Deeply Rooted: DPIC Report Connects Oklahoma’s History of Racists Lynching Black People to Present Day Racists Using Government Authority to Murder Black People [the death penalty]

From [HERE] New Report Places Oklahoma’s Death Penalty in its Historical Context of Lynchings and Mass Violence Against Black Oklahomans and the Forced Migration of Native Americans

“Systemic issues in the state’s use of the death penalty affect all capital defendants. However, the impact is skewed based on the race of defendant and victim, and the effects are particularly harsh on defendants of color.”

On October 20, 2022, Oklahoma is scheduled to conduct the second in a series of 25 executions over a two-year period, or one execution nearly every month through 2024. As this protracted spree begins, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) today released a report that documents the historical role that race has played in Oklahoma’s death penalty and details the pervasive impact that racial discrimination continues to have in the administration of capital punishment.

The report, “Deeply Rooted: How Racial History Informs Oklahoma’s Death Penalty,” and related graphics are available at https://tinyurl.com/bdddu6ex.

“Ten Facts You Should Know About Oklahoma’s Death Penalty” is available at

https://tinyurl.com/2p8reph3

The report ties Oklahoma’s use of the death penalty to its troubled history of racial violence and segregation. “To move towards true justice, Oklahoma must reckon with the harm that has already been inflicted by a criminal legal system in which race can determine who lives or dies,” Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, Founder and Executive Director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation, said. “To understand this history, we must recognize the generational trauma inflicted on so many in Black communities, those who have been victims of racialized violence, those who have lost family members to murder with no redress, and those who have had to stand by as the legal system takes the lives of their loved ones.”

The report observes that Oklahoma is at an inflection point in its administration of the death penalty and argues that if the state is to establish a fair and humane system of justice, it is crucial to acknowledge and redress the effects of Jim Crow and racial violence that persist into the present day.

“A bipartisan commission concluded that Oklahoma’s death penalty was broken, discriminatory, and inhumane. After extensive study, the commission recommended a moratorium until reforms were made. Five years later, nothing has changed. A frenzy of 25 executions is not conservative, not limited government, and not pro-life,” said Brett Farley, state coordinator for Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.

The report notes that death sentences and executions are in decline nationally, making Oklahoma an outlier state. In 2021, 18 people were sentenced to death nationwide and 11 people were executed, the fewest since 1988. Oklahoma has executed more people per capita than any other state in the country. Oklahoma County and Tulsa County rank fourth and sixth, respectively, for the most executions by any county in the past fifty years. No county outside of Texas is responsible for more executions than either Oklahoma County or Tulsa County.

Racial discrimination, especially the race of the victim, continues to infect all aspects of the death penalty in Oklahoma. A study of homicides in the state between 1990 and 2012 found that the odds a person charged with killing a white female victim would be sentenced to death were 10 times greater than if the victim was a minority male. Of the 25 executions scheduled between August 2022 and December 2024, 68% involve white victims. Data throughout the report suggest that valuing white victims more than others has resulted in disproportionate punishment for Black defendants who murder white people.

An examination of the age and race of the men scheduled for execution reflects the bias that Black youth are perceived as older and less innocent than white youth. Seven of the 10 Black men set for execution were 25 years old or younger at the time of the crime. By contrast, only one of the 13 white men set for execution was 25 or younger at the time of his crime. Three of the Black men were 20 or younger and one of them, Alfred Mitchell, was only two weeks past his 18th birthday.

Of the 142 people in the U.S. who have been removed from death row because of intellectual disability (because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that their executions are barred), the majority (83%) have been people of color. This suggests that people of color, especially Black people, with intellectual disability are at a greater risk of being subjected to capital punishment. Oklahoma has limited the ability for people on death row to seek relief based on intellectual disability. As the report notes, Michael Smith, a Black man scheduled for execution on July 6, 2023 has a documented, lifelong intellectual disability. Despite his medical diagnosis, Oklahoma has denied Mr. Smith a hearing on his intellectual disability.

At least five cases of those scheduled for execution in Oklahoma may have involved official misconduct, including Clarence Goode, a Black and Muscogee man set to be executed on August 8, 2024, who was convicted after the testimony of a detective who later served time in federal prison for misconduct in other cases. Nationwide, nearly 80% of wrongful capital convictions of Black people involve official misconduct by police, prosecutors, or other government officials.

The report states that Oklahoma has a history of defying U.S. Supreme Court decisions that would provide some measure of racial justice. For example, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals refused to apply McGirt v. Oklahoma (holding that the state lacked jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by or against Native American people on tribal lands)

retroactively to four death-row prisoners even after the Supreme Court had retroactively applied it in the case of Patrick Murphy, a Muscogee man, who challenged Oklahoma’s jurisdiction because his crime was committed on tribal land. Thirty-seven Native American men and women have been sentenced to death in Oklahoma, more than in any other state. Two people currently scheduled for execution, Clarence Goode, Jr. and Alfred Mitchell, are Native American.

