel Roberts II, 20, of Mullins for public disorderly conduct and threatening public official.
On Nov. 9, deputies arrested Jessica Hunt, 27, of Marion, for driving under suspension and open container.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Terry Latrell Blackmon, 17, of Mullins, for Lynching- second degree and violation of gang law.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Briand Johnson, 17, of Mullins, for lynching- second degree and violation of gang law.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Jeffery Gurley, 26, of Marion, for criminal domestic violence.
On Nov. 7, deputies arrested Joseph Deamin Isreal, 18, of Marion, for simple possession of marijuana and unlawful carrying of pistol.
On Nov. 12, deputies arrested Floyd Emery Henderson, Jr., 46, of Marion, for simple possession of marijuana and driving under the influence, open container and driving left of center.
City of Marion
On Nov. 13, officers arrested David Dudley Martin, 27, of Marion for criminal domestic violence.
On Nov. 13, officers arrested Susan M. Skipper, 21, of Marion for criminal domestic violence.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested two juveniles for shoplifting.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Anthony Raynard Randall, 18, of Marion for drug equipment violations, disorderly conduct and giving false information to police.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Jessica Listina Fling, 27, of Marion for giving false information to police.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Kendrea Marquel Hannah, 20, of Mullins for driving under suspension, second offiense.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Tony Dewayne Rollins, 20, of Marion for simple possession of marijuana and disorderly conduct.
On Nov. 11, officers arrested Monique Dixon Johnson, 19, of Marion for simple possession of marijuana and disorderly conduct.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested John Allen Fogan, 55, of Marion for driving under the influence.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested Adrian N. Williams, 19, of Latta, for shoplifting.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested Jerry Alvin Fleming, 47, of Marion for simple assault.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested Kimberly Robinson, 23, of Marion for malicious damage to personal property.
On Nov. 9, officers arrested Tony Allen Legette, 45, of Marion for public drunkenness.
On Nov. 10, officers arrested two juveniles for petit larceny.
On Nov. 9, officers arrested George Davis, 37, of Marion for disorderly conduct. On
On Nov. 9, officers arrested Rodney Tremaine Baldwin, 33, of Marion for criminal domestic violence, first offense.
On Nov. 9, officers arrested Kwame Christopher Campbell, 18, of Marion for having no S.C. driver’s license in possession.
On Nov. 8, officers arrested Jessica Leann Legette, 20, of Marion for simple possession of marijuana.
Source:
http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/article/marion_county_deputies_officers_make_arrests2/19229/
Serial killer to stand trial in another slaying
Serial killer to stand trial in another slaying
By Robert ZulloSenior Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 7:23 p.m.
THIBODAUX – The serial killer sentenced two months ago to eight back-to-back life sentences for killings in Terrebonne was transferred to the Lafourche jail last weekend, where he will await trial for a murder authorities say he committed in that parish.
Ronald Joseph Dominique, 44, who is suspected of raping and strangling as many as 23 men in south Louisiana over a decade, faces trial in Lafourche District Court for the first-degree murder of 27-year-old Christopher Charles Sutterfield. Though authorities believe he was killed in Lafourche, Sutterfield’s body was found Oct. 15, 2006, near the Tippy Canal Boat Landing on La. 69 in Iberville Parish.
Lafourche District Attorney Cam Morvant II would not say whether his office intends to seek the death penalty for Dominique, adding that he intends to consult with Sutterfield’s family.
Dominique was indicted Oct. 30 by a Lafourche grand jury for Sutterfield’s murder, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to eight murders in Terrebonne in an agreement with prosecutors that spared him from facing execution.
Terrebonne Assistant District Attorney Mark Rhodes said the agreement was the product of months of talks with the Terrebonne victims’ families, who unanimously consented to the deal to avoid the lengthy death-penalty process.
Dominique was shipped to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola after pleading guilty to the murders of the Terrebonne victims -- Michael Barnett, Leon Lirette, August Watkins, Kurt Cunningham, Alonzo Hogan, Chris Deville, Wayne Smith and Nicholas Pellegrin – but was brought back to Lafourche at the request of the Lafourche District Attorney’s Office.
He appeared before a magistrate Tuesday and is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 2.
Investigators told family members Sutterfield, who lived on St. Charles Bypass Road in Thibodaux but was staying at the A-Bear Motel in Houma at the time of his death, was strangled, like others whose deaths are attributed to Dominique.
Dominique targeted men he picked up off the side of the road or other places. He propositioned them for sex or lured them into his car with the promise of drugs or sex with a fictitious woman, police have said.
Dominique tied the men up, sometimes at gunpoint, and raped them before suffocating or strangling them. He dumped their bodies, which were often found shoeless or semi-clothed in cane fields and near remote bayous, across a swath that stretched from New Orleans to Iberia Parish.
Staff Writer Raymond Legendre contributed to this report. Senior Staff Writer Robert Zullo can be reached at 850-1150 or robert.zullo@houmatoday.com.
By Robert ZulloSenior Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 7:23 p.m.
THIBODAUX – The serial killer sentenced two months ago to eight back-to-back life sentences for killings in Terrebonne was transferred to the Lafourche jail last weekend, where he will await trial for a murder authorities say he committed in that parish.
Ronald Joseph Dominique, 44, who is suspected of raping and strangling as many as 23 men in south Louisiana over a decade, faces trial in Lafourche District Court for the first-degree murder of 27-year-old Christopher Charles Sutterfield. Though authorities believe he was killed in Lafourche, Sutterfield’s body was found Oct. 15, 2006, near the Tippy Canal Boat Landing on La. 69 in Iberville Parish.
Lafourche District Attorney Cam Morvant II would not say whether his office intends to seek the death penalty for Dominique, adding that he intends to consult with Sutterfield’s family.
Dominique was indicted Oct. 30 by a Lafourche grand jury for Sutterfield’s murder, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to eight murders in Terrebonne in an agreement with prosecutors that spared him from facing execution.
Terrebonne Assistant District Attorney Mark Rhodes said the agreement was the product of months of talks with the Terrebonne victims’ families, who unanimously consented to the deal to avoid the lengthy death-penalty process.
Dominique was shipped to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola after pleading guilty to the murders of the Terrebonne victims -- Michael Barnett, Leon Lirette, August Watkins, Kurt Cunningham, Alonzo Hogan, Chris Deville, Wayne Smith and Nicholas Pellegrin – but was brought back to Lafourche at the request of the Lafourche District Attorney’s Office.
He appeared before a magistrate Tuesday and is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 2.
Investigators told family members Sutterfield, who lived on St. Charles Bypass Road in Thibodaux but was staying at the A-Bear Motel in Houma at the time of his death, was strangled, like others whose deaths are attributed to Dominique.
Dominique targeted men he picked up off the side of the road or other places. He propositioned them for sex or lured them into his car with the promise of drugs or sex with a fictitious woman, police have said.
Dominique tied the men up, sometimes at gunpoint, and raped them before suffocating or strangling them. He dumped their bodies, which were often found shoeless or semi-clothed in cane fields and near remote bayous, across a swath that stretched from New Orleans to Iberia Parish.
Staff Writer Raymond Legendre contributed to this report. Senior Staff Writer Robert Zullo can be reached at 850-1150 or robert.zullo@houmatoday.com.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Protesters: Judicial System is Racist, Dragging Death Should Have Never Occurred
Protesters: Judicial System is Racist, Dragging Death Should Have Never Occurred Tuesday , November 18, 2008
PARIS, Texas — As many as 200 protesters have been gathering outside an east Texas courthouse to speak out against a judicial system they say is racist.
Outrage centers on the death of Brandon McClelland. Authorities say two white men drove over the black man on purpose, after an argument.
McClelland's mother says her son is dead because one of the men had been allowed to serve just four years for manslaughter earlier this decade.
Authorities say race wasn't a factor in McClelland's death. They note that he and the suspects had been long-time friends. McClelland had admitted giving one of the suspects a false alibi in the earlier manslaughter case.
Ten-years-ago James Byrd was killed in another east Texas town when 3 white men chained Byrd to the back of a pickup and dragged him for three miles.
In this case, McClelland was run over by -- not chained to -- a pickup, which dragged him 70 feet.
Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,453988,00.html
PARIS, Texas — As many as 200 protesters have been gathering outside an east Texas courthouse to speak out against a judicial system they say is racist.
Outrage centers on the death of Brandon McClelland. Authorities say two white men drove over the black man on purpose, after an argument.
McClelland's mother says her son is dead because one of the men had been allowed to serve just four years for manslaughter earlier this decade.
Authorities say race wasn't a factor in McClelland's death. They note that he and the suspects had been long-time friends. McClelland had admitted giving one of the suspects a false alibi in the earlier manslaughter case.
Ten-years-ago James Byrd was killed in another east Texas town when 3 white men chained Byrd to the back of a pickup and dragged him for three miles.
In this case, McClelland was run over by -- not chained to -- a pickup, which dragged him 70 feet.
Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,453988,00.html
Deputies arrest Florence man in beer bottle, Maglite beating
Deputies arrest Florence man in beer bottle, Maglite beating
By Morning News Staff Reports
Published: November 18, 2008
A Florence man was arrested Monday after deputies said he and his brother severely beat a man during a dispute at the Cooty Hut nightclub in Florence, said Florence County Sheriff’s Lt. Brett Camp.
Damon McSwain Welch, 29, of 3026 McCracken St. is charged with second-degree lynching, Florence County Detention Center bookings reports show. He was released the same day after posting bond.
The incident happened Nov. 2 at the nightclub when the two suspects struck the victim several times with a beer bottle and a Maglite flashlight, Camp said.
The victim suffered a skull fracture during the fight and received extensive treatment at a local hospital, he said.
The suspect’s brother Michael McSwain Welch, 35, of Summerton also is wanted on second-degree lynching charges.
Anyone with information about Michael Welch’s whereabouts can call the Florence County Sheriff’s Office at (843) 665-2121 or Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee at (843) 667-TIPS (8477) or (866) 369-TIPS (8477).
