"I've worked at the funeral home. I saw Billey Joe's wounds. And that wasn't an accident," said Chadrick Jack
Chadrick Jack, sports manager for the school district and the funeral home director who handled Johnson's arrangements, said he was disappointed in the ruling. He said Johnson's wound looked like it was made by a smaller weapon because a shotgun would have done more damage.
A star Mississippi high school football player accidentally shot and killed himself with his shotgun after he was pulled over during a traffic stop, a grand jury ruled Thursday.
Billey Joe Johnson, 17, a junior at southern Mississippi's George County High School, died of a wound to the left side of his head on Dec. 8 after a deputy pulled him over for running a red light. After an initial investigation, authorities said the wound had been self-inflicted.
The 16-member grand jury listened to 30 witnesses and looked at forensic evidence to try to determine whether it was an accident, suicide or even a possible slaying.
It concluded that no evidence, including DNA, indicated the deputy who pulled Johnson over had fired the shotgun and said no other people were involved in the shooting.
"The grand jury finds ... that Deputy Joe Sullivan was in his patrol car at the time of Billey Joe Johnson Jr.'s death," the ruling said.
The mystery surrounding the death has inflamed suspicion, with Johnson's family and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People rejecting any notion that the black teen committed suicide. They said the talented running back, once clocked at 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had too much to live for, including a chance of playing in college and maybe the NFL.
His mother, Annette Johnson, said the 16-member grand jury's conclusion is wrong.
"I ain't buying that," she said, surrounded by supporters at the George County Circuit Courthouse. "We are going further and we are going higher."
Johnson family attorney Jerome Carter said he was glad the grand jury did not rule the teen's death was a suicide but still had concerns and that he would continue his own investigation.
The grand jury report said Sullivan, who is white, had gunpowder residue on his hands but concluded it came from him handling his service revolver the morning of the shooting. Based on the lack of Johnson's blood on Sullivan's clothes and eyewitness reports, the jury concluded the deputy could not have shot the athlete.
Johnson's hands also tested positive for gunpowder residue and there were no other injuries on his body, according to the report by the grand jury, made up of 14 white and two black members. The report did not detail how Johnson accidentally discharged the gun that had about a 28-inch barrel, which he had with him because he had planned to go hunting.
George County Sheriff Garry Welford said Thursday that his department's investigation found that after Sullivan took the teen's license and went back to his patrol car to check it, Johnson squatted down to move the shotgun from underneath the seat of his truck. He grabbed the barrel and the gun went off, said Welford, who did not know why the teen was trying to move the gun.
By the time other officers arrived, Johnson was lying on the ground outside of the driver's side door with a shotgun on top of him, the barrel pointing toward his head, police have said. The grand jury report said the safety was off and one spent round was in the chamber.
The Johnson family's attorney Carter said he hoped his team will be allowed to soon review the autopsy and other evidence.
"I'm very concerned with Detective Sullivan testing having gunshot residue on both of his hands having just logged in being on duty," Carter said.
The NAACP said it would submit its evidence to the U.S. Justice Department and ask for a federal probe
George County District Attorney Tony Lawrence said "It's a tragic accident, and I know it's hard for some people to accept that,"
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Are black men the most HATED in America?
DO YOU KNOW WHY THERE ARE MORE BLACK MEN IN JAIL THAN ANYONE ELSE?
IT'S NOT BECAUSE THEY COMMIT MORE CRIMES!
The racists among us, blatant and closeted, will be quick to attribute the imprisonment disparity to the misguided belief that blacks are inherently prone to criminality. I've seen no valid studies supporting that view. Blacks are disproportionately targeted, stopped, arrested, prosecuted, sentenced to long mandatory prison terms and executed. A study by the California Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts found that the justice system gives little attention or resources to investigating crimes against minorities and that minority defendants receive harsh treatment compared to white defendants in similar circumstances.
The study also found that black-on-black crime or Latino-on-Latino crime is not taken as seriously as crimes against whites. Judges seem to believe that violence is more "acceptable" to black women because they are viewed as coming from violent communities. A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project, which tracks the demographics of who in our society goes to prison and for what kinds of crimes, found that black men are going to jail in record numbers due to a surge in arrests for non-violent drug offenses.
The Sentencing Project also found that in 1993, 88% of those sentenced federally for crack cocaine distribution were black, while only 4.1% of the defendants were white. This, while there are studies showing that a majority of the nation's reported crack cocaine users are white. federal sentencing guidelines impose a five year minimum sentence if one is convicted of selling five grams of crack, yet the sale of an equal amount of powder cocaine yields only a one year sentence. Crack defendants tend to be black, while powder cocaine defendants tend to be white. Simple possession of more than five grams of crack is a felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for a first offender, while possession of the same amount of powder cocaine is a misdemeanor requiring no jail time. How do prosecutors decide which of these drug cases to pursue in federal court?