Today’s report builds upon DPIC’s 2020 report, “Enduring Injustice: the Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty.” It is the first in a series of reports detailing how individual state histories of racial injustice inform the current use of capital punishment in those states. The next in the series will be Tennessee.

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The Death Penalty Information Center (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org) is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. DPIC was founded in 1990 and prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for the media, and serves as a resource to those working on this issue. DPIC does not take a position on the death penalty but has been critical of how it is administered.

Philadelphia Authorities Apologize for Experimenting on Black Inmates at Holmesburg Prison [apology here means ‘to lay the foundation for future offenses or affronts’ and ‘to reform its own image’]

From [HERE] The city of Philadelphia issued an apology Thursday for the unethical medical experiments performed on mostly Black inmates at its Holmesburg Prison from the 1950s through the 1970s (article available here(link is external)).

The move comes after community activists and families of some of those inmates raised the need for a formal apology. It also follows a string of apologies from various U.S. cities over historically racist policies or wrongdoing in the wake of the nationwide racial reckoning after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

The city allowed University of Pennsylvania researcher Dr. Albert Kligman to conduct the dermatological, biochemical and pharmaceutical experiments that intentionally exposed about 300 inmates to viruses, fungus, asbestos and chemical agents including dioxin — a component of Agent Orange.

The vast majority of Kligman's experiments were performed on Black men, many of whom were awaiting trial and trying to save money for bail, and many of whom were illiterate, the city said.

Many of the former inmates would have lifelong scars and health issues from the experiments. A group of the inmates filed a lawsuit against the university and Kligman in 2000 that was ultimately thrown out because of a statute of limitations.

"Without excuse, we formally and officially extend a sincere apology to those who were subjected to this inhumane and horrific abuse. We are also sorry it took far too long to hear these words," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney wrote.

Last year, the University of Pennsylvania issued a formal apology and took Kligman's name off some honorifics like an annual lecture series and professorship. The university also directed research funds to fellows focused on dermatological issues in people of color.

MD Authorities Order the reinvestigation of 100 Deaths in Police Custody. Examinations by Racist Suspect Examiner who Testified for Cop in George Floyd Trial Lacked Integrity

From [HERE] After George Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, Maryland's former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Fowler was called in as a defense witness for the 2021 trial.

On the stand, Fowler testified that, based on his study of the forensic evidence, Floyd's death should be classified as "undetermined" and not a homicide, due to a medley of factors including heart disease, drug use and carbon monoxide exposure.

Chauvin was later convicted of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. But Fowler's testimony — which contradicted the Hennepin medical examiner's determination that Floyd's death was a homicide — sparked immediate concern among hundreds of his peers around the country, who suggested he might be motivated by racial or pro-law enforcement bias.

As a result, officials in Maryland launched a review last year of similar "in-custody" death reports that were performed during Fowler's tenure at the helm of the state medical examiner's office.

Now, that probe has spurred further scrutiny.

After reviewing the work by Fowler and his team on over 1,300 cases in which people died in police custody, an independent audit design team is recommending that the state reinvestigate about 100 of those. The cases share key similarities, including the absence of an "obvious medical cause of death," and they each involved physical restraint.

"We embarked on this process with the goal of overseeing a professional and independent audit that adheres to the highest standards of impartiality and integrity," Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement on Wednesday.

What will the new audit be looking for?

The new investigations will be led by an independent group of experts in forensic pathology, Frosh announced. As they reopen reports and comb through the records, they'll be tasked with deciding whether they agree or disagree with the original medical examiner's conclusions on the cause and manner of death. They'll also judge if those involved followed existing protocols.

Among their many questions, the new panel will explore the role of physical restraint in each death, and whether the person would have lived but for the application of restraint. They will also recommend the need for changes in training, policy or procedure regarding the application of physical restraint that might reduce the risk of death in such cases.

Fowler, who has been considered one of the foremost medical examiners in the country and served on the National Board of Medical Examiners, has defended his record, noting that he did not work alone when preparing autopsy conclusions.

Fowler did not respond to NPR's requests for comment.

"There's a large team of forensic pathologists, with layers of supervision, and those medical examiners always did tremendous work," Fowler told the Baltimore Sun.

Closer scrutiny could reopen cases for families who have long-doubted the medical examiner's findings

The findings of the audit could have a significant impact on several cases involving the deaths of other men in police custody, including the 2018 death of Anton Black. [MORE]

DC Taxpayers are Spending Millions to Rehire Bad Cops to Surveil, Arrest and Place Blacks in Greater Confinement

From [HERE] Late last year, a trove of records was obtained by transparency activists Distributed Denial of Secret (DDoS). Those records showed what the Washington DC Metro PD hoped to hide: that the internal disciplinary process was apparently irreparably broken.

The joint report by DCist and The Reveal made sense of the DDoS-liberated data. What it showed was that officers with sustained complaints were often given nothing more than tiny hand slaps (suspensions, write-ups) for severe misconduct, including drunk driving, indecent exposure, sexual solicitation, and theft.