Source:
http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/deputies_arrest_florence_man_in_beer_bottle_maglite_beating/19129/
By Morning News Staff Reports
Published: November 18, 2008
A Florence man was arrested Monday after deputies said he and his brother severely beat a man during a dispute at the Cooty Hut nightclub in Florence, said Florence County Sheriff’s Lt. Brett Camp.
Damon McSwain Welch, 29, of 3026 McCracken St. is charged with second-degree lynching, Florence County Detention Center bookings reports show. He was released the same day after posting bond.
The incident happened Nov. 2 at the nightclub when the two suspects struck the victim several times with a beer bottle and a Maglite flashlight, Camp said.
The victim suffered a skull fracture during the fight and received extensive treatment at a local hospital, he said.
The suspect’s brother Michael McSwain Welch, 35, of Summerton also is wanted on second-degree lynching charges.
Anyone with information about Michael Welch’s whereabouts can call the Florence County Sheriff’s Office at (843) 665-2121 or Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee at (843) 667-TIPS (8477) or (866) 369-TIPS (8477).
Source:
http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/deputies_arrest_florence_man_in_beer_bottle_maglite_beating/19129/
High and low roads to U.S. history
by PAT MURPHY
How small, bitter and beleaguered by hate the intractable foes of Barack Obama look and sound.
In his hour-long Sunday interview on "60 Minutes," Obama came through as a man of superior poise, intellect and deep thought, with a firm and unrattled grasp of immense problems requiring Solomonic wisdom and Herculean courage. To those weary of President Bush's stumbling inability to speak intelligibly, and his frequent use of gunslinger imagery, Obama's command of the language ensures that Americans no longer need endure a president mocked for malapropisms and fractured syntax. Instead, eloquence has returned.
The lofty character Obama will use to restore dignity and integrity to the Oval Office also includes generous helpings of magnanimity. He reached out to his defeated rival, John McCain, for help in rebuilding America's shattered economy, despite brutal smears and belittling slurs by McCain and Sarah Palin, and also generously asked Senate Democrats to keep the perfidious turncoat Joe Lieberman in their caucus and not expel him.
If Obama represents the high road in the historic drama of the 44th presidency, extremists on the right show that some Americans don't want amity and conciliation but instead prefer the low road.
The conscience of the Republican Party's far right wing, Rush Limbaugh, is sticking with his election morning-after slam that Obama is an "old-fashioned Chicago thug" and that America's financial catastrophe is an "Obama recession," not George Bush's doing.
Thousands of panicked Americans are rushing to gun stores to stock up on weapons and ammo, thanks to the predictable and reckless scare mongering of the National Rifle Association—that Obama is a "radical" who'll restrict gun ownership and tax ammunition heavily. And what does more guns per home mean to national recovery, pray tell?
Rednecks and racists are busy, too. More than 200 incidents across the country involving threats against Obama are being investigated, including the threat of a "public lynching" in Vay, Idaho.
But nothing has been so unnerving as the report of second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanting "assassinate Obama, assassinate Obama."
What's so frightening is the school district's explanation that the children didn't really know the meaning of "assassinate," and the public must understand the Rexburg district was heavily for John McCain.
Thus, the children presumably learned the chant of a lynch mob in homes that are devout Republicans.
Is this what Idaho wants to perpetuate—"the reddest red state," where children learn the ABC's of racial hate and lynching before their 10th birthday from parents?
source:
http://www.mtexpress.com/story_printer.php?ID=2005123692
by PAT MURPHY
How small, bitter and beleaguered by hate the intractable foes of Barack Obama look and sound.
In his hour-long Sunday interview on "60 Minutes," Obama came through as a man of superior poise, intellect and deep thought, with a firm and unrattled grasp of immense problems requiring Solomonic wisdom and Herculean courage. To those weary of President Bush's stumbling inability to speak intelligibly, and his frequent use of gunslinger imagery, Obama's command of the language ensures that Americans no longer need endure a president mocked for malapropisms and fractured syntax. Instead, eloquence has returned.
The lofty character Obama will use to restore dignity and integrity to the Oval Office also includes generous helpings of magnanimity. He reached out to his defeated rival, John McCain, for help in rebuilding America's shattered economy, despite brutal smears and belittling slurs by McCain and Sarah Palin, and also generously asked Senate Democrats to keep the perfidious turncoat Joe Lieberman in their caucus and not expel him.
If Obama represents the high road in the historic drama of the 44th presidency, extremists on the right show that some Americans don't want amity and conciliation but instead prefer the low road.
The conscience of the Republican Party's far right wing, Rush Limbaugh, is sticking with his election morning-after slam that Obama is an "old-fashioned Chicago thug" and that America's financial catastrophe is an "Obama recession," not George Bush's doing.
Thousands of panicked Americans are rushing to gun stores to stock up on weapons and ammo, thanks to the predictable and reckless scare mongering of the National Rifle Association—that Obama is a "radical" who'll restrict gun ownership and tax ammunition heavily. And what does more guns per home mean to national recovery, pray tell?
Rednecks and racists are busy, too. More than 200 incidents across the country involving threats against Obama are being investigated, including the threat of a "public lynching" in Vay, Idaho.
But nothing has been so unnerving as the report of second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanting "assassinate Obama, assassinate Obama."
What's so frightening is the school district's explanation that the children didn't really know the meaning of "assassinate," and the public must understand the Rexburg district was heavily for John McCain.
Thus, the children presumably learned the chant of a lynch mob in homes that are devout Republicans.
Is this what Idaho wants to perpetuate—"the reddest red state," where children learn the ABC's of racial hate and lynching before their 10th birthday from parents?
source:
http://www.mtexpress.com/story_printer.php?ID=2005123692
Diocese Condemns Lynching of Suspected Criminals
Diocese Condemns Lynching of Suspected Criminals
Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
NEWS
18 November 2008
Posted to the web 18 November 2008
Mombasa
The Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa has condemned mob violence in which eleven youths suspected to have been terrorising the residents of Tiwi village in Kwale District were lynched last week.
Investigations by the Catholic Justice and Peace Office in Kwale found that Tiwi had been plagued by insecurity for a very long time and the youths in the village were prompted to take action following alleged police laxity.
"As the Catholic Church, we envisage a society based on human values and dignity of the whole human person. In fulfilling this mandate, we endeavour to protect and preserve life in line with the non-negotiable command from God, "Thou shall not kill". All human beings are entitled to their basic human rights and fundamental freedoms," the archdiocese said in a statement.
"Serious denial of these rights wounds the entire human community and destroys solidarity among persons. We condemn all forms of violence, regardless of their source or motivation. Life in all its forms is God-given and therefore sacred and should be preserved at all costs."
The violence in Tiwi was an indication of the breakdown of the rule of law and increased immorality in society, the archdiocese said. "The Catholic Church is worried that if such trends are encouraged to take root in our society, there will be total breakdown in moral values, law and order."
The archdiocese asked the police to step up their efforts in fighting crime. Citizens should also support the community policing strategy to help the police crack down on law breakers and prosecute them in accordance with the law.
Specifically, the archdiocese recommended that police and other security agencies increase patrols within the region to ensure maintenance of law and order.
The police should motivate the local community to partner with them in promoting security by implementing the community policing strategy. The church also appealed to members of the public to protect the right to life of others.
"We, therefore, appeal to the public to desist from actions that result in loss of life. All persons, including Tiwi residents, have a role to play in eliminating the culture of violence and impunity that is slowly taking root in our beloved country Kenya."
source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200811181192.html
Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
NEWS
18 November 2008
Posted to the web 18 November 2008
Mombasa
The Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa has condemned mob violence in which eleven youths suspected to have been terrorising the residents of Tiwi village in Kwale District were lynched last week.
Investigations by the Catholic Justice and Peace Office in Kwale found that Tiwi had been plagued by insecurity for a very long time and the youths in the village were prompted to take action following alleged police laxity.
"As the Catholic Church, we envisage a society based on human values and dignity of the whole human person. In fulfilling this mandate, we endeavour to protect and preserve life in line with the non-negotiable command from God, "Thou shall not kill". All human beings are entitled to their basic human rights and fundamental freedoms," the archdiocese said in a statement.
"Serious denial of these rights wounds the entire human community and destroys solidarity among persons. We condemn all forms of violence, regardless of their source or motivation. Life in all its forms is God-given and therefore sacred and should be preserved at all costs."
The violence in Tiwi was an indication of the breakdown of the rule of law and increased immorality in society, the archdiocese said. "The Catholic Church is worried that if such trends are encouraged to take root in our society, there will be total breakdown in moral values, law and order."
The archdiocese asked the police to step up their efforts in fighting crime. Citizens should also support the community policing strategy to help the police crack down on law breakers and prosecute them in accordance with the law.
Specifically, the archdiocese recommended that police and other security agencies increase patrols within the region to ensure maintenance of law and order.
The police should motivate the local community to partner with them in promoting security by implementing the community policing strategy. The church also appealed to members of the public to protect the right to life of others.
"We, therefore, appeal to the public to desist from actions that result in loss of life. All persons, including Tiwi residents, have a role to play in eliminating the culture of violence and impunity that is slowly taking root in our beloved country Kenya."
source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200811181192.html
NY serial killer Arthur Shawcross dead at 63
NY serial killer Arthur Shawcross dead at 63 Staff and agencies19 November, 2008
Shawcross died late Monday at an Albany hospital, where he had been taken after complaining of leg pain earlier in the day at the Sullivan Correctional Facility, Corrections Department spokesman Erik Kriss said Tuesday. The cause of death was still under investigation, he said.
Shawcross‘ victims, most of them prostitutes, were killed in the period from March 1988 to January 1990. At the time, he was on parole after serving 15 years in prison for killing two children in northern New York‘s Watertown in 1972.
He was convicted of killing 10 of the women in December 1990 after jurors deliberated only 6 1/2 hours. Jurors rejected defense arguments that he was legally insane at the time of the killings because of brain damage, abuse during childhood and his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam.
He did not testify during his trial, but jurors were shown videotapes of him being interviewed under hypnosis by a defense psychiatrist, Dr. Dorothy Lewis. He switched in and out of a high-pitched woman‘s voice and told Lewis he had once been a cannibal in medieval England. He also described childhood incestuous relations with a sister and wartime atrocities and cannibalism in Vietnam.