Drug trafficking indictments against five black men from Inglewood, California were thrown out after federal prosecutors refused to explain why the defendants were charged in federal court instead of state court. Federal sentences would be much stiffer for the offense than would state sentences. The decision to charge the men in federal court instead of state court is very significant. Federal law sets a minimum 10 year sentence for people convicted of selling more than 50 grams of crack. Under state law in California, the sentence for the same crime ranges from three to five years. In claiming racial bias in the case, the defendants noted that in 1991, all 24 crack cocaine cases handled by the federal public defender's office in Los Angeles involved black defendants. It was also shown that between 1991 and 1993, the federal public defender represented 53 defendants in crack cocaine cases, none of the defendants were white. In 1992, two hundred twenty-two white defendants charged with crack cocaine offenses were prosecuted in state court, effectively avoiding the harsh sentences required under the federal sentencing guidelines. In Los Angeles, where the case against the five blacks arose, not a single white offender had been convicted of a crack cocaine offense in the federal courts since 1986, when Congress enacted stiff new penalties.
So white criminals are allowed to walk free and roam the streets, putting our lives in danger because of this.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE THEY COMMIT MORE CRIMES!
The racists among us, blatant and closeted, will be quick to attribute the imprisonment disparity to the misguided belief that blacks are inherently prone to criminality. I've seen no valid studies supporting that view. Blacks are disproportionately targeted, stopped, arrested, prosecuted, sentenced to long mandatory prison terms and executed. A study by the California Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts found that the justice system gives little attention or resources to investigating crimes against minorities and that minority defendants receive harsh treatment compared to white defendants in similar circumstances.
The study also found that black-on-black crime or Latino-on-Latino crime is not taken as seriously as crimes against whites. Judges seem to believe that violence is more "acceptable" to black women because they are viewed as coming from violent communities. A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project, which tracks the demographics of who in our society goes to prison and for what kinds of crimes, found that black men are going to jail in record numbers due to a surge in arrests for non-violent drug offenses.
The Sentencing Project also found that in 1993, 88% of those sentenced federally for crack cocaine distribution were black, while only 4.1% of the defendants were white. This, while there are studies showing that a majority of the nation's reported crack cocaine users are white. federal sentencing guidelines impose a five year minimum sentence if one is convicted of selling five grams of crack, yet the sale of an equal amount of powder cocaine yields only a one year sentence. Crack defendants tend to be black, while powder cocaine defendants tend to be white. Simple possession of more than five grams of crack is a felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for a first offender, while possession of the same amount of powder cocaine is a misdemeanor requiring no jail time. How do prosecutors decide which of these drug cases to pursue in federal court?
Drug trafficking indictments against five black men from Inglewood, California were thrown out after federal prosecutors refused to explain why the defendants were charged in federal court instead of state court. Federal sentences would be much stiffer for the offense than would state sentences. The decision to charge the men in federal court instead of state court is very significant. Federal law sets a minimum 10 year sentence for people convicted of selling more than 50 grams of crack. Under state law in California, the sentence for the same crime ranges from three to five years. In claiming racial bias in the case, the defendants noted that in 1991, all 24 crack cocaine cases handled by the federal public defender's office in Los Angeles involved black defendants. It was also shown that between 1991 and 1993, the federal public defender represented 53 defendants in crack cocaine cases, none of the defendants were white. In 1992, two hundred twenty-two white defendants charged with crack cocaine offenses were prosecuted in state court, effectively avoiding the harsh sentences required under the federal sentencing guidelines. In Los Angeles, where the case against the five blacks arose, not a single white offender had been convicted of a crack cocaine offense in the federal courts since 1986, when Congress enacted stiff new penalties.
So white criminals are allowed to walk free and roam the streets, putting our lives in danger because of this.
Why are prisons being filled with black men?
Why are young black men portrayed as the faces of crime?
lets look at arrest by race statistics
In the all arrest category:
Whites were arrested in 6,324,006 cases
Blacks were arrested in 2,528,368 cases
In the violent crime arrest category
Whites were arrested in 248,167
Blacks were arrested in 156,718 cases
Forcible rape (does not include child molestation or statutory rape )
Whites were arrested in 11,381 cases,
Blacks were arrested in 6,089 cases
Aggravated Assault:
Whites were arrested in 200,634 cases
Blacks were arrested in 107,494 cases
Property crime arrest category:
Whites were arrested in 713,331
Blacks were arrested in 333,565 cases
"Between 1990 and 2001 the number of Blacks behind bars jumped from 360,000 to 622,200 an increase of 73%." It is reported that Black men (at 28.5%) are six times more likely than are White men (at 4.4%) to be imprisoned. Based on statistics, violent crimes arrest are relatively close between the races, with whites having a three to one arrest margin over blacks in the property crime category.
A disproportion of Black prisoners is contrary to available statistics. With Whites out numbering Blacks in the arrest category, the courts, parole, and probation systems are suspect and should be thoroughly examined. And with blacks only accounting for 14.2% of Michigan's total population, and whites 80.2%. Statistically speaking, whites should be a majority in Michigan's prison population.