Welcome to Impunityville, USA. Not only were Metro PD officers assured they wouldn’t face criminal charges for criminal acts, they were assured they wouldn’t even need to worry where their next paycheck would come from.

Now there’s more bad news. Every so often, the DC Metro PD actually finds officers worth firing. A report from the DC auditor shows taxpayers are shelling out millions to keep the worst of the PD’s officers on the job, as Mitch Ryals reports for the Washington City Paper. 

The full scope of this problem and what it has cost D.C. taxpayers, is detailed in an explosive report released this week from D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson.

From October 2015 to March 2021, the Office of the D.C. Auditor found that MPD fired 49 officers and was forced to rehire 37 officers. The department paid out $14.3 million in back wages to 36 of those officers after their appeals crawled toward a resolution.

Three of the reinstated officers have been determined by the Auditor’s office to be a “threat to safety.” One of those is Jay Hong, who collided with another vehicle while drunk. In his vehicle, investigators found one (1) loaded handgun and one (1) unconscious, partially-nude woman. Hong pleaded guilty to DUI charges and was fired. The woman later accused Hong of sexual assault, but PD investigators cleared Hong of these accusations. Hong re-secured his job through a third-party arbitrator who suggested a 35-day suspension was a more appropriate punishment for driving drunk with a loaded gun and a loaded woman in his car. He received nearly $300,000 in back pay.

He’s not the only fully employed “threat to safety.” There are more:

The other two officers tagged as safety threats, who are still employed with MPD, are Wilberto Flores and Richard Mazloom, according to ODCA.

Flores was convicted in a criminal court of exposing his genitals to women in the parking lot of a grocery store in 2010, according to the report, which cites information from MPD and the Office of Employee Appeals. 

[…]

Mazloom was the subject of three complaints submitted to the Office of Police Complaints before he went out drinking with friends while off duty and with his service weapon on him in August of 2011…

That night, Mazloom got into a fight on H Street NE, the auditor’s report says. He was later fired, but an arbitrator overturned his termination, in part because they “thought the evidence showed Mazloom was not the aggressor and the other party instigated the fight.”

Both officers were reinstated, taking home more than a half-million in back pay between the two of them. Officer Mazloom has since racked up two more complaints and one sustained instance of misconduct.

According to the City Paper report, nearly 40% of these reinstatements are due to the Metro PD missing administrative deadlines in the disciplinary process. This either means the Metro PD has so many bad cops it can’t keep up with the paperwork or it’s more than willing to slow walk investigations to ensure officers it actually decides to fire can get their jobs back. Neither alternative should be considered acceptable.

This happens frequently enough that even other MPD officers are getting sick of it. Statements made to the Auditor’s office during the preparation of this report show many officers are “demoralized” by the rehiring of bad cops and fully cognizant of the fact that overturned firings emboldens the worst officers in their ranks.

The Auditor’s report closes by recommending the Metro PD (duh) start meeting administrative deadlines to help assure bad cops can’t get their jobs back on a technicality. But the city seems powerless to actually enforce this, which means the PD can pick and choose which officers it will efficiently discipline. And that means taxpayers will still keep paying good money for cops even the Metro PD feels are too terrible to stay employed.

FDA Refuses to Release Autopsy Reports of those who Died After COVID Shots

From [HERE] Citing personal medical privacy laws, the U.S. FDA is refusing to honor a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from The Epoch Times to release details on autopsies of people who died after receiving a COVID shot.

They won’t even do it with names and identifying information redacted, The Epoch Times said, adding that the agency may have a more nefarious reason for not wanting the information made public. “To release autopsy reports of people who died after receiving COVID shots might lead to uncomfortable questions about the conclusions reached by FDA and CDC officials and raise the specter of a national re-evaluation and lots of second opinions regarding the safety of the shots,” The Epoch Times said.

“Those responsible for operating these federal agencies, not to mention countless doctors, scientists and politicians around the country, have staked their reputations on assuring the American public that the COVID shots do not cause harm, much less death. Why indeed would they want to investigate and give space to a conversation asking legitimate questions and offering dissenting views?”

Richcraft: As COVID Hit, Washington Authorities and Puppeticians Profited from Their Plandemic by Trading Stocks w/Exquisite Timing. Fauci, Elaine Chao, Many Others Got Paid according to WSJ Analysis

From [HERE] Federal officials working on the government response to Covid-19 made well-timed financial trades when the pandemic began—both as the markets plunged and as they rallied—a Wall Street Journal investigation found.

In January 2020, the U.S. public was largely unaware of the threat posed by the virus spreading in China, but health officials were on high alert and girding for a crisis.

A deputy to top health official Anthony Fauci reported 10 sales of mutual funds and stocks totaling between $157,000 and $480,000 that month. Collectively, officials at another health agency, Health and Human Services, reported 60% more sales of stocks and funds in January than the average over the previous 12 months, driven by a handful of particularly active traders.