But in videotaped interviews with a prosecution psychiatrist, Dr. Park Dietz, Shawcross said he never heard voices or had different personalities. Dietz argued that Shawcross was faking mental illness to avoid prison.
Inmates bought their own art supplies and kept half the proceeds from their sales, with the other half going to the state Crime Victims Board. A portrait of the late Princess Diana was among 10 sketches and paintings by Shawcross that sold for as much as $540 each in 2001.
Source:
http://www.onelocalnews.com/newhopecourier/stories1/index.php?action=fullnews&id=48134
Shawcross died late Monday at an Albany hospital, where he had been taken after complaining of leg pain earlier in the day at the Sullivan Correctional Facility, Corrections Department spokesman Erik Kriss said Tuesday. The cause of death was still under investigation, he said.
Shawcross‘ victims, most of them prostitutes, were killed in the period from March 1988 to January 1990. At the time, he was on parole after serving 15 years in prison for killing two children in northern New York‘s Watertown in 1972.
He was convicted of killing 10 of the women in December 1990 after jurors deliberated only 6 1/2 hours. Jurors rejected defense arguments that he was legally insane at the time of the killings because of brain damage, abuse during childhood and his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam.
He did not testify during his trial, but jurors were shown videotapes of him being interviewed under hypnosis by a defense psychiatrist, Dr. Dorothy Lewis. He switched in and out of a high-pitched woman‘s voice and told Lewis he had once been a cannibal in medieval England. He also described childhood incestuous relations with a sister and wartime atrocities and cannibalism in Vietnam.
But in videotaped interviews with a prosecution psychiatrist, Dr. Park Dietz, Shawcross said he never heard voices or had different personalities. Dietz argued that Shawcross was faking mental illness to avoid prison.
Inmates bought their own art supplies and kept half the proceeds from their sales, with the other half going to the state Crime Victims Board. A portrait of the late Princess Diana was among 10 sketches and paintings by Shawcross that sold for as much as $540 each in 2001.
Source:
http://www.onelocalnews.com/newhopecourier/stories1/index.php?action=fullnews&id=48134
To my fellow bloggers:
To my fellow bloggers:
Please post this article on the hate crime in Texas town of Paris.
It's outrageous and it goes to show how little Black lives are valued in America.
All this summer I hear was Caylee. What about Mr. McClelland? He's just as valuable as any other American citizen.
Killing in a small town raises hate crime fearsBy Howard WittOctober 5, 2008
PARIS, Texas - When the mutilated and partially dismembered body of Brandon McClelland, a 24-year-old black man, turned up lying in the middle of a rural east Texas road one morning last month, the police immediately pronounced the case a hit-and-run by an unknown driver.Within a few days, however, suspicions turned toward two white friends who had picked up McClelland in their truck a few hours before he was found dead early on Sept. 16. Despite signs that the truck had been washed, authorities discovered blood and other physical evidence on the undercarriage and arrested the two men, both with long criminal histories, for murder.Now this small, racially divided town--already seared with a racist label by civil rights groups last year over differences in how blacks and whites were treated by the local justice system--is on edge yet again, wondering if it's got a horrific new hate crime on its hands.The district attorney insists race had nothing to do with McClelland's death and police investigators are portraying the case as an apparent falling-out among friends.But McClelland's relatives and Paris civil rights leaders are less certain. Citing the violence done to McClelland's body and reports that one of the alleged assailants, Shannon Finley, had white supremacist ties, they are demanding that Paris authorities investigate the case as a possible hate crime akin to the infamous 1998 lynching of James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, Texas, 250 miles south of here.Byrd was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck by three white supremacists who were later convicted of murder. McClelland was walking in front of the pickup when Finley, 27, and a friend, Charles Ryan Crostley, 27, who was also arrested, allegedly ran him down and then dragged him 40 feet along the road until his mutilated body popped out from beneath the chassis, according to a police affidavit accompanying the warrant for Finley's arrest."If you take somebody out to the country like that in the middle of the night and do that to him in that way, that's how they do black people around here," said Brenda Cherry, a local activist working with McClelland's family. "To me, it smells like Jasper."Paris' race relations came under withering national scrutiny last year after the Tribune reported the case of Shaquanda Cotton, a 14-year-old African-American youth who was sentenced by a local judge to up to seven years in a youth prison for shoving a hall monitor at her high school. Just three months earlier, the same judge had sentenced a 14-year-old white girl to probation after convicting her of the more serious crime of arson for burning down her family's house.The discrepancy in the treatment of the two teenagers provoked protests from national civil rights groups and led to Cotton's early release from prison. Now McClelland's family fears that Paris officials, eager to protect their city of 26,000 from another round of negative publicity over race relations, are purposefully downplaying potential racial overtones in McClelland's murder."At the crime scene, it looked like these boys went back and poured beer on my son's body," said Jacqueline McClelland, Brandon's mother. "Two beer cans were lying out there, but the police didn't even pick them up, they just left evidence out there. They won't even consider the racial issues. That's the way it is in Paris."Even the editor of the local newspaper, normally an impassioned defender of Paris' reputation, has cautioned law enforcement officials to be thorough and "leave no stone unturned" in their investigation."Hopefully, this community has learned from its past," Mary Madewell wrote in the Paris News. "... Even if our worst fears prove to be true, let us realize that the actions of single individuals should in no way bring condemnation to an entire community."Family members and other critics are also concerned about the impartiality of Lamar County District Atty. Gary Young, who five years ago, before he was elected prosecutor, served as Finley's court-appointed defense attorney when Finley pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting a friend to death.Young has declined to state whether he will recuse himself and other prosecutors in his office from handling the McClelland case.Although the victim in Finley's 2003 manslaughter case was white, race played a role in the incident. Finley told police he was sitting in a pickup with his friend in a park when two gun-wielding black men supposedly walked up alongside and tried to rob them. Finley said he grabbed his friend's handgun and fired at the robbers, but instead shot his friend.An autopsy determined that the victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, but the district attorney at the time accepted Finley's contention that the shooting was an accident and offered him a plea bargain on a reduced manslaughter charge. Finley served three years of a 4-year prison sentence. The alleged robbers were never found.That manslaughter case also tied Finley and McClelland closely together. McClelland furnished a false alibi for Finley, testifying before a grand jury that Finley was with him at the time the shooting occurred. That lie under oath earned McClelland a conviction for aggravated perjury, for which he served two years in prison.Largely because of that connection between McClelland and Finley, police discount the possibility that race played a part in McClelland's death. "I don't see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends," said Stacy McNeal, the Texas Ranger who is the lead investigator on the case.But McClelland's relatives say they have heard that Finley fell in with white supremacists while in prison and that he had grown upset over Brandon's overtures to a white girl--factors they say the police ought to investigate."I always told Brandon that Finley was bad news and he should stay away from him," said Ervin Barry, a friend of McClelland's. "But Brandon thought they were good friends."Race relations in Paris, Texas : An updateSHAQUANDA COTTON: The black high school freshman whose sentence of up to seven years in prison for shoving a school hall monitor drew national scrutiny to the town's justice system was released from prison in March 2007. Now 17, she is studying for her GED certificate and hopes to attend junior college.TASK FORCE: Citizens concerned about racial fissures in town exposed by the Cotton case convened a local Diversity Task Force, which has held several meetings and last month hosted a community-wide block party attended by several hundred residents.INVESTIGATION: The U.S. Department of Education last month concluded a two-year investigation of allegedly discriminatory disciplinary policies in the Paris public schools. The agency said it found "insufficient evidence to support a conclusion" that black students were being disciplined more harshly than whites.
Please post this article on the hate crime in Texas town of Paris.
It's outrageous and it goes to show how little Black lives are valued in America.
All this summer I hear was Caylee. What about Mr. McClelland? He's just as valuable as any other American citizen.