Project Exile has shipped off thousands of African-Americans to serve long terms in Federal prisons. In May 31, 1999 AP story by Dominic Perella, then President Bill Clinton, praised Project Exile, "as a national model for fighting gun violence" prosecutors decide which defendants are subject to the 15 to life penalty. And statistics demonstrate, prosecutors, in more cases than not, target inner city defendants - usually black, for Project exile (15 years)
While defendants from outlying counties - usually white, face only state prosecution (5 years), for the same crimes. Miami Florida has a withhold of Adjudication. This is a tool Florida judges and prosecutors can use at their discretion that allows felony offenders to avoid a conviction.
Reported by the Miami Herald January 26 and January 30, 2004 series called Justice Withheld, "receiving a withhold allows you to legally say, you have never been convicted of a crime, even though a court found you guilty." In theory, withholds are handed out sparingly to supposedly deserving people in extenuating circumstances; but the Herald found that in practice, Withhold of Adjudication's "are handed out like Halloween candy." "Four-time losers get withholds." "Rapist and car thieves get withholds." "Drug dealers and batterers get withholds." And if, "you commit fraud or forgery, you've got an even chance of getting one." "Abuse or molest a child and your chances are actually better than even." The most detestable aspect is, the ones enjoying all that judicial mercy, are predominantly white defendants.
A study of the procedure showed, if "a black defendant commits the same crime and has the same record as a white defendant, the white defendant is 50 percent more likely to get a withhold.
Four years before the jena6 incident a Louisiana legislative investigating team sternly warned that the state’s juvenile justice system was horribly mangled. It found that the state couldn’t lock up juveniles fast enough for mostly non-violent crimes. The team noted that the sentences slapped on them were wildly out of proportion to their crimes, and that the kids had almost no access to counseling, job and skills training, and family support programs that could ensure that they didn’t wind up back in the system.
Though alternative sentencing programs are far more cost effective than jailing, they are scarce and under-funded, and Louisiana officials have resisted calls to increase funding and resources to boost these programs. The investigators also found unsurprisingly that black teens were hit with far stiffer sentences than white teens for the same crimes. It made no difference whether the whites had a prior history of criminal or bad behavior and the black teens were alter boys and had a squeaky clean record. The blacks still got harsher sentences. Countless studies show that a black teen is six times more likely to be tried and sentenced to prison than young whites, even when the crimes are similar, or even less severe than those committed by white teens.
Nationally, blacks make up 40 percent of youths tried in adult courts
and nearly 60 percent of those sentenced to state prisons.
The investigators implored the legislature to do something to correct the problem. They came up with a series of reform recommendations. They were largely ignored!!! The criminal justice system's harsh treatment of young blacks, like the Jena teens, fuels the suspicion of many, that judges, prosecutors and probation officers bend way over backwards to give young white offenders the benefit of the doubt. and are far less willing to label and treat, them as dangerous habitual offenders, even when they commit violent crimes. One study of the attitudes of probation officers toward black and white teen offenders found that they were far more likely to attribute black juvenile crimes to family or character flaws such as chronic disrespect toward authority. They were more likely to blame white bad behavior on conditions outside their control such as hanging out with the wrong crowd, or to troubling family conflicts.
From the cradle to the grave, in America, race matters and as it relates to crime, more whites are arrested than blacks but more blacks are in prison.
lets look at arrest by race statistics
In the all arrest category:
Whites were arrested in 6,324,006 cases
Blacks were arrested in 2,528,368 cases
In the violent crime arrest category
Whites were arrested in 248,167
Blacks were arrested in 156,718 cases
Forcible rape (does not include child molestation or statutory rape )
Whites were arrested in 11,381 cases,
Blacks were arrested in 6,089 cases
Aggravated Assault:
Whites were arrested in 200,634 cases
Blacks were arrested in 107,494 cases
Property crime arrest category:
Whites were arrested in 713,331
Blacks were arrested in 333,565 cases
"Between 1990 and 2001 the number of Blacks behind bars jumped from 360,000 to 622,200 an increase of 73%." It is reported that Black men (at 28.5%) are six times more likely than are White men (at 4.4%) to be imprisoned. Based on statistics, violent crimes arrest are relatively close between the races, with whites having a three to one arrest margin over blacks in the property crime category.
A disproportion of Black prisoners is contrary to available statistics. With Whites out numbering Blacks in the arrest category, the courts, parole, and probation systems are suspect and should be thoroughly examined. And with blacks only accounting for 14.2% of Michigan's total population, and whites 80.2%. Statistically speaking, whites should be a majority in Michigan's prison population.
Project Exile has shipped off thousands of African-Americans to serve long terms in Federal prisons. In May 31, 1999 AP story by Dominic Perella, then President Bill Clinton, praised Project Exile, "as a national model for fighting gun violence" prosecutors decide which defendants are subject to the 15 to life penalty. And statistics demonstrate, prosecutors, in more cases than not, target inner city defendants - usually black, for Project exile (15 years)
While defendants from outlying counties - usually white, face only state prosecution (5 years), for the same crimes. Miami Florida has a withhold of Adjudication. This is a tool Florida judges and prosecutors can use at their discretion that allows felony offenders to avoid a conviction.