By March, agencies across the government were working on wide-reaching measures to prop the economy and markets. Then-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chaopurchased more than $600,000 in two stock funds while her agency was involved in the pandemic response and her husband, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, was leading negotiations over a giant, market-boosting stimulus bill.

And as the government was devising a loan package aimed specifically at helping companies including Boeing Co. and General Electric Co., a Treasury Department official involved in administering the aid acquired shares of both companies.

Federal officials owned millions of dollars of stock in industries most affected by the pandemic and the government’s response. About 240 officials at health agencies and at the Pentagon, a key player in the vaccine rollout, reported owning a total of between $9 million and $28 million in stocks of drug, manufacturing and biotechnology companies that won federal contracts related to Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021, the Journal’s analysis found.

[MORE]

“Leave Our Children Alone.” Massachusetts Rabbi Under Attack for Speaking Out About Dangerous COVID Injections

From [HERE] Rabbi Michoel Green is the Rabbi of Congregation Ahavat Achim in Westborough, Massachusetts. Rabbi Green is an independent thinker, and he made a name for himself early on in the Covid era as a Rabbi who constantly questioned the authorities, beginning with an immediate aversion to any forced closures of schools and synagogues. In his words from March 2020 “What Antiochus, Hadrian, Stalin, et al, couldn’t accomplish in thousands of years, the Rabbinate of Crown Heights accomplished in 15 seconds….” referring to their acquiesence to go along with the public mandates to close sacred institutions.

Rabbi Green continued speaking up for freedom and sanity throughout the pandemic, up to and including coming out strongly and publicly against the Covid vaccine. He wrote religious exemptions for thousands of people and helped tens of thousands of people obtain religious exemptions, including hundreds in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

In January 2021, his outspoken views could no longer be tolerated by the Chabad organization that he held membership with at the time, and they officially cut off his chapter from their organization. He continued to lead his congregation and instituted a “no segregation” policy when it came to vaccines. He also opened up online services for those who were not comfortable attending synagogue in person and attracted people from all over the world who appreciated his services and views. A quick look at his website shows the kind of integrity and strength possessed by Rabbi Green.

Deputies Ambush Black Security Guard in Liberal LA. 2 Cops Repeatedly Struck Man in the Head w/Gun, Fists, Slammed Face into Sidewalk, Used Chokehold and Threatened his Life. Eye Sight Gone in 1 Eye

From [HERE] and [HERE] Video shows Los Angeles deputies allegedly beating a Black security guard and putting a gun to the back of his head in front of a horrified crowd of people.

The 90-second clip was posted on Twitter by Cerise Castle, an investigative journalist based in Los Angeles, on Tuesday. She also obtained video from a nearby business that shows the thug cops pulling into the parking lot, jumped out and attacked Blake Anderson as he walked with a friend. Blake has since lost his eyesight a result of this brutal beating.

According to Castle, two deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrived at the Good Batch Lounge in Inglewood on Sunday morning and began beating a man she identified as Blake Anderson.

"This is Blake Anderson. He's a security guard at the Good Batch Lounge. Early Sunday morning, deputy Rodriguez and his partner pulled up and began beating Blake," Castle wrote in a tweet alongside the clip.

"He's since lost vision in his eye. He's [currently] being charged with assault on a police office for this."

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Inglewood Police Department have all been contacted for comment.

As the video begins, one deputy has Anderson in a headlock while the other repeatedly hits him.

Among the crowd of people witnessing the incident, a woman can be seen yelling at the deputies: "He's security here."

As one woman repeatedly yells that Anderson "works here," one of the deputies is seen pulling the gun out of his holster and holding it to Anderson's back. The other restrains him.

"Don't resist, they're a gang!" another person at the scene is heard saying. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles County Civilian Oversight Commission announced an investigation into "the deputy gangs that have plagued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for decades."

Seconds later, the deputy points the gun to the back of Anderson's head and uses his other hand to hold the civilian's head down.

According to Castle, at this point deputy said to Anderson: "I'm going to blow your f**king brains out."

In the video, the woman filming can be heard pleading with Anderson not to do anything that could risk his life.

"Blake, no. Blake, no. Blake. Don't resist, Blake. No no no. Do what you gotta do, Blake. Come on," the person is heard saying, as one deputy punches Anderson in the head and slams his head into the ground.

"Please Blake, no. Don't fight back," the person adds, as the deputies force Anderson's arms behind his back.

One deputy pins him down with a knee on his shoulder area while the other deputy places him in handcuffs.

"He did nothing. He was walking with me. He did nothing," the person filming says. "Blake, do not let them do anything, Blake. Blake, let them take you bro."

According to a GoFundMe page set up by Anderson's sister Bailey Anderson to raise funds for medical and legal costs, multiple witnesses said Anderson was speaking with a customer when the deputies "got out of their vehicle and proceeded to ambush him with no probable cause."

"No name, source of identification, or justification for arrest was asked for before immediately slamming his head into a glass window," his sister wrote on the page.