Killing in a small town raises hate crime fearsBy Howard WittOctober 5, 2008
PARIS, Texas - When the mutilated and partially dismembered body of Brandon McClelland, a 24-year-old black man, turned up lying in the middle of a rural east Texas road one morning last month, the police immediately pronounced the case a hit-and-run by an unknown driver.Within a few days, however, suspicions turned toward two white friends who had picked up McClelland in their truck a few hours before he was found dead early on Sept. 16. Despite signs that the truck had been washed, authorities discovered blood and other physical evidence on the undercarriage and arrested the two men, both with long criminal histories, for murder.Now this small, racially divided town--already seared with a racist label by civil rights groups last year over differences in how blacks and whites were treated by the local justice system--is on edge yet again, wondering if it's got a horrific new hate crime on its hands.The district attorney insists race had nothing to do with McClelland's death and police investigators are portraying the case as an apparent falling-out among friends.But McClelland's relatives and Paris civil rights leaders are less certain. Citing the violence done to McClelland's body and reports that one of the alleged assailants, Shannon Finley, had white supremacist ties, they are demanding that Paris authorities investigate the case as a possible hate crime akin to the infamous 1998 lynching of James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, Texas, 250 miles south of here.Byrd was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck by three white supremacists who were later convicted of murder. McClelland was walking in front of the pickup when Finley, 27, and a friend, Charles Ryan Crostley, 27, who was also arrested, allegedly ran him down and then dragged him 40 feet along the road until his mutilated body popped out from beneath the chassis, according to a police affidavit accompanying the warrant for Finley's arrest."If you take somebody out to the country like that in the middle of the night and do that to him in that way, that's how they do black people around here," said Brenda Cherry, a local activist working with McClelland's family. "To me, it smells like Jasper."Paris' race relations came under withering national scrutiny last year after the Tribune reported the case of Shaquanda Cotton, a 14-year-old African-American youth who was sentenced by a local judge to up to seven years in a youth prison for shoving a hall monitor at her high school. Just three months earlier, the same judge had sentenced a 14-year-old white girl to probation after convicting her of the more serious crime of arson for burning down her family's house.The discrepancy in the treatment of the two teenagers provoked protests from national civil rights groups and led to Cotton's early release from prison. Now McClelland's family fears that Paris officials, eager to protect their city of 26,000 from another round of negative publicity over race relations, are purposefully downplaying potential racial overtones in McClelland's murder."At the crime scene, it looked like these boys went back and poured beer on my son's body," said Jacqueline McClelland, Brandon's mother. "Two beer cans were lying out there, but the police didn't even pick them up, they just left evidence out there. They won't even consider the racial issues. That's the way it is in Paris."Even the editor of the local newspaper, normally an impassioned defender of Paris' reputation, has cautioned law enforcement officials to be thorough and "leave no stone unturned" in their investigation."Hopefully, this community has learned from its past," Mary Madewell wrote in the Paris News. "... Even if our worst fears prove to be true, let us realize that the actions of single individuals should in no way bring condemnation to an entire community."Family members and other critics are also concerned about the impartiality of Lamar County District Atty. Gary Young, who five years ago, before he was elected prosecutor, served as Finley's court-appointed defense attorney when Finley pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting a friend to death.Young has declined to state whether he will recuse himself and other prosecutors in his office from handling the McClelland case.Although the victim in Finley's 2003 manslaughter case was white, race played a role in the incident. Finley told police he was sitting in a pickup with his friend in a park when two gun-wielding black men supposedly walked up alongside and tried to rob them. Finley said he grabbed his friend's handgun and fired at the robbers, but instead shot his friend.An autopsy determined that the victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, but the district attorney at the time accepted Finley's contention that the shooting was an accident and offered him a plea bargain on a reduced manslaughter charge. Finley served three years of a 4-year prison sentence. The alleged robbers were never found.That manslaughter case also tied Finley and McClelland closely together. McClelland furnished a false alibi for Finley, testifying before a grand jury that Finley was with him at the time the shooting occurred. That lie under oath earned McClelland a conviction for aggravated perjury, for which he served two years in prison.Largely because of that connection between McClelland and Finley, police discount the possibility that race played a part in McClelland's death. "I don't see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends," said Stacy McNeal, the Texas Ranger who is the lead investigator on the case.But McClelland's relatives say they have heard that Finley fell in with white supremacists while in prison and that he had grown upset over Brandon's overtures to a white girl--factors they say the police ought to investigate."I always told Brandon that Finley was bad news and he should stay away from him," said Ervin Barry, a friend of McClelland's. "But Brandon thought they were good friends."Race relations in Paris, Texas : An updateSHAQUANDA COTTON: The black high school freshman whose sentence of up to seven years in prison for shoving a school hall monitor drew national scrutiny to the town's justice system was released from prison in March 2007. Now 17, she is studying for her GED certificate and hopes to attend junior college.TASK FORCE: Citizens concerned about racial fissures in town exposed by the Cotton case convened a local Diversity Task Force, which has held several meetings and last month hosted a community-wide block party attended by several hundred residents.INVESTIGATION: The U.S. Department of Education last month concluded a two-year investigation of allegedly discriminatory disciplinary policies in the Paris public schools. The agency said it found "insufficient evidence to support a conclusion" that black students were being disciplined more harshly than whites.
The cruel grip of history
October 27, 2008 at 7:05 pm (Uncategorized)
Richard Abshire of the Dallas Morning News offers a timely update to the racially-tinged death of Brandon McClelland in Paris, Texas. A companion piece chronicles the Northeast Texas community’s historical association with lynching.
This is the second time Paris officials have been accused of racial bias in recent history. Last year, Shaquanda Cotton was sentenced to a Texas Youth Commission holding facility for pushing a teacher’s aid.
Neither Shaquanda Cotton’s mother nor the mother of Brandon McClelland want to see the men responsible for this latest outrage put to death–both women are staunch opponents of the death penalty–but they want to see justice served.
It has been argued that the white men accused of killing McClelland couldn’t have committed a hate crime because they were good friends with their black victim.
Friends don’t drag friends to death.
That said, it is difficult to establish the motivation of any crime. Brandon McClelland paid the ultimate price for associating with violent individuals who were strangers to natural human affection. We need to know far more about the victim’s relationship to his murderers. According to Abshire:
The men were thought to be friends. Mr. McClelland was convicted of perjury for lying on Mr. Finley’s behalf in a manslaughter case. Mr. Finley went to prison from 2004 to 2007 for shooting a friend in a Paris park; Mr. McClelland was sentenced to a two-year term.
Did McLelland perjure himself to help out a buddy, because he was threatened with dire consequences if he told the truth, or are we dealing with a complicated mix of both factors? Is McLelland of normal intelligence, or were his white associates taking advantage of a man with a serious learning disability? More light needs to be shed on these questions.
Is it fair to bring up the close historical association between Paris and lynching?
It isn’t just fair; it is critically important.
Heinous crimes perpetrated by an entire community leave a psychic stain (ala Lady McBeth) that will not wash away. You don’t torture a man to death and then wander casually back to business as usual. Churches complicit in this kind of demonic rage remain crippled and scarred until confession is made and forgiveness is extended.
Across America, especially in the southern states, individuals, families, and congregations shoulder crushing emotional and spiritual burdens, often without realizing it. You see the consequences most clearly in the criminal justice system and in strained and tenuous relations between black and white communities.
I congratulate Mr. Abshire for noting that a monument to the Confederacy stands on the courthouse steps in Paris. I have noted the same phenomenon on the grounds of the state capitols in Little Rock, Arkansas and, last week, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The most soul-destroying example of this form of spiritual oppression can be found in Colfax, Louisiana.
source:
http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/the-cruel-grip-of-history/
Takes five weeks or so for the national news media to pick up the story of a man whose body was discovered torn apart by the side of a road. The man was Brandon McClelland, 24, of Paris, Texas.
That’s the same Paris where Shaquanda Cotton received a seven-year sentence for pushing a hall monitor in high school back in 2005. She’s since been released.
The McClelland death sounds a lot like James Byrd, Jr.’s, 10 years ago in Jasper, Texas, about five hours southeast of Paris. Both cases involved groups of drunk men, all white except for the one who ended up dragged or run over by a truck — allegedly, in the second case. McClelland, like Byrd, was black.
The broadest exposure to this previously seems to have been this story by Howard Witt in the Chicago Tribune three weeks ago. Witt had covered the Cotton story, filing this piece 19 months ago on her early release.
I’ve never been to Texas. It’s a big state and I’m sure there’s a lot to experience there. What I gather from afar is that 1) authorities are doing their level best to sweep Brandon McClelland’s death under the rug, and 2) racism was at play in the crime and is at play in the suppression of talk about it.
But Shannon Keith Finley and Charles Ryan Crostley have been charged with murder and jailed. By appearance at least the wheels of justice are turning.
The AP story I linked to in the opening paragraph plays up the conflict between the assertion of McClelland’s mother and others that his death resulted from “a racist attack” and prosecutors doubts about that characterization. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office calls comparisons with the Byrd case “preposterous.”
I’m not kidding.
Source:
http://varneer.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/brandon-mcclelland-and-hate-crime/
The District Attorney's office reports there is no evidence that this was a hate crime, but the victim's family and advocates from Paris, the county seat, and beyond, insist that it is indeed a hate crime and that prosecutors are either covering that up or are so insensitive to the issue that they are simply ignoring the fact that two white men killed a black man.
The district attorney and two of his assistants, the Paris city manager, local ministers, a co-chair of Paris' year-old Diversity Task Force, the president of the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce and the president and legal counsel of the Paris Chapter of the NAACP invited me to meet with them after I indicated on a blog that I was going to write about the situation.
Pike Burkhart, the chamber president, said the Shaquanda Cotton incident two years ago came as a surprise to many in the community. Ms. Cotton, a 14-year-old Paris High School student, was found delinquent in a jury trial on an assault charge for shoving a teacher's aide and was sent to the Texas Youth Commission. Many in the black community decried this as proof of bias, citing the case of a white teen who was given probation after burning down her family's home. Prosecutors insist they followed the law, but the case brought national media attention to Paris and most of it was negative.
Community advocates like Brenda Cherry and Creola Cotton, Shaquanda's mother, told me that white community leaders are in denial about racial problems. The whites point to the formation of the diversity task force and the city's finally finding funding for demolition of a dilapidated apartment block in a predominantly balck neighborhood as evidence of their good will.
A Houston-based blogger and an AP reporter have referred to Mr. McClelland's death as a "dragging death" and compared it to the murder of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper TX in 1998. They have suggested that, like two of the men convicted of that crime, Mr. Finley joined a white supremacist in prison, but that is almost certainly not the case.
Groups and bloggers from throughout the state and even out of state have been talking about the McClelland case and feelings are strong on both sides -- among people who feel it was a racist act that's being covered up and among others who claim that troublemakers are using it as an excuse to foment conflict.
In talking about race relations in Lamar County, the subject of the lynchings (especially one in 1920 that still resonates) almost always comes up, along with grievances about under-representaion of African-Americans in jobs at the courthouse and elsewhere. And then there is the Confederate statue. Black Parisians told me it casts a chill on them when they walk up to the courthouse and see that memorial to a past that they see as evil. White Parisians see it as a reminder to their history. The Confederate statue overshadows smaller stones raised in honor of the veterans of 20th century wars - WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
Source:
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/10/paris-texas-death-stirs-racial.html
October 27, 2008 at 7:05 pm (Uncategorized)
Richard Abshire of the Dallas Morning News offers a timely update to the racially-tinged death of Brandon McClelland in Paris, Texas. A companion piece chronicles the Northeast Texas community’s historical association with lynching.
This is the second time Paris officials have been accused of racial bias in recent history. Last year, Shaquanda Cotton was sentenced to a Texas Youth Commission holding facility for pushing a teacher’s aid.
Neither Shaquanda Cotton’s mother nor the mother of Brandon McClelland want to see the men responsible for this latest outrage put to death–both women are staunch opponents of the death penalty–but they want to see justice served.
It has been argued that the white men accused of killing McClelland couldn’t have committed a hate crime because they were good friends with their black victim.
Friends don’t drag friends to death.