Reported by the Miami Herald January 26 and January 30, 2004 series called Justice Withheld, "receiving a withhold allows you to legally say, you have never been convicted of a crime, even though a court found you guilty." In theory, withholds are handed out sparingly to supposedly deserving people in extenuating circumstances; but the Herald found that in practice, Withhold of Adjudication's "are handed out like Halloween candy." "Four-time losers get withholds." "Rapist and car thieves get withholds." "Drug dealers and batterers get withholds." And if, "you commit fraud or forgery, you've got an even chance of getting one." "Abuse or molest a child and your chances are actually better than even." The most detestable aspect is, the ones enjoying all that judicial mercy, are predominantly white defendants.
A study of the procedure showed, if "a black defendant commits the same crime and has the same record as a white defendant, the white defendant is 50 percent more likely to get a withhold.
Four years before the jena6 incident a Louisiana legislative investigating team sternly warned that the state’s juvenile justice system was horribly mangled. It found that the state couldn’t lock up juveniles fast enough for mostly non-violent crimes. The team noted that the sentences slapped on them were wildly out of proportion to their crimes, and that the kids had almost no access to counseling, job and skills training, and family support programs that could ensure that they didn’t wind up back in the system.
Though alternative sentencing programs are far more cost effective than jailing, they are scarce and under-funded, and Louisiana officials have resisted calls to increase funding and resources to boost these programs. The investigators also found unsurprisingly that black teens were hit with far stiffer sentences than white teens for the same crimes. It made no difference whether the whites had a prior history of criminal or bad behavior and the black teens were alter boys and had a squeaky clean record. The blacks still got harsher sentences. Countless studies show that a black teen is six times more likely to be tried and sentenced to prison than young whites, even when the crimes are similar, or even less severe than those committed by white teens.
Nationally, blacks make up 40 percent of youths tried in adult courts
and nearly 60 percent of those sentenced to state prisons.
The investigators implored the legislature to do something to correct the problem. They came up with a series of reform recommendations. They were largely ignored!!! The criminal justice system's harsh treatment of young blacks, like the Jena teens, fuels the suspicion of many, that judges, prosecutors and probation officers bend way over backwards to give young white offenders the benefit of the doubt. and are far less willing to label and treat, them as dangerous habitual offenders, even when they commit violent crimes. One study of the attitudes of probation officers toward black and white teen offenders found that they were far more likely to attribute black juvenile crimes to family or character flaws such as chronic disrespect toward authority. They were more likely to blame white bad behavior on conditions outside their control such as hanging out with the wrong crowd, or to troubling family conflicts.
From the cradle to the grave, in America, race matters and as it relates to crime, more whites are arrested than blacks but more blacks are in prison.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The death of Billie Joe Johnson
The Death of Billy Joe Johnson The post comparing the NAACP to the KKK was pretty much it for me. I write of the comments to the article in the Sun Herald on Dec 11 about the NAACP making a request for an examination. The posters on this thread are such racists that they cannot see a difference between an organization that lynched people and rode with guns and fire at night, to an organization that has pursued all of its remedies eschewing violence. Never has the NAACP lynched. Never has the NAACP used a torch.
I live amongst people who do not see the falseness of their supposed analogy.I am only sure of two things in this case. First, Billie Joe is dead. And second, all information beyond that has been provided by an unnamed Sheriff’s deputy. There is absolutely no evidence to corroborate the information provided by Sheriff’s office -- it has as its only source an unnamed sheriff’s deputy -- who happens to be the same person who in this story is caught with a dead black child and a shotgun. I ask you, had Billie Joe been caught in the same situation -- the officer dead by his own weapon, and Billie Joe standing there -- do you think we would be giving the same credibility to Billie Joe, “Oh that’s all right Billie Joe, cops commit suicide over minor stuff during traffic stops all the time. Get home before curfew Billie Joe.”As with most tragic stories, there is dark comic relief abounding. Many posters complain that by the family asking the NAACP to look into the investigation they have played the “race card”. The “race card”? This event happened in Lucedale, MS. The name of their high school football team is the “Rebels”. They wave confederate battle flags. They have battle flags on their cars. It’s on the state flag. The citizens of Lucedale, MS wake up everyday to the sight of the “race card” laying face up on the table. No one needs to play it. It has never left. Billie Joe’s parents, in all probability, are not politically connected individuals in George County. I can imagine in this, their time of grief, they are reaching out to friends and acquaintances, hoping to find someone to help them insure the integrity of the investigation. One would think that if Mr. Johnson was a member of the Knights of Columbus he might request their help. That would not be playing the “religion card”, it would be simply reaching out to those you feel could help you.
Mr. Johnson probably has friends and acquaintances in the NAACP. That organization is one with known political strength, contacts, and acumen. It would only be natural to seek their assistance.This morning, Dec 12, for the first time since the killing, the Sun Herald has stopped reporting the alleged traffic stop and events supposedly detailed by the officer to be fact. Instead of reporting that “Billey Joe ran a stop sign,” the paper recited that “the officer claims Billey Joe ran a stop sign“. Perhaps the stone wall is starting to erode. And the easily answered questions are starting to mount.