Anderson had been recovering from a ruptured right eye and "finally showing signs of his sight returning" prior to Sunday's incident, she wrote.

"After being slammed into the window, Blake attempted to let the officers know about the current condition of his eye to no avail.

"While on the ground, Officer Rodriguez repeatedly struck him in the head with his firearm, punched him in the face, pressed his gun into the back of his head, continuously slammed his head into the concrete, and stomped on his head. All while his partner held Blake down."

Anderson sustained multiple injuries, including a dislocated shoulder, his sister said. "Worst of all, the sight improvement in his right eye has now deteriorated. Doctors say the eye must be cosmetically removed, and a prosthetic eye should be inserted."

She described her brother "one of the most incredible people to be around" and said he is expecting a baby with his long-time girlfriend.

"He was at work trying to provide for his family, and this tragic incident happened," she added.

Bailey Anderson has been contacted for comment.

White Opelousas Police Sgt Convicted for Brutally Attacking Black Teen Restrained to a Hospital Bed. Jury Found Cop Repeatedly Punched and Used Chokehold on Teen, who was Not Under Arrest or a Suspect

On count one, he was accused of hitting the teen in the face. He was found guilty on that count.
On count two, he was accused of using his hand to "choke" the teen. He was found guilty on that count.
On count three, he was accused of using his arm and elbow to "choke" the teen. He was found guilty on that count.
On count four, he was accused of pushing the teen's leg; he was found not guilty on that count.
On count five, he was accused of pulling the teen's arm while his wrist was handcuffed; the jury was unable to agree on a verdict on that count.

He faces faces up to 20 years in prison, so how many days in jail do you think he will get hooked up with? Maybe just probation? what is white collective power?

From [HERE] A white Opelousas police officer might face jail time after he was convicted Tuesday on three counts of malfeasance in connection with a 2019 attack on a Black teenager who was restrained in an emergency room hospital bed.

Tyron Andrepont, 50, now awaits a sentencing date following a court-ordered pre-sentence investigation that will probably occur sometime during the next six months.

Andrepont tried to resign, but the City Council rejected his resignation. Then, in July 2020, the council voted to terminate him after Louisiana State Police investigators determined from hospital camera footage that Andrepont allegedly used “excessive force” in handling Jonah Coleman, a patient at Opelousas General Hospital. [MORE]

The teenager was not a suspect in a crime or in police custody.

St. Landry Parish Assistant District Attorney Katie Ryan, who was the lead prosecutor for the two-day jury before retired District Judge Ronnie Cox, said during an interview that each count of malfeasance against Andrepont carries a maximum sentence of five years, with or without hard labor.

Flora Coleman, mother of Jonah Coleman, spoke to reporters after the trial and said she hopes Andrepont will never work again as a police officer.

A hospital surveillance camera filmed as Opelousas Police Sgt. Tyron Andrepont repeatedly struck and applied a choke hold to a restrained black teenager in October 2019, court documents said. He attacked the teenager on 3 separate occasions.

On Oct. 30, Andrepont responded to Opelousas General Hospital’s south campus, where 18-year-old Jonah Coleman was receiving treatment in the hospital’s emergency room. Coleman had been taken to the hospital by his family at the request of his parents and was not in police custody, McLendon and the teen's attorney said. 

Louisiana State Police Investigator Mark Fournet reported footage from Coleman’s treatment room in the hospital’s emergency facility showed the teenager tried to get out of bed several times [which is not illegal]

At time stamp 7:18, Andrepont rushed toward Coleman, struck him in the face with his right hand and Coleman’s head snapped back. Andrepont reached for Coleman again but didn’t make contact, then pushed down on Coleman’s neck and upper chest before putting his hand on Coleman’s neck and pushing him away, the affidavit said.

At time stamp 7:37, Andrepont grabbed Coleman’s right leg and pushed his leg up and toward Coleman’s head. Five minutes later, Andrepont put his right hand on Coleman’s neck, pushing his head down. He maintained his hold on Colemna’s neck, according to court documents. At 8:32, Andrepont grabbed Coleman’s neck with his right hand and pushed his head down while maintaining “his hold on Jonah’s neck.” At 9:51, Fournet reported that Andrepont put his right arm around Coleman’s neck in a choke hold, the documents said.

Finally, at 10:18 p.m., Andrepont “held the handcuff that was still attached to Jonah’s right wrist and pulled it to the rear, extending Jonah’s arm.”

After reviewing Fournet’s report and the video, St. Landry Parish District Attorney’s Investigator J. Rene Speyrer wrote: “It is my opinion that Sgt. Tyron Andrepont, working as an officer with the Opelousas Police Department, committed several acts of battery on Jonah Shyheem Coleman Jr….”

The six-person trial jury deliberated for three and a half hours on Tuesday. In addition to the conviction on three of the malfeasance charges, jurors also concluded that Andrepont was not guilty on another malfeasance charge. The jury additionally indicated that they could reach no decision on another charge of malfeasance against Andrepont.