That said, it is difficult to establish the motivation of any crime. Brandon McClelland paid the ultimate price for associating with violent individuals who were strangers to natural human affection. We need to know far more about the victim’s relationship to his murderers. According to Abshire:
The men were thought to be friends. Mr. McClelland was convicted of perjury for lying on Mr. Finley’s behalf in a manslaughter case. Mr. Finley went to prison from 2004 to 2007 for shooting a friend in a Paris park; Mr. McClelland was sentenced to a two-year term.
Did McLelland perjure himself to help out a buddy, because he was threatened with dire consequences if he told the truth, or are we dealing with a complicated mix of both factors? Is McLelland of normal intelligence, or were his white associates taking advantage of a man with a serious learning disability? More light needs to be shed on these questions.
Is it fair to bring up the close historical association between Paris and lynching?
It isn’t just fair; it is critically important.
Heinous crimes perpetrated by an entire community leave a psychic stain (ala Lady McBeth) that will not wash away. You don’t torture a man to death and then wander casually back to business as usual. Churches complicit in this kind of demonic rage remain crippled and scarred until confession is made and forgiveness is extended.
Across America, especially in the southern states, individuals, families, and congregations shoulder crushing emotional and spiritual burdens, often without realizing it. You see the consequences most clearly in the criminal justice system and in strained and tenuous relations between black and white communities.
I congratulate Mr. Abshire for noting that a monument to the Confederacy stands on the courthouse steps in Paris. I have noted the same phenomenon on the grounds of the state capitols in Little Rock, Arkansas and, last week, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The most soul-destroying example of this form of spiritual oppression can be found in Colfax, Louisiana.
source:
http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/the-cruel-grip-of-history/
Takes five weeks or so for the national news media to pick up the story of a man whose body was discovered torn apart by the side of a road. The man was Brandon McClelland, 24, of Paris, Texas.
That’s the same Paris where Shaquanda Cotton received a seven-year sentence for pushing a hall monitor in high school back in 2005. She’s since been released.
The McClelland death sounds a lot like James Byrd, Jr.’s, 10 years ago in Jasper, Texas, about five hours southeast of Paris. Both cases involved groups of drunk men, all white except for the one who ended up dragged or run over by a truck — allegedly, in the second case. McClelland, like Byrd, was black.
The broadest exposure to this previously seems to have been this story by Howard Witt in the Chicago Tribune three weeks ago. Witt had covered the Cotton story, filing this piece 19 months ago on her early release.
I’ve never been to Texas. It’s a big state and I’m sure there’s a lot to experience there. What I gather from afar is that 1) authorities are doing their level best to sweep Brandon McClelland’s death under the rug, and 2) racism was at play in the crime and is at play in the suppression of talk about it.
But Shannon Keith Finley and Charles Ryan Crostley have been charged with murder and jailed. By appearance at least the wheels of justice are turning.
The AP story I linked to in the opening paragraph plays up the conflict between the assertion of McClelland’s mother and others that his death resulted from “a racist attack” and prosecutors doubts about that characterization. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office calls comparisons with the Byrd case “preposterous.”
I’m not kidding.
Source:
http://varneer.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/brandon-mcclelland-and-hate-crime/
The District Attorney's office reports there is no evidence that this was a hate crime, but the victim's family and advocates from Paris, the county seat, and beyond, insist that it is indeed a hate crime and that prosecutors are either covering that up or are so insensitive to the issue that they are simply ignoring the fact that two white men killed a black man.
The district attorney and two of his assistants, the Paris city manager, local ministers, a co-chair of Paris' year-old Diversity Task Force, the president of the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce and the president and legal counsel of the Paris Chapter of the NAACP invited me to meet with them after I indicated on a blog that I was going to write about the situation.
Pike Burkhart, the chamber president, said the Shaquanda Cotton incident two years ago came as a surprise to many in the community. Ms. Cotton, a 14-year-old Paris High School student, was found delinquent in a jury trial on an assault charge for shoving a teacher's aide and was sent to the Texas Youth Commission. Many in the black community decried this as proof of bias, citing the case of a white teen who was given probation after burning down her family's home. Prosecutors insist they followed the law, but the case brought national media attention to Paris and most of it was negative.
Community advocates like Brenda Cherry and Creola Cotton, Shaquanda's mother, told me that white community leaders are in denial about racial problems. The whites point to the formation of the diversity task force and the city's finally finding funding for demolition of a dilapidated apartment block in a predominantly balck neighborhood as evidence of their good will.
A Houston-based blogger and an AP reporter have referred to Mr. McClelland's death as a "dragging death" and compared it to the murder of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper TX in 1998. They have suggested that, like two of the men convicted of that crime, Mr. Finley joined a white supremacist in prison, but that is almost certainly not the case.
Groups and bloggers from throughout the state and even out of state have been talking about the McClelland case and feelings are strong on both sides -- among people who feel it was a racist act that's being covered up and among others who claim that troublemakers are using it as an excuse to foment conflict.
In talking about race relations in Lamar County, the subject of the lynchings (especially one in 1920 that still resonates) almost always comes up, along with grievances about under-representaion of African-Americans in jobs at the courthouse and elsewhere. And then there is the Confederate statue. Black Parisians told me it casts a chill on them when they walk up to the courthouse and see that memorial to a past that they see as evil. White Parisians see it as a reminder to their history. The Confederate statue overshadows smaller stones raised in honor of the veterans of 20th century wars - WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
Source:
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/10/paris-texas-death-stirs-racial.html
Black man dragged to death in Texas
Ten years after James Byrd
Black man dragged to death in Texas
By Larry Hales
Published Oct 30, 2008 11:23 PM
Brandon McClelland’s dismembered body was found Sept. 16 in the middle of a Paris, Texas, road. Three days later, according to the young Black man’s mother, bits of his skull could still be found on the road where he died.
The 24-year-old man was killed by two white men, Shannon Keith Finley and Charles Ryan Crostley, who are alleged to have been friends of his. The white men ran Mr. McClelland down with their truck and dragged his body more than 40 feet.
According to the story of the two white men, they had an argument with McClelland after having driven across Texas/Oklahoma state lines to get beer. When Mr. McClelland got out of the car to walk home, the two white men ran him down with their truck, trapping and dragging his body in the undercarriage.
The murder is similar to the lynching of James Byrd Jr., who was tied to a truck by his ankles and dragged for miles by three white supremacists. That incident occurred in Jasper, Texas, on Sept. 16, 1998—10 years, to the day, of McClelland’s death. Jasper is about 200 miles south of Paris.
The lynching of Byrd sparked an international outcry and many protests. It thrust the New Black Panther Party into the spotlight, when the group announced a march through Jasper to defend the Black community there against a threatened march by white supremacists.
Paris authorities have asserted that the killing had nothing to do with race. Stacy McNeal, the Texas Ranger in charge of the investigation, said, “I don’t see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends.”
However, McClelland’s family, Black residents of the town and activists with the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam, the NAACP and the Millions More Movement believe differently.
The killing occurred around 4 a.m. on Sept. 16, and initially it was declared a hit and run. According to a Free Speech Radio report, authorities told the McClelland family that a gravel truck had killed Brandon. Crostley and Finley had tried to cover up the incident by washing the blood off their truck and hiding it from sight.
It appears to many that not only were Crostley and Finley trying to cover up their malicious act, but that local and state authorities want to hide the reality of life for the small Texas city’s Black inhabitants.
It wouldn’t take a lengthy search to uncover the racism that exists in Paris. In 2006, a 14-year-old young Black woman named Shaquanda Cotton was handed down a juvenile court sentence that could have led to her spending seven years in detention for pushing a hall monitor. Many juxtaposed Cotton’s sentence to that of a young white woman, whom the same judge sentenced to probation for burning down her family home.
McClelland’s family and activists will continue to fight for justice and that the men responsible for his death be charged with a hate crime.
Jacqueline McClelland, Brandon’s mother, was questioned by the district attorney’s office as to why she spoke with Jesse Muhammad, a writer for the Final Call, who broke the story. Ms. McClelland told Muhammad: “I have lost my son. What do I have to lose now? I am going to keep on pushing. I want justice.”
Articles copyright 1995-2008 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011Email: ww@workers.orgSubscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.netSupport independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php
Black man dragged to death in Texas
By Larry Hales
Published Oct 30, 2008 11:23 PM
Brandon McClelland’s dismembered body was found Sept. 16 in the middle of a Paris, Texas, road. Three days later, according to the young Black man’s mother, bits of his skull could still be found on the road where he died.
The 24-year-old man was killed by two white men, Shannon Keith Finley and Charles Ryan Crostley, who are alleged to have been friends of his. The white men ran Mr. McClelland down with their truck and dragged his body more than 40 feet.
According to the story of the two white men, they had an argument with McClelland after having driven across Texas/Oklahoma state lines to get beer. When Mr. McClelland got out of the car to walk home, the two white men ran him down with their truck, trapping and dragging his body in the undercarriage.
The murder is similar to the lynching of James Byrd Jr., who was tied to a truck by his ankles and dragged for miles by three white supremacists. That incident occurred in Jasper, Texas, on Sept. 16, 1998—10 years, to the day, of McClelland’s death. Jasper is about 200 miles south of Paris.
The lynching of Byrd sparked an international outcry and many protests. It thrust the New Black Panther Party into the spotlight, when the group announced a march through Jasper to defend the Black community there against a threatened march by white supremacists.
Paris authorities have asserted that the killing had nothing to do with race. Stacy McNeal, the Texas Ranger in charge of the investigation, said, “I don’t see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends.”
However, McClelland’s family, Black residents of the town and activists with the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam, the NAACP and the Millions More Movement believe differently.
The killing occurred around 4 a.m. on Sept. 16, and initially it was declared a hit and run. According to a Free Speech Radio report, authorities told the McClelland family that a gravel truck had killed Brandon. Crostley and Finley had tried to cover up the incident by washing the blood off their truck and hiding it from sight.
It appears to many that not only were Crostley and Finley trying to cover up their malicious act, but that local and state authorities want to hide the reality of life for the small Texas city’s Black inhabitants.