A. The family was denied access to their son’s body until after the autopsy. The body lay on the side of the street for eight hours with plastic tarps hiding the scene. The talk on the street is that this was done to conceal the issue of the number and location of the wound (or wounds). Initial reports had the blast to the abdomen. Now the talk is that the blast was to the head. During this period officers could be seen in the vicinity of the body behind the screen. The opportunity to continue to adjust and sanitize the scene continued. Where are the wounds? How many?
B. The tale about the traffic stop and license check is incredibly weak. Why would the officer have to check the driver’s license of Billy Joe Johnson? He was a local legend. This is Lucedale, where it is football, football, football. Billey Joe started at running back for George County High School as a freshman. He gained 1500 yards. And he did it again as a sophomore, again as a junior. He led his team to the playoffs three straight years, the state finals once. Even people in Ocean Springs knew him -- he shredded our defense for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns just a month ago. The idea that a George County Sheriff’s deputy did not know who Billey Jo was is absurd. And a license check? If there were any wants or warrants on Billey Jo the janitor at the courthouse would know it -- certainly a deputy would. Too much information is attributed to this deputy. If the sheriff is going to quote him, he needs to identify him. The gossip is already that the sheriff’s office has not yet selected which deputy will draw the job -- they are assessing which officer would handle the situation best before they give a name. What is the name of the officer?
C. How did the shotgun arrive on the scene? Supposedly it was being carried in a truck. Did Billie Joe have a rifle rack in his truck? Wouldn’t the gun have been readily visible? Who has identified the shotgun as Billie Joe’s? Or is this another nameless source?
D. There were earlier reports of a restraining order and perhaps Billie Joe violating it. Is there a restraining order? Who issued it? What was the factual predicate upon which the order was issued? Was there ever a hearing -- did Billy Joe ever receive his day in court, or was this done without his knowledge and presence? Ex parte orders (those where the initial order is entered without the defendant knowing about it or even given a chance to present his side of the story) are legal, but they are the subject of great abuse. Not only do judges sometimes issue them on scant evidence, often times the person obtaining the order misrepresents the facts in order to obtain it. This is an area where lies and deceit are rarely punished -- many orders are issued where the case actually has no merit. What are the full -- as in affidavits, applications, orders, notes of hearing -- facts surrounding this “maybe it exists maybe it doesn’t“, order?
E. The District Attorney announced today that there would be no information provided until the case is presented to the grand jury. Since any information presented to a grand jury is confidential and not capable of being disclosed, it looks like it is the intention of the law enforcement authorities to never release the truth. I would imagine that we will receive a statement from the grand jury that looks something like this:We, the grand jury, have examined the evidence find that Billie Joe Johnson died at his own hand, either accidently, through the unintentional discharge of a weapon, or intentionally. In neither instance do we believe a crime has been committed. This Grand Jury has determined that the officer involved -- name -- acted properly blah blah blah.”What is shocking is that the DA, the Sheriff, and other law enforcement authorities believe this will just go away.
It ain’t going away.
Not this time.
I live amongst people who do not see the falseness of their supposed analogy.I am only sure of two things in this case. First, Billie Joe is dead. And second, all information beyond that has been provided by an unnamed Sheriff’s deputy. There is absolutely no evidence to corroborate the information provided by Sheriff’s office -- it has as its only source an unnamed sheriff’s deputy -- who happens to be the same person who in this story is caught with a dead black child and a shotgun. I ask you, had Billie Joe been caught in the same situation -- the officer dead by his own weapon, and Billie Joe standing there -- do you think we would be giving the same credibility to Billie Joe, “Oh that’s all right Billie Joe, cops commit suicide over minor stuff during traffic stops all the time. Get home before curfew Billie Joe.”As with most tragic stories, there is dark comic relief abounding. Many posters complain that by the family asking the NAACP to look into the investigation they have played the “race card”. The “race card”? This event happened in Lucedale, MS. The name of their high school football team is the “Rebels”. They wave confederate battle flags. They have battle flags on their cars. It’s on the state flag. The citizens of Lucedale, MS wake up everyday to the sight of the “race card” laying face up on the table. No one needs to play it. It has never left. Billie Joe’s parents, in all probability, are not politically connected individuals in George County. I can imagine in this, their time of grief, they are reaching out to friends and acquaintances, hoping to find someone to help them insure the integrity of the investigation. One would think that if Mr. Johnson was a member of the Knights of Columbus he might request their help. That would not be playing the “religion card”, it would be simply reaching out to those you feel could help you.
Mr. Johnson probably has friends and acquaintances in the NAACP. That organization is one with known political strength, contacts, and acumen. It would only be natural to seek their assistance.This morning, Dec 12, for the first time since the killing, the Sun Herald has stopped reporting the alleged traffic stop and events supposedly detailed by the officer to be fact. Instead of reporting that “Billey Joe ran a stop sign,” the paper recited that “the officer claims Billey Joe ran a stop sign“. Perhaps the stone wall is starting to erode. And the easily answered questions are starting to mount.