Court records contained in the bill of information indicate the malfeasance charges contain separate allegations that Andrepont at some point during the incident placed Coleman in a chokehold, struck or slapped Coleman in the face and restrained Coleman by using arms and elbows.

Defense attorney Kevin Stockstill said after the verdict that Andrepont, who did not testify, does not plan to seek further employment in law enforcement. At the time of his arrest, KATC Investigates turned up several cases in which Andrepont was disciplined while a member of Opelousas Police. To read that story, click here.

Stephen Curry Appeals for Brittney Griner’s Release in Front of Packed Audience Before Game

From [HERE] Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors offered support to Brittney Griner, the American basketball player serving a prison sentence in Russia, saying he hoped everyone was doing their part to bring her home.

Mr. Curry, a star shooter, denounced Ms. Griner’s incarceration during his team’s championship ring ceremony. His statements were part of a coordinated campaign for sports figures—including Billie Jean King, Abby Wambach and WNBA players—to speak about Ms. Griner’s detention.

Her agent planned the campaign, called #WeAreBG, for around her 32nd birthday Tuesday and her appeal hearing next week. She is appealing her nine-year prison sentence on drug charges following her February arrest at a Moscow airport.

“We want to continue to use our platform and the opportunity to shout out a very special member of the basketball community,” Mr. Curry said Tuesday night, wishing her a happy birthday as he addressed a packed crowd at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Mr. Curry spoke during a ceremony ahead of the Warriors’s closely watched season opener on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Warriors beat the Lakers 123-109. [MORE]

George Floyd’s Family is Suing Massa'Bator Kanye West for $250 Million over ‘Flagrant’ Remarks about his Death

Massa’bator Kanye [“a lost sheep in Master's clothing” ] ReAssures his White Masters and White Fan Base that Nothing’s Changed, He’s Still Out of His Mind, and thus, No Threat to White Supremacy

From [HERE] George Floyd’s family is seeking legal action against Kanye West over comments he made about the circumstances surrounding Floyd’s death.

West, who now goes by the name Ye, falsely claimed that Floyd died from fentanyl use on the podcast Drink Champs, despite the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office ruling Floyd’s death a homicide after former police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

“Kanye’s comments are a repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd’s life and to profit from his inhumane death,” said Attorney Pat D. Dixon III, who is taking on the case for Floyd’s family. “We will hold Mr. West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr. Floyd’s legacy.”

The suit is being filed by Floyd’s mother Roxie Washington on behalf of Floyd’s only daughter, who is a minor. A statement from Dixon said the lawsuit against Ye is over “harassment, misappropriation, defamation and infliction of emotional distress seeking $250 million dollars in damages.”

The statement also says the family has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Ye for his comments. Representatives for Ye did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment on this story. [MORE]

Congress investigates how Mississippi spent federal funds amid Jackson water crisis

From [HERE] Two congressional committees want Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves to explain how the country’s poorest state is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds as its predominantly Black capital city struggles with crumbling water infrastructure.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., sent the request in a letter to Reeves on Monday as part of an investigation by the Homeland Security and the Oversight and Reform committees into a safe drinking water crisis that at its height left thousands of Jackson residents without running water this summer.

The breakdown occurred after Jackson was pummeled by days of heavy rain and the city’s main water treatment plant failed. In the past, Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, a Democrat, has argued that the city’s public water utility was poorly positioned to handle threats from climate change because Republican state leaders have provided little financial help for the aging system’s challenges. He has estimated that tackling the city’s water troubles, which stretch back decades, could cost billions of dollars. [MORE]

The So-called Clean Energy Revolution is Based on Black Child Labor: US Acknowledges Children (as young as six) in the Congo are Used for the Electric Vehicle Supply Chain

From [HERE] The federal government has, for the first time, included crucial raw materials needed for the clean energy transition under a list of goods that have child or forced labor in their supply chains.

E&E News was the first to report on the change, which the Biden administration rolled out on Tuesday. The administration this week updated the list of goods, which it has maintained since 2006, with polysilicon, used primarily to make solar panels, as well as cobalt, which is a key input in lithium-ion batteries.

The inclusion of these materials in the report is meant to “[draw] attention to critical supply chains in clean energy,” Thea Mei Lee, the Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs, said in a foreword to the report. “The information is out there for companies and consumers to leverage against regimes that promote and prop up exploitative labor practices.”

The demand for raw materials for solar panels and batteries is projected to skyrocket over the next few years as the clean energy revolution takes hold. The market for cobalt, in particular, is already growing astronomically as the electric vehicle market expands: demand for cobalt increased by 22% in 2021, while some estimates say it could grow 30% by 2025.

But the labor practices surrounding both these materials have serious issues. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is home to around 70% of the world’s cobalt resources, an estimated 40,000 of the 255,000 miners involved in the industry are children, some as young as 6 years old. These children often work 12-hour days—some shifts are as long as 24 hours—for pay as low as a few dollars a day.