It wouldn’t take a lengthy search to uncover the racism that exists in Paris. In 2006, a 14-year-old young Black woman named Shaquanda Cotton was handed down a juvenile court sentence that could have led to her spending seven years in detention for pushing a hall monitor. Many juxtaposed Cotton’s sentence to that of a young white woman, whom the same judge sentenced to probation for burning down her family home.
McClelland’s family and activists will continue to fight for justice and that the men responsible for his death be charged with a hate crime.
Jacqueline McClelland, Brandon’s mother, was questioned by the district attorney’s office as to why she spoke with Jesse Muhammad, a writer for the Final Call, who broke the story. Ms. McClelland told Muhammad: “I have lost my son. What do I have to lose now? I am going to keep on pushing. I want justice.”
Articles copyright 1995-2008 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011Email: ww@workers.orgSubscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.netSupport independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php
Family alleges Jasper-style dragging in Paris, Texas
Family alleges Jasper-style dragging in Paris, Texas
By Jesse MuhammadSpecial to the NNPA from the Final Call
PARIS, Texas (NNPA)—When the body of a 24-year-old black man in Paris, Texas was discovered in the middle of a busy road, law enforcement declared the case a hit and run by an unidentified driver.
Now this small racially-divided town’s worst fears are brewing, with evidence pointing towards two white men who picked up Brandon Clelland in their Dodge truck before he was found mutilated and dismembered in September.
Forensics performed by the Texas Rangers found blood from McClelland and other DNA evidence on the undercarriage of the truck which has the victim’s family calling the death a “Jasper-style” dragging. The term is a reference to the murder of a black man in Jasper, Texas in 1998.
“The tied my son to that truck and drugged him until his body parts were detached,” said Jacqueline McClelland, the victim’s mother in an interview with The Final Call. “His body was so destroyed that it could not even be embalmed by the funeral home. This is a hate crime. I don’t want the death penalty for these killers because that would be too quick. I want them to suffer for life in jail without parole since I will never have my son back.”
The Lamar County District Attorney has decided race is not a factor in the death of McClelland because he was friends with alleged assailants Shannon Finley and Charles Ryan Crostley. Both men are 27-years-old.
Angry family members and community activists, however, are demanding a thorough investigation into a possible hate crime they say parallels the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, which is several hours south of Paris.
In 1998, Byrd was strapped to a pickup truck and dragged to death by three white supremacists eventually convicted of murder. The case spurred massive protests and drew international outcry Paris authorities are trying to stunt, but may have a hard time avoiding.
According to a police report, Mc- Clelland was walking in front of the pickup a little after 4 a.m. on Sept. 16 when Finley and Crostley allegedly ran him down and dragged him up and down a Lamar County road until his disfigured body popped out from beneath the chassis.
“I don’t see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends,” said Stacy McNeal to the local press.
McNeal is the Texas Ranger who is leading the investigation.
“This was not a hit and run. They (Finley’s family) hid the truck and even tried to wash the blood off. The police didn’t even tape off the crime scene and some of my son’s body parts were still lying out there,” said Jacqueline McClelland, as she wiped away tears. “If that would have been a white person killed they would have handled this immediately. This is just like Jasper.”
McClelland added that her family was forced to have the funeral quickly due to pressure applied to the funeral home director. The family wanted to delay the funeral to allow for more investigation, she said.
“He (the funeral director) was told by the police to hurry up and put the body in the ground because they didn’t want any trouble coming to this town,” said McClelland. “They took the life of my only son.”
“I was awakened by our dog barking around 4:25 a.m. but I couldn’t see what occurred because our camper trailer was blocking my view from my back porch. I wish I could have seen more,” said Bobbi Baker.
Baker, who is white, lives with her husband and son a few feet from the crime scene.
“We think this is horrible,” said Jim Baker, who added that eight law enforcement officers live nearby so “things like this hardly happen over here and this was sad.”
Crostley was arrested and is being held in the Lamar County Jail with a bail exceeding $500,000. Finley has waived his right to extradition from Wichita, Kan., where he was arrested. Both men are charged with murder and tampering with evidence.
In 2003, Lamar County D.A. Gary Young served as Finley’s court-appointed defense attorney when Finley pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting a friend to death.
The victim in the Finley manslaughter case was white and Finely told police he was sitting in a truck with his friend when two black men tried to rob them. Finley said he fired at the robbers but accidentally shot his friend.
An autopsy determined the victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, but the district attorney at the time accepted Finley’s story that the shooting was an accident. He was offered a plea bargain on a reduced manslaughter charge and eventually served a little over a year of a four-year prison sentence. The alleged robbers were never found.
Ironically, McClelland falsely testified before a grand jury that Finley was with him at the time of the shooting. For lying under oath, McClelland was convicted of aggravated perjury and served more than two years in prison.
Members of the New Black Panther Party, Houston Millions More Movement and the Nation of Islam conducted a fact finding mission in Paris on Oct. 5 to comfort the grieving family, interview witnesses and plan a massive town hall meeting at the end of the month.
“We want justice for this family and we want these two criminals prosecuted to the fullness of the law,” said Krystal Muhammad of the New Black Panther Party. “We will be monitoring this case closely.”
New Black Panther Party members met with District Attorney Young Oct. 6 and held a press conference downtown.
“We are asking for an outside agency to come in and ensure that justice is served,” said party member Derrick Brown.
“This is a hate crime,” said Paris activist Brenda Cherry to The Final Call. She has been working with the McClelland family. “This is just like Jasper all over again.”
“This killing does not surprise me and it bears witness to the racism that still exists in Paris and other towns,” Creola Cotton told The Final Call.
Cotton knows firsthand about Paris’ racial disparities. Last year, her then 14-year-old black daughter, Shaquanda Cotton, was sentenced by a local judge to up to seven years in detention for shoving a hall monitor at her high school. Just three months earlier, the same judge sentenced a 14- year-old white girl to probation after convicting her of torching her family’s house. The case drew national attention and resulted in Shaquanda’s early release.
“Recently after nooses started popping up everywhere, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan warned us that these type of hate filled activities would increase,” said Deric Muhammad of the Millions More Movement, who visited the victim’s family and the crime scene. “That crime scene looked like the aftermath of a bloody lynching. If this is not a hate crime, I don’t know what is.”
Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.
Source:
http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=4540
By Jesse MuhammadSpecial to the NNPA from the Final Call
PARIS, Texas (NNPA)—When the body of a 24-year-old black man in Paris, Texas was discovered in the middle of a busy road, law enforcement declared the case a hit and run by an unidentified driver.
Now this small racially-divided town’s worst fears are brewing, with evidence pointing towards two white men who picked up Brandon Clelland in their Dodge truck before he was found mutilated and dismembered in September.
Forensics performed by the Texas Rangers found blood from McClelland and other DNA evidence on the undercarriage of the truck which has the victim’s family calling the death a “Jasper-style” dragging. The term is a reference to the murder of a black man in Jasper, Texas in 1998.
“The tied my son to that truck and drugged him until his body parts were detached,” said Jacqueline McClelland, the victim’s mother in an interview with The Final Call. “His body was so destroyed that it could not even be embalmed by the funeral home. This is a hate crime. I don’t want the death penalty for these killers because that would be too quick. I want them to suffer for life in jail without parole since I will never have my son back.”
The Lamar County District Attorney has decided race is not a factor in the death of McClelland because he was friends with alleged assailants Shannon Finley and Charles Ryan Crostley. Both men are 27-years-old.
Angry family members and community activists, however, are demanding a thorough investigation into a possible hate crime they say parallels the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, which is several hours south of Paris.
In 1998, Byrd was strapped to a pickup truck and dragged to death by three white supremacists eventually convicted of murder. The case spurred massive protests and drew international outcry Paris authorities are trying to stunt, but may have a hard time avoiding.
According to a police report, Mc- Clelland was walking in front of the pickup a little after 4 a.m. on Sept. 16 when Finley and Crostley allegedly ran him down and dragged him up and down a Lamar County road until his disfigured body popped out from beneath the chassis.
“I don’t see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends,” said Stacy McNeal to the local press.
McNeal is the Texas Ranger who is leading the investigation.
“This was not a hit and run. They (Finley’s family) hid the truck and even tried to wash the blood off. The police didn’t even tape off the crime scene and some of my son’s body parts were still lying out there,” said Jacqueline McClelland, as she wiped away tears. “If that would have been a white person killed they would have handled this immediately. This is just like Jasper.”
McClelland added that her family was forced to have the funeral quickly due to pressure applied to the funeral home director. The family wanted to delay the funeral to allow for more investigation, she said.
“He (the funeral director) was told by the police to hurry up and put the body in the ground because they didn’t want any trouble coming to this town,” said McClelland. “They took the life of my only son.”
“I was awakened by our dog barking around 4:25 a.m. but I couldn’t see what occurred because our camper trailer was blocking my view from my back porch. I wish I could have seen more,” said Bobbi Baker.
Baker, who is white, lives with her husband and son a few feet from the crime scene.
“We think this is horrible,” said Jim Baker, who added that eight law enforcement officers live nearby so “things like this hardly happen over here and this was sad.”
Crostley was arrested and is being held in the Lamar County Jail with a bail exceeding $500,000. Finley has waived his right to extradition from Wichita, Kan., where he was arrested. Both men are charged with murder and tampering with evidence.
In 2003, Lamar County D.A. Gary Young served as Finley’s court-appointed defense attorney when Finley pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting a friend to death.
The victim in the Finley manslaughter case was white and Finely told police he was sitting in a truck with his friend when two black men tried to rob them. Finley said he fired at the robbers but accidentally shot his friend.
An autopsy determined the victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, but the district attorney at the time accepted Finley’s story that the shooting was an accident. He was offered a plea bargain on a reduced manslaughter charge and eventually served a little over a year of a four-year prison sentence. The alleged robbers were never found.
Ironically, McClelland falsely testified before a grand jury that Finley was with him at the time of the shooting. For lying under oath, McClelland was convicted of aggravated perjury and served more than two years in prison.
Members of the New Black Panther Party, Houston Millions More Movement and the Nation of Islam conducted a fact finding mission in Paris on Oct. 5 to comfort the grieving family, interview witnesses and plan a massive town hall meeting at the end of the month.