A. The family was denied access to their son’s body until after the autopsy. The body lay on the side of the street for eight hours with plastic tarps hiding the scene. The talk on the street is that this was done to conceal the issue of the number and location of the wound (or wounds). Initial reports had the blast to the abdomen. Now the talk is that the blast was to the head. During this period officers could be seen in the vicinity of the body behind the screen. The opportunity to continue to adjust and sanitize the scene continued. Where are the wounds? How many?
B. The tale about the traffic stop and license check is incredibly weak. Why would the officer have to check the driver’s license of Billy Joe Johnson? He was a local legend. This is Lucedale, where it is football, football, football. Billey Joe started at running back for George County High School as a freshman. He gained 1500 yards. And he did it again as a sophomore, again as a junior. He led his team to the playoffs three straight years, the state finals once. Even people in Ocean Springs knew him -- he shredded our defense for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns just a month ago. The idea that a George County Sheriff’s deputy did not know who Billey Jo was is absurd. And a license check? If there were any wants or warrants on Billey Jo the janitor at the courthouse would know it -- certainly a deputy would. Too much information is attributed to this deputy. If the sheriff is going to quote him, he needs to identify him. The gossip is already that the sheriff’s office has not yet selected which deputy will draw the job -- they are assessing which officer would handle the situation best before they give a name. What is the name of the officer?
C. How did the shotgun arrive on the scene? Supposedly it was being carried in a truck. Did Billie Joe have a rifle rack in his truck? Wouldn’t the gun have been readily visible? Who has identified the shotgun as Billie Joe’s? Or is this another nameless source?
D. There were earlier reports of a restraining order and perhaps Billie Joe violating it. Is there a restraining order? Who issued it? What was the factual predicate upon which the order was issued? Was there ever a hearing -- did Billy Joe ever receive his day in court, or was this done without his knowledge and presence? Ex parte orders (those where the initial order is entered without the defendant knowing about it or even given a chance to present his side of the story) are legal, but they are the subject of great abuse. Not only do judges sometimes issue them on scant evidence, often times the person obtaining the order misrepresents the facts in order to obtain it. This is an area where lies and deceit are rarely punished -- many orders are issued where the case actually has no merit. What are the full -- as in affidavits, applications, orders, notes of hearing -- facts surrounding this “maybe it exists maybe it doesn’t“, order?
E. The District Attorney announced today that there would be no information provided until the case is presented to the grand jury. Since any information presented to a grand jury is confidential and not capable of being disclosed, it looks like it is the intention of the law enforcement authorities to never release the truth. I would imagine that we will receive a statement from the grand jury that looks something like this:We, the grand jury, have examined the evidence find that Billie Joe Johnson died at his own hand, either accidently, through the unintentional discharge of a weapon, or intentionally. In neither instance do we believe a crime has been committed. This Grand Jury has determined that the officer involved -- name -- acted properly blah blah blah.”What is shocking is that the DA, the Sheriff, and other law enforcement authorities believe this will just go away.
It ain’t going away.
Not this time.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
RIP BILLEY JOE JOHNSON
The NAACP will push forward with an independent investigation into the shooting death of Billey Joe Johnson Jr. that will take a "new direction to get to the truth," the vice president of the state chapter said Tuesday.
"While we wait for the state pathologist's report, we're going to determine why he died and let them determine how he died," Curley Clark said.
Meanwhile, Tony Lawrence, the Jackson County district attorney who is handling the state's investigation, said, "As a part of this effort, this office has sought all relevant information obtained by the NAACP or anyone else.
"This investigation has also included keeping the family advised of these efforts. This investiga tion will be professional, thorough and deliberate, rather than superficial and fast."
Johnson, 17, one of the state's most promising high school football players, died Dec. 8 of a gunshot to the head after a George County sheriff's deputy stopped him on a traffic violation in the Benndale community. Authorities have suggested that he shot himself, possibly by accident.
The NAACP is pressing ahead, Clark said, because of the swarm of rumors circulating in the community.
According to one report, a woman and daughter were on their way to file charges against Johnson for an attempted break-in at their Lucedale home on the same morning that he died.
"We are investigating if she or her family has a tie to law enforcement officers," Clark said, refusing to say how many investigators the NAACP is bringing into the case.
"It has been said that either she or her family has a personal relationship to someone in one of those offices, and we just want the truth."
According to incident reports released earlier, George County Deputy Joe Sullivan pulled over Johnson on Miss. 26 and was in his cruiser when the teen fell fatally wounded beside his pickup truck.
Other incident reports depict Johnson as being a person of interest in an alleged break-in that same morning at a mobile home on Lamar Street. Minutes after that call to police, Johnson died about two miles from the mobile home.
Johnson, a junior at George County High School, was a star running back who had already received a number of scholarship offers from major universities.
The district attorney said he would release information prior to a George County grand jury presentment, which he expected to be in February.