Around 45% of the world’s polysilicon of the grade needed to produce solar panels, meanwhile, is produced in the Xinjiang region of China. There, research has shown, the Chinese government is putting tens of thousands of the 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities detained there to work producing various goods, including polysilicon.

Last year, the U.S. banned the import of polysilicon from certain companies in China in order to crack down on the horrific labor practices of that supply chain. The import of products containing cobalt from the DRC, however, remains unregulated—and experts told E&E News in March that they don’t expect to see a similar crackdown on cobalt products. (Some human-rights advocates say that hamstringing the industry would be a huge blow to communities that rely on the mines for income, and that working conditions in DRC cobalt mines, while bad, do not meet the standard for forced labor as is seen in China.)

The Biden administration has been working to boost battery production to jumpstart the clean energy revolution, while simultaneously staying mostly silent on how it plans to deal with the problematic labor and environmental practices of mining for materials used in these batteries. The inclusion of cobalt in this report without any plans for a hard ban on imports could effectively create the appearance of a toothless strategy on the problems with mining for clean energy, experts told E&E.

The Black Alliance for Peace says the UN Mission to Haiti Is a Foreign Occupation, Repressing Haitian Sovereignty

From [HERE] Dear Dr. Barnett: 

On September 19, 2022, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) issued a short statement expressing grave concern about worsening conditions in Haiti and pressing for “urgent and immediate attention from the international community.” In light of CARICOM’s more direct engagement in Haitian affairs in recent months, we call on your organization to respect Haitian sovereignty and to support the Haitian masses in their stand against the ongoing occupation of their country by foreign powers. 

Despite the erroneous representation of the current protests in Haiti as simply “gang violence,” the latest demonstrations are a direct result of two factors. First, they are a response to the everyday economic misery caused by rising inflation, especially through the staggering increase in the price of fuel. Second, they are part of a long history of demands for the end of foreign meddling in Haitian affairs, especially via the installation and maintenance of an unelected and illegitimate government by the Core Group, of which the United Nations is a part. 

We applaud your concern for Haiti. We have also noted the support your member nations have given to Caribbean and Latin American self-determination. For this reason, we would like to remind CARICOM members that the U.S., Canada, France, and other Western countries, along with the Core Group, and UN missions such as MINUSTAH, are directly responsible for the current conditions in Haiti. Attempting to solve the current crisis in Haiti through a dialogue between unelected and illegitimate Haitian “stakeholders” will not be successful. It will only serve the needs of non-Haitians.

We share with you the words of a coalition of Haitian grassroots organizations explaining the main reason for the currency protests:

“[T]hese popular protests are part of a struggle for a Haiti free from suffocating foreign interference, gangsterization, this extreme manufactured misery and an anti-national, illegitimate, criminal political regime established by the Core Group of which the UN is a member.”

A brief historical contextualization is in order:

The UN Mission to Haiti Is a Foreign Occupation Repressing Haitian Sovereignty

As you surely are aware, the United Nations became an occupying force in Haiti after the U.S.-France-Canada-led 2004 coup d’état against Haiti’s democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We must note that, in addition to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, only Jamaica’s P.J. Patterson, in his capacity as leader of CARICOM, spoke up against the coup.

Following the coup, the UN took over from U.S. forces. Under Chapter VII of the UN charter, the UN established the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (or MINUSTAH), for the tasks of military occupation under the guise of establishing peace and security. The Workers Party-led government of Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva then betrayed the Haitian people and undercut Haiti’s sovereignty by agreeing to lead the military wing of the UN mission in Haiti.

Ten Reasons Why the U.N. Occupation of Haiti Must End

The history of the UN in Haiti has been a history of violence. An expensive, multi-billion dollar operation, MINUSTAH had between 6,000 and12,000 military troops and police stationed in Haiti alongside thousands of civilian personnel. Like the first U.S. occupation (1915-1934), the UN occupation under MINUSTAH was marked by its brutality and racism towards the Haitian people. Civilians were brutally attacked and assassinated. “Peace-keepers” committed sexual crimes. UN soldiers dumped human waste into rivers used for drinking water, unleashing acholera epidemic that killed between 10,000 and 50,000 people. The UN has still not been held accountable for this needless death.

The Core Group — an international coalition of self-proclaimed “friends” of Haiti — came together during the MINUSTAH occupation. Non-Black, un-elected, and anti-democratic, the goal of the Core Group is to oversee Haiti’s governance. Meanwhile, as with the first occupation, the United States and MINUSTAH trained and militarized Haiti’s police and security forces, often rehabilitating and reintegrating rogue members. The United States, in collusion with MINUSTAH and the Core Group, also over-rode Haitian democracy, installing both neo-Duvalierist Michel Martelly and his Haitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK), alongside Martelly’s protege and successor, the late Jovenel Moïse.