“We want justice for this family and we want these two criminals prosecuted to the fullness of the law,” said Krystal Muhammad of the New Black Panther Party. “We will be monitoring this case closely.”
New Black Panther Party members met with District Attorney Young Oct. 6 and held a press conference downtown.
“We are asking for an outside agency to come in and ensure that justice is served,” said party member Derrick Brown.
“This is a hate crime,” said Paris activist Brenda Cherry to The Final Call. She has been working with the McClelland family. “This is just like Jasper all over again.”
“This killing does not surprise me and it bears witness to the racism that still exists in Paris and other towns,” Creola Cotton told The Final Call.
Cotton knows firsthand about Paris’ racial disparities. Last year, her then 14-year-old black daughter, Shaquanda Cotton, was sentenced by a local judge to up to seven years in detention for shoving a hall monitor at her high school. Just three months earlier, the same judge sentenced a 14- year-old white girl to probation after convicting her of torching her family’s house. The case drew national attention and resulted in Shaquanda’s early release.
“Recently after nooses started popping up everywhere, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan warned us that these type of hate filled activities would increase,” said Deric Muhammad of the Millions More Movement, who visited the victim’s family and the crime scene. “That crime scene looked like the aftermath of a bloody lynching. If this is not a hate crime, I don’t know what is.”
Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.
Source:
http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=4540
Bangkok protesters adopt witchcraft to topple Thai government
Bangkok protesters adopt witchcraft to topple Thai government
Anti-government protesters in Bangkok have resorted to sorcery and black magic in their campaign to topple the elected administration.
By Thomas Bell in Bangkok Last Updated: 11:26AM GMT 10 Nov 2008
Many Thais are shocked by some highly controversial magical practices.
Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the leaders of the group which is illegally occupying the seat of Thai government, claimed in a recent televised speech that a wicked wizard has blocked the protective power of some of Bangkok's holiest sites.
Mr Sondhi and his so called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) claim that they are protecting Thailand and its monarchy from allegedly corrupt democratic politicians.
The technique Mr Sonhi used to break the alleged spell sounds extreme.
He described how his own magicians removed six imaginary nails that had been placed around a towering royal statue in the city centre to block its power.
"I must thank the women of the PAD," he continued, "because after [the imaginary nails] were pulled out, to ensure they could not be replaced, they took sanitary napkins from menstruating women and placed them over the six points.
"Experts said the (evil wizards) were furious because they could not send their spirits back," Mr Sondhi boasted, "Their magic was rendered ineffective!"
In Thai superstition women's sexuality, and especially menstrual blood, is believed to have great destructive power.
"People who don't like the PAD will think they have lost it and gone quite mad," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist. But he added, "A lot of Thai people believe in this."
The PAD has occupied Government house since August, demanding the government step down. Last month Queen Sirikit, wife of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol gave the movement her public support.
Critics say that the PAD aims to disenfranchise the majority or poor voters whose power at the ballot box threatens the old elite.
This week Mr Sondhi denied that he believes in black magic. Dressed in white and sprinkling Government House with holy water he told the Bangkok Post, "The rituals I performed are paying homage to sacred spirits and my respected teachers."
Dr Thitinan said the magic is designed to appeal emotionally to supporters. "It's manipulation, it's spin, it's some genuine belief," he said. "Going around sprinkling holy water means things are not going your way, you want to chase the demons away."
Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/3415789/Bangkok-protesters-adopt-witchcraft-to-topple-Thai-government.html
Anti-government protesters in Bangkok have resorted to sorcery and black magic in their campaign to topple the elected administration.
By Thomas Bell in Bangkok Last Updated: 11:26AM GMT 10 Nov 2008
Many Thais are shocked by some highly controversial magical practices.
Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the leaders of the group which is illegally occupying the seat of Thai government, claimed in a recent televised speech that a wicked wizard has blocked the protective power of some of Bangkok's holiest sites.
Mr Sondhi and his so called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) claim that they are protecting Thailand and its monarchy from allegedly corrupt democratic politicians.
The technique Mr Sonhi used to break the alleged spell sounds extreme.
He described how his own magicians removed six imaginary nails that had been placed around a towering royal statue in the city centre to block its power.
"I must thank the women of the PAD," he continued, "because after [the imaginary nails] were pulled out, to ensure they could not be replaced, they took sanitary napkins from menstruating women and placed them over the six points.
"Experts said the (evil wizards) were furious because they could not send their spirits back," Mr Sondhi boasted, "Their magic was rendered ineffective!"
In Thai superstition women's sexuality, and especially menstrual blood, is believed to have great destructive power.
"People who don't like the PAD will think they have lost it and gone quite mad," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist. But he added, "A lot of Thai people believe in this."
The PAD has occupied Government house since August, demanding the government step down. Last month Queen Sirikit, wife of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol gave the movement her public support.
Critics say that the PAD aims to disenfranchise the majority or poor voters whose power at the ballot box threatens the old elite.
This week Mr Sondhi denied that he believes in black magic. Dressed in white and sprinkling Government House with holy water he told the Bangkok Post, "The rituals I performed are paying homage to sacred spirits and my respected teachers."
Dr Thitinan said the magic is designed to appeal emotionally to supporters. "It's manipulation, it's spin, it's some genuine belief," he said. "Going around sprinkling holy water means things are not going your way, you want to chase the demons away."
Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/3415789/Bangkok-protesters-adopt-witchcraft-to-topple-Thai-government.html
Angry Witches and Wizards Confront Governor Akpabio
Angry Witches and Wizards Confront Governor Akpabio
By Taju Tijani
Unpleasant, distasteful, disgraceful, annoying and haunting. These are the ready adjectival qualifiers for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme titled “Saving Africa’s Witch Children”, shown on Wednesday 12 November, 2008. The producers were sadistically deadpan in their engagement with the viewers’ repulsive emotion. It is a case of going for the jugular of our humanity to see how loud we could scream with our conscience. My conscience screamed along with other UK based Nigerians whose evening was shattered when the camera began to document another evil variant of our collective bastardy.
A paralysing Pandora box of Nigeria’s unbroken epic of the tale of the unexpected was thrown rudely across our living rooms. It was a grand spoiler. The menu was more of appetite suppressant than the rich delicacy of Akwa Ibom edikaikong. An exuberant, energetic, white foreigner who played the role of a messiah-redeemer was seen combing the creeks of Akwa Ibom State buying our children like chattel of slavery re-enactment. Gary Foxcroft, 29, of the charity body, Stepping Stones Nigeria, is the new reincarnated Bob Geldof. Foxcroft is championing a cause to emancipate Nigerian witch children from the hands of deadly, psychotic, machete-wielding witch and wizard hunters in the villages and towns of Akwa Ibom State.
Among Africa’s shackling demons, witchcraft is the most fearsome. It is in our existence, folklore and our everyday conversation. Every African has one closet witch in his family, I must say, until the day of confession-to- deliverance. Families have been ruined and marriages destroyed when witchcraft grenades are lobbed as weapons of warfare in our society. I am sure we all know one man, woman, relation, neighbour or friend whose life has been emptied of meaning either as a victim of a sustained witchcraft attacks or a card carrying coven attendee.
Gary Foxcroft, a young Englishman, is leading the dance for a new crusade to return sanity back to the people of Akwa Ibom whose confusing blinker has led to senseless beating, detention, starvation, mutilation, rejection and horrid murder of innocent children branded as witches and wizards. Bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya, a murderer and an ignoble village jester who doubles as exorcist and deliverer estimated that among Akwa Ibomites, 2.3million of its humanity morph nightly into birds of terror leaving their victims barren, unemployed, deaf, dumb, pauperised, ill, maimed and disorientated. And those of them whose teeth are like graders enjoy nightly feast on human kidneys, heart and flesh.
Ulup-Aya charges N400, 000 to perform bloody exorcism on children who have been initiated into witchcraft. His magic alchemy is the fusion of traditional medicine with Biblical sophistry. He gave it a chic name: poison destroyer. This tool of deceit has made our village urchin rich, influential and sought after as the Grand Exorcist of the Ibomite Witchcraft Order. He even boasted that he had killed 110 of the little angels branded as possessing wicked powers. A murderous bishop, you might say.
As the programme progresses in its relentless portrayal of Nigeria’s Pentecostal bestiality, Gary Foxcroft, a lone white face in a sea of blackness stretched forth his comforting hands to the dazed, dehumanised and despoiled witch children. These children, many of them bedraggled, burdened and betrothed to the waiting embrace of death, rallied round to their white messiah to bring to a glorifying life, Christ call to the weary and burdened in Matthew 11v 28-30.
Foxcroft is a capable hand. There is compulsive passion in his method which is vehemently set against the evil beliefs and barbaric practices of the people of Akwa Ibom. He is also a witness to evil. He has seen the evil of adulterated Christianity that fuses Africanised custom into the sacrament of Christ. There is a sacrilegious greed when the teaching of Jesus Christ- the diluted variant- becomes a convenient cover to exploit, extort and exert irresponsible power on abandoned, ostracised and traumatised minors falsely accused as coven conveners.
Who best typifies this exemplar of Pentecostal exploitation and greed than the self-styled Prophetess Helen Ukpabio of the Liberty Gospel Church? Akpabiosis has led to the resurgence of witch hunting on a massive scale in Akwa Ibom. Ukpabio, rich, vocal, witch hunter and businesswoman preys on innocent children. Going by the amount of videos and DVD she has made, she is a Christian Industrialist. She has created an industry of fear, where, a macabre but thriving genre of flesh tingling, horror-laden, ghoulish and blood suckling drama on the inner secrets of witchcraft are given celluloid reality. Her film, “End of The Wicked” is so unrelenting in its gory details of flesh eating witches that it sails close to screen overkill.
