National

Group Seeks New Grand Jury in Ferguson Police Shooting Case

Published

10 years ago

January 7, 2015

In this Nov. 24, 2014 photo, a protestor poses for a “hands up” photo in front of a burning building on West Florissant Ave. in Ferguson, Mo. Hands Up, Dont Shoot has become a rallying cry despite questions whether Michael Brown’s hands were raised in surrender before being fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christian Gooden, File)

JIM SALTER, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund, citing “grave legal concerns,” is asking a Missouri judge to convene a new grand jury to consider charges against the Ferguson police officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The letter submitted Monday to St. Louis County Circuit Judge Maura McShane also asks for a special prosecutor to oversee the case and an investigation of the grand jury proceedings that ended in November with a decision not to charge Officer Darren Wilson.

Lawyers and other experts who analyzed grand jury transcripts for the fund raised concerns about the decision to allow a witness to provide false testimony, erroneous legal instructions to grand jurors, and “preferential treatment of Mr. Wilson by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, the fund’s president.

Wilson, who is white, fatally shot Brown, who was black and unarmed, on Aug. 9 in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. The shooting led to sometimes-violent protests that escalated again on Nov. 24 after McCulloch announced the grand jury decision.

Ed Magee, a spokesman for St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch, declined to comment Tuesday. Messages were left with Wilson’s attorney and the clerk for McShane.

Nine white and three black jurors heard more than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witnesses.

McCulloch said he assigned prosecutors in his office to present evidence, rather than doing it himself, because he was aware of “unfounded but growing concern that the investigation might not be fair.” McCulloch’s father was a police officer killed by a black suspect. He did not recuse himself from the investigation despite some calls for him to do so.

In December, state Rep. Karla May, a St. Louis Democrat, called for an investigation of McCulloch after he said in an interview on KTRS Radio that some witnesses obviously lied to the grand jury.

He cited a woman who claimed to have seen the shooting but “clearly wasn’t present. She recounted a story right out of the newspaper” that backed up Wilson’s version of events, he told the radio station.

Allowing such false testimony “fatally compromises the fair administration of justice,” the fund wrote to the judge.

But Ric Simmons, a professor at The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, said allowing witnesses to testify unfiltered may have simply been part of McCulloch’s effort to stay neutral. Grand jurors usually hear a shorter recounting of evidence that might be presented at trial, but the Ferguson grand jury heard more extensive testimony.

“I think charitably their reason for bringing in all the evidence was so they could say, ‘Look, we showed the grand jury everything, and let them make their own decision,'” Simmons said.

The fund also cited concern about faulty legal instructions initially given by assistant prosecutors. The information was later corrected, but jurors could have been confused, the fund said.

Also Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson in St. Louis extended for 45 days a temporary restraining order requiring Missouri police to give protesters the chance to disperse before tear gas is deployed. Attorneys for law enforcement agencies and protesters who are suing them said they were in settlement negotiations.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

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By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”