"I encourage anyone with information as to this incident to please contact Joel Wallace with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation or my office," he said. "I have said from the beginning that this investigation will be exhaustive and not based on any timeline other than that which leads to the truth."
"While we wait for the state pathologist's report, we're going to determine why he died and let them determine how he died," Curley Clark said.
Meanwhile, Tony Lawrence, the Jackson County district attorney who is handling the state's investigation, said, "As a part of this effort, this office has sought all relevant information obtained by the NAACP or anyone else.
"This investigation has also included keeping the family advised of these efforts. This investiga tion will be professional, thorough and deliberate, rather than superficial and fast."
Johnson, 17, one of the state's most promising high school football players, died Dec. 8 of a gunshot to the head after a George County sheriff's deputy stopped him on a traffic violation in the Benndale community. Authorities have suggested that he shot himself, possibly by accident.
The NAACP is pressing ahead, Clark said, because of the swarm of rumors circulating in the community.
According to one report, a woman and daughter were on their way to file charges against Johnson for an attempted break-in at their Lucedale home on the same morning that he died.
"We are investigating if she or her family has a tie to law enforcement officers," Clark said, refusing to say how many investigators the NAACP is bringing into the case.
"It has been said that either she or her family has a personal relationship to someone in one of those offices, and we just want the truth."
According to incident reports released earlier, George County Deputy Joe Sullivan pulled over Johnson on Miss. 26 and was in his cruiser when the teen fell fatally wounded beside his pickup truck.
Other incident reports depict Johnson as being a person of interest in an alleged break-in that same morning at a mobile home on Lamar Street. Minutes after that call to police, Johnson died about two miles from the mobile home.
Johnson, a junior at George County High School, was a star running back who had already received a number of scholarship offers from major universities.
The district attorney said he would release information prior to a George County grand jury presentment, which he expected to be in February.
"I encourage anyone with information as to this incident to please contact Joel Wallace with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation or my office," he said. "I have said from the beginning that this investigation will be exhaustive and not based on any timeline other than that which leads to the truth."
Friday, January 16, 2009
12 year old black girl mistaken as prostitute and beaten by police
Police in Galveston, Texas are being sued for allegedly arresting a 12-year-old Dymond Larae Milburn outside of her home as a prostitute in 2006.
The girl did not realize that the plainclothes officers were police and fought back as she screamed for her father inside the house. She was reportedly beaten by the officers and ended up with sprained wrist, two black eyes, a bloody nose, and blood in an ear. Weeks later, the police arrested her for resisting arrest.
Sgt. Gilbert Gomez and Officers David Roark and Sean Stewart have insisted that their conduct was entirely appropriate.
The police were responding to a report of three white prostitutes working in the area, but some how ended up arrested and roughing up a 12-year-old black girl in front of her house.
The honor student was then arrested at her middle school on a charge of resisting arrest — but a mistrial prevented further prosecution.
For a copy of the complaint, click here.
For the full story, click here.
The girl did not realize that the plainclothes officers were police and fought back as she screamed for her father inside the house. She was reportedly beaten by the officers and ended up with sprained wrist, two black eyes, a bloody nose, and blood in an ear. Weeks later, the police arrested her for resisting arrest.
Sgt. Gilbert Gomez and Officers David Roark and Sean Stewart have insisted that their conduct was entirely appropriate.
The police were responding to a report of three white prostitutes working in the area, but some how ended up arrested and roughing up a 12-year-old black girl in front of her house.
The honor student was then arrested at her middle school on a charge of resisting arrest — but a mistrial prevented further prosecution.
For a copy of the complaint, click here.
For the full story, click here.
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- As fireworks exploded over the Big Easy on New Year's Eve, 22-year-old Adolph Grimes III pulled up to his grandmother's home near the French Quarter after a five-hour drive from Houston, Texas.
Adolph Grimes Jr., with grandson Chris, wife Patricia and his son's fiancee, Shae Whitfield, want answers.
Grimes, who relocated to Texas with his fiancée, Shae Whitfield, after Hurricane Katrina, couldn't wait to get home with their 17-month-old son, Chris, and ring in the new year with friends and family.
"He made it at 12 o'clock exact, with a second to spare," said his father, Adolph Grimes Jr.
Three hours later, Grimes lay dying on the sidewalk half a block from his grandmother's front door, with fireworks giving way to the hue of flashing police lights.
The Orleans Parish coroner said Grimes was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back. Watch police investigate scene of shooting »
Grimes had just walked out of the house and was in a car waiting for his cousin, according to family members, when nine plainclothes officers -- part of an undercover narcotics task force driving around New Orleans on New Year's Eve -- surrounded Grimes' vehicle.
Shots rang out; New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley said Grimes shot at police first.
The Grimes family disagrees, saying police executed a loved one as he ran for his life.
"It was like someone was a murderer, and they finally caught him," said Grimes' mother, Patricia. "I ain't ever seen anything like this. And the worst part about it was I had to wait for the 5 o'clock news to find out my son was murdered."