The media feast on the insane criminality of Akwa Ibom and its sordid maltreatment of little witch children is bringing about a moral catharsis among its famous sons. The Divisional Police Officer, Mr Esit Eket said that most of the locals are afraid to give evidence and serve as witness in cases of prosecutable offences. Chief Victor Ikot, the local traditional ruler calibrated anger and rained curses on the pastors who are exploiting the poverty and ignorance of his subjects. Meanwhile, not a single pastor has been convicted for falsely accusing gullible children as witches and wizards. Aposle Dr. Cletus Bassey, the zonal President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, defended the church but denounced Upkabio for creating a cloud of witchcraft fear through her films.
Then the State House invasion. Gary Foxcroft is an activist messiah and a grass root mobiliser. After cleaning his flock of ‘witches and wizards’ and turning them into shinning emerald, he has to take them to a kingly feast with the State Governor, Godswill Akpabio. Any Daily Monitor would have captioned the invasion as “Angry Witches and Wizards Confront Governor”. Mary, a 5 year old malnourished, ebony beauty, embattled and abandoned to Foxcroft led the baying witches and wizards on a long, craggy march to present their freedom chatter to the Governor. Foxcroft cuddled a 3 month’s old abandoned girl in his bosom all through the epochal event.
Foxcroft reminded me of Moses, the deliverer, as he led the children of Israel from servitude to triumphal grace. Confidently and regardless of the governmental pincers on the way, he led his singing hordes of witches and wizards to the fortified palace of Governor Akpabio. Then and then, a white foreigner’s humanity challenged African’s. Then my tears flowed freely. Mary, holding high her banner, “We are not witches or wizards” locked gaze with God Akpabio on his Mount Olympia. Foxcroft, lapping the moment with humble pride, yes an oxymoron, kissed the little angel on his chest, as he watched and compared the absurdity of two Nigerians. Akpabio is a scion of Nigerians who are God, lordly, rich, aloof and powerful. Mary and the little witches and wizards are the other Nigerians who are despised, denied, denounced, detained and dehumanised.
God Akpabio’s, nay, African humanity shrivelled in shame. Foxcroft, an immigrant from a distant shore cuddled, caressed, nursed and laughed with his burdened ‘witches and wizards’ under the burning African sun while God Akpabio, surrounded by his aides, mumbled a belated promise and evaporated into his marble palace. He did not, for the timeless connection of grace between him and the kids touched nor smiled to any of the ‘children witches and wizards’ he was voted to look after.
What is going on in Akwa Ibom outraged my Christianity. I become a converted Christian in 1999 without any delusion that the faith has been massively infiltrated by anti-Christ masquerading as angels of light. Regardless of the sustained assaults against the cross of Christ, I remain unshakeable and deeply committed to a faith that has given me redemption from the pit of darkness. Hallelujah!!! At last, I can laugh with malnourished Mary who had never known laughter until meeting Gary Foxcroft. A baby doll did it for her
Taju Tijani contributes articles to NigerianMuse.
Source:
http://www.nigerianmuse.com/20081117063855zg/articles/angry-witches-and-wizards-confront-governor-akpabio
By Taju Tijani
Unpleasant, distasteful, disgraceful, annoying and haunting. These are the ready adjectival qualifiers for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme titled “Saving Africa’s Witch Children”, shown on Wednesday 12 November, 2008. The producers were sadistically deadpan in their engagement with the viewers’ repulsive emotion. It is a case of going for the jugular of our humanity to see how loud we could scream with our conscience. My conscience screamed along with other UK based Nigerians whose evening was shattered when the camera began to document another evil variant of our collective bastardy.
A paralysing Pandora box of Nigeria’s unbroken epic of the tale of the unexpected was thrown rudely across our living rooms. It was a grand spoiler. The menu was more of appetite suppressant than the rich delicacy of Akwa Ibom edikaikong. An exuberant, energetic, white foreigner who played the role of a messiah-redeemer was seen combing the creeks of Akwa Ibom State buying our children like chattel of slavery re-enactment. Gary Foxcroft, 29, of the charity body, Stepping Stones Nigeria, is the new reincarnated Bob Geldof. Foxcroft is championing a cause to emancipate Nigerian witch children from the hands of deadly, psychotic, machete-wielding witch and wizard hunters in the villages and towns of Akwa Ibom State.
Among Africa’s shackling demons, witchcraft is the most fearsome. It is in our existence, folklore and our everyday conversation. Every African has one closet witch in his family, I must say, until the day of confession-to- deliverance. Families have been ruined and marriages destroyed when witchcraft grenades are lobbed as weapons of warfare in our society. I am sure we all know one man, woman, relation, neighbour or friend whose life has been emptied of meaning either as a victim of a sustained witchcraft attacks or a card carrying coven attendee.
Gary Foxcroft, a young Englishman, is leading the dance for a new crusade to return sanity back to the people of Akwa Ibom whose confusing blinker has led to senseless beating, detention, starvation, mutilation, rejection and horrid murder of innocent children branded as witches and wizards. Bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya, a murderer and an ignoble village jester who doubles as exorcist and deliverer estimated that among Akwa Ibomites, 2.3million of its humanity morph nightly into birds of terror leaving their victims barren, unemployed, deaf, dumb, pauperised, ill, maimed and disorientated. And those of them whose teeth are like graders enjoy nightly feast on human kidneys, heart and flesh.
Ulup-Aya charges N400, 000 to perform bloody exorcism on children who have been initiated into witchcraft. His magic alchemy is the fusion of traditional medicine with Biblical sophistry. He gave it a chic name: poison destroyer. This tool of deceit has made our village urchin rich, influential and sought after as the Grand Exorcist of the Ibomite Witchcraft Order. He even boasted that he had killed 110 of the little angels branded as possessing wicked powers. A murderous bishop, you might say.
As the programme progresses in its relentless portrayal of Nigeria’s Pentecostal bestiality, Gary Foxcroft, a lone white face in a sea of blackness stretched forth his comforting hands to the dazed, dehumanised and despoiled witch children. These children, many of them bedraggled, burdened and betrothed to the waiting embrace of death, rallied round to their white messiah to bring to a glorifying life, Christ call to the weary and burdened in Matthew 11v 28-30.
Foxcroft is a capable hand. There is compulsive passion in his method which is vehemently set against the evil beliefs and barbaric practices of the people of Akwa Ibom. He is also a witness to evil. He has seen the evil of adulterated Christianity that fuses Africanised custom into the sacrament of Christ. There is a sacrilegious greed when the teaching of Jesus Christ- the diluted variant- becomes a convenient cover to exploit, extort and exert irresponsible power on abandoned, ostracised and traumatised minors falsely accused as coven conveners.
Who best typifies this exemplar of Pentecostal exploitation and greed than the self-styled Prophetess Helen Ukpabio of the Liberty Gospel Church? Akpabiosis has led to the resurgence of witch hunting on a massive scale in Akwa Ibom. Ukpabio, rich, vocal, witch hunter and businesswoman preys on innocent children. Going by the amount of videos and DVD she has made, she is a Christian Industrialist. She has created an industry of fear, where, a macabre but thriving genre of flesh tingling, horror-laden, ghoulish and blood suckling drama on the inner secrets of witchcraft are given celluloid reality. Her film, “End of The Wicked” is so unrelenting in its gory details of flesh eating witches that it sails close to screen overkill.
The media feast on the insane criminality of Akwa Ibom and its sordid maltreatment of little witch children is bringing about a moral catharsis among its famous sons. The Divisional Police Officer, Mr Esit Eket said that most of the locals are afraid to give evidence and serve as witness in cases of prosecutable offences. Chief Victor Ikot, the local traditional ruler calibrated anger and rained curses on the pastors who are exploiting the poverty and ignorance of his subjects. Meanwhile, not a single pastor has been convicted for falsely accusing gullible children as witches and wizards. Aposle Dr. Cletus Bassey, the zonal President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, defended the church but denounced Upkabio for creating a cloud of witchcraft fear through her films.
Then the State House invasion. Gary Foxcroft is an activist messiah and a grass root mobiliser. After cleaning his flock of ‘witches and wizards’ and turning them into shinning emerald, he has to take them to a kingly feast with the State Governor, Godswill Akpabio. Any Daily Monitor would have captioned the invasion as “Angry Witches and Wizards Confront Governor”. Mary, a 5 year old malnourished, ebony beauty, embattled and abandoned to Foxcroft led the baying witches and wizards on a long, craggy march to present their freedom chatter to the Governor. Foxcroft cuddled a 3 month’s old abandoned girl in his bosom all through the epochal event.
Foxcroft reminded me of Moses, the deliverer, as he led the children of Israel from servitude to triumphal grace. Confidently and regardless of the governmental pincers on the way, he led his singing hordes of witches and wizards to the fortified palace of Governor Akpabio. Then and then, a white foreigner’s humanity challenged African’s. Then my tears flowed freely. Mary, holding high her banner, “We are not witches or wizards” locked gaze with God Akpabio on his Mount Olympia. Foxcroft, lapping the moment with humble pride, yes an oxymoron, kissed the little angel on his chest, as he watched and compared the absurdity of two Nigerians. Akpabio is a scion of Nigerians who are God, lordly, rich, aloof and powerful. Mary and the little witches and wizards are the other Nigerians who are despised, denied, denounced, detained and dehumanised.
God Akpabio’s, nay, African humanity shrivelled in shame. Foxcroft, an immigrant from a distant shore cuddled, caressed, nursed and laughed with his burdened ‘witches and wizards’ under the burning African sun while God Akpabio, surrounded by his aides, mumbled a belated promise and evaporated into his marble palace. He did not, for the timeless connection of grace between him and the kids touched nor smiled to any of the ‘children witches and wizards’ he was voted to look after.
What is going on in Akwa Ibom outraged my Christianity. I become a converted Christian in 1999 without any delusion that the faith has been massively infiltrated by anti-Christ masquerading as angels of light. Regardless of the sustained assaults against the cross of Christ, I remain unshakeable and deeply committed to a faith that has given me redemption from the pit of darkness. Hallelujah!!! At last, I can laugh with malnourished Mary who had never known laughter until meeting Gary Foxcroft. A baby doll did it for her
Taju Tijani contributes articles to NigerianMuse.
Source:
http://www.nigerianmuse.com/20081117063855zg/articles/angry-witches-and-wizards-confront-governor-akpabio
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