Shortly after finding out about the death, the family contacted the FBI to investigate alleged wrongdoing by police officers in the shooting.
"We are hoping for a thorough investigation by the NOPD [New Orleans Police Department] and the district attorney's office," said the family's attorney, Robert Jenkins. " We know the FBI is going to do a fully complete investigation. We are hoping that criminal charges will be brought against all of these officers for the execution in this case."
Riley agreed that all the facts need to be released.
"We think that families should do everything they can do make sure this investigation is as thorough and complete as possible so they know the truth," he said.
Nine police officers were reassigned afterward, but New Orleans police aren't commenting on the case. The police also declined to release the names of the officers and the shooting report, saying the investigation is ongoing, both internally and with the FBI.
Family members said they want to know why officers descended on a young man with no criminal record, who graduated from one of the most prestigious high schools in the city.
"This violence has to stop. My child's death will not be meaningless. He did not die in vain," Patricia Grimes said. "This is meaningless; this never should have happened."
Grimes did have a gun. His family and the lawyer, Jenkins, said he had a legal permit to carry the weapon. Authorities also said they found a shotgun and extra ammunition in the car's trunk.
Grimes' relatives said they don't believe he opened fire first. And the family's attorney said he believes the investigation will show rogue cops and sloppy police work.
"I just think it was some bad officers who were out there and imposing their will on the community," Jenkins said.
Jenkins also said that 48 bullet casings were found at the shooting scene. Police won't confirm or deny that number, but Riley defended his officers' actions.
''We train our officers to fire when fired upon. We train them to fire more than one shot,'' he said.
But the shooting doesn't make sense, relatives said, describing Grimes as a young man who was a loving father with a good job and no history of being in trouble.
His grieving mother and father said they won't be silenced and are not worried about a code of silence among officers, the so-called "blue wall."
"The walls are going to come down. Just like the walls of Jericho came down," Grimes' father said, trying to fight back tears.
Adolph Grimes Jr., with grandson Chris, wife Patricia and his son's fiancee, Shae Whitfield, want answers.
Grimes, who relocated to Texas with his fiancée, Shae Whitfield, after Hurricane Katrina, couldn't wait to get home with their 17-month-old son, Chris, and ring in the new year with friends and family.
"He made it at 12 o'clock exact, with a second to spare," said his father, Adolph Grimes Jr.
Three hours later, Grimes lay dying on the sidewalk half a block from his grandmother's front door, with fireworks giving way to the hue of flashing police lights.
The Orleans Parish coroner said Grimes was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back. Watch police investigate scene of shooting »
Grimes had just walked out of the house and was in a car waiting for his cousin, according to family members, when nine plainclothes officers -- part of an undercover narcotics task force driving around New Orleans on New Year's Eve -- surrounded Grimes' vehicle.
Shots rang out; New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley said Grimes shot at police first.
The Grimes family disagrees, saying police executed a loved one as he ran for his life.
"It was like someone was a murderer, and they finally caught him," said Grimes' mother, Patricia. "I ain't ever seen anything like this. And the worst part about it was I had to wait for the 5 o'clock news to find out my son was murdered."
Shortly after finding out about the death, the family contacted the FBI to investigate alleged wrongdoing by police officers in the shooting.
"We are hoping for a thorough investigation by the NOPD [New Orleans Police Department] and the district attorney's office," said the family's attorney, Robert Jenkins. " We know the FBI is going to do a fully complete investigation. We are hoping that criminal charges will be brought against all of these officers for the execution in this case."
Riley agreed that all the facts need to be released.
"We think that families should do everything they can do make sure this investigation is as thorough and complete as possible so they know the truth," he said.
Nine police officers were reassigned afterward, but New Orleans police aren't commenting on the case. The police also declined to release the names of the officers and the shooting report, saying the investigation is ongoing, both internally and with the FBI.
Family members said they want to know why officers descended on a young man with no criminal record, who graduated from one of the most prestigious high schools in the city.
"This violence has to stop. My child's death will not be meaningless. He did not die in vain," Patricia Grimes said. "This is meaningless; this never should have happened."
Grimes did have a gun. His family and the lawyer, Jenkins, said he had a legal permit to carry the weapon. Authorities also said they found a shotgun and extra ammunition in the car's trunk.
Grimes' relatives said they don't believe he opened fire first. And the family's attorney said he believes the investigation will show rogue cops and sloppy police work.
"I just think it was some bad officers who were out there and imposing their will on the community," Jenkins said.
Jenkins also said that 48 bullet casings were found at the shooting scene. Police won't confirm or deny that number, but Riley defended his officers' actions.
''We train our officers to fire when fired upon. We train them to fire more than one shot,'' he said.
But the shooting doesn't make sense, relatives said, describing Grimes as a young man who was a loving father with a good job and no history of being in trouble.
His grieving mother and father said they won't be silenced and are not worried about a code of silence among officers, the so-called "blue wall."
"The walls are going to come down. Just like the walls of Jericho came down," Grimes' father said, trying to fight back tears.
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