It is claimed that this occupation officially ended in 2017 with the dissolution of MINUSTAH. But the UN has remained in Haiti under a new acronym: BINUH, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti. BINUH has had an outsized role in Haitian internal political affairs. For example, soon after Moïse was assassinated, its representative, Helen La Lime, asserted that Claude Joseph would be installed as Haiti’s leader. Later, the “Core Group” switched gears and demanded that Ariel Henry should be president. And this is exactly what happened when a “new” Haitian government was announced on July 20, 2021, with Henry as leader. This, without any say from the Haitian people, without any pretense of a democratic process, without any concern for Haiti’s sovereignty.

UN Occupation Increases Violence and Instability

Haiti currently has an unelected, unpopular, unaccountable, and illegitimate prime minister, propped up by the United States and the western nations. Meanwhile, Haiti’s security situation has deteriorated considerably as groups, armed by the transnational Haitian and Levantine elite, continue their attacks on the Haitian people. We must emphasize that, in the eighteen years that the United Nations mission has participated in the occupation of Haiti, the Haitian people have only experienced violence and political instability. You must recognize the foreign occupation of Haiti has left it in a state of disarray and violence.

The consequences of Foreign Meddling and Occupation

We must remind you that this is the sixth week of protests of the Haitian people against both the U.S.-backed puppet government of Ariel Henry and the continued occupation and meddling of the Core Group and the UN itself. With all the talk of Haitian “lawlessness,” one would never know that the other main reason for the protests was the illegitimate government’s decision, under IMF austerity dictates, to cut fuel subsidies, amid spiraling inflation and economic insecurity. Hear the people’s words:

“This new decision, taken to the detriment of the interests of the people, has aroused his anger and also intensified a protest movement already initiated, whose objective is the recovery of our sovereignty, the recovery of Haiti’s destiny by Haitians, the establishment by Haitians of a legitimate government, capable of defending the interests of the people and meeting the various challenges of the moment.”

No to Occupation. Yes to Self-Determination.

The speed at which contemporary events are moving in Haiti makes it difficult for those outside the Caribbean republic to understand its internal political dynamics. Because of this, it is easy to resort to historical cliches and short-hand analyses in an attempt to neatly package and summarize or flatten what are oftentimes complex, structural, and historical formations whose origins are as much rooted outside than inside the country. Thus to outsiders Haiti is in the middle of a crisis, a never-ending crisis marked by lawlessness and violence, by the failure of government and the collapse of the state, and by a savage populism paired with well-armed, predatory gangs.

We believe this representation of Haiti is fueled by an ancient racism premised on the notion that Haitian people (and African people more generally) are incapable of self-government, and this notion, in turn, nurtures the rationalization for the strengthening of the current mandate for the continued international occupation of Haiti.

We ask that you think with all seriousness about the relationships among nations in our region. All nations should be able to chart their own destiny, not just some. You must know the history of the proud Haitian people whose Revolution changed the course of world history and material aid helped the liberation of the Americas from colonial rule and enslavement. Despite the continued affront to its self-determination, the people of Haiti will continue to fight for its liberation.

The Black Alliance for Peace, in alignment with the wishes of the Haitian masses and their supporters, absolutely stands against any foreign armed intervention in Haiti, and continues to demand an end to the unending meddling in Haitian affairs by the United States and Western powers. We call for the dissolution of the imperialist Core Group, an end to Western support for the unelected and unaccountable puppet government of Ariel Henry, and for the respect of Haitian sovereignty.

Signed,

The Black Alliance for Peace, Haiti/Americas Team

Justice Department announces settlement to resolve lending discrimination claims against Evolve Bank and Trust

From [HERE] On September 29, 2022, the Justice Department announced a proposed consent order with Evolve Bank and Trust to resolve allegations of lending discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and national origin in the pricing of its residential mortgage loans from at least 2014 through 2019.

Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, Evolve Bank maintains mortgage lending offices and provides mortgage lending services in 15 states.  Pursuant to the settlement, Evolve Bank must establish a settlement fund of $1.3 million to compensate affected borrowers, and must also pay a $50,000 civil penalty.  By way of background, after opening an investigation, the Justice Department filed a complaint alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by Evolve Bank.  The Justice Department alleged that Evolve Bank’s loan pricing resulted in Black, Hispanic and female borrowers paying more in their “discretionary pricing” components of home loans than White or male borrowers for reasons unrelated to their creditworthiness.  This “discretionary pricing” component allegedly allowed Evolve Bank’s loan officers  to set artificially high interest rates for reasons having nothing to do with the borrower’s credit qualifications or loan characteristics and then to offer discounts without any requirement for a loan officer to provide or document a justification.

The proposed consent order requires Evolve Bank, for a period of four years, to maintain policies that reduce loan officer discretion, employ a fair lending officer who will work in close consultation with the bank’s leadership, and provide fair lending training to its personnel.

The Department of Justice consent order with Evolve is just the latest of a series of consent orders that the CFPB and/or DOJ have entered into this year with banks and non-banks involving alleged discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act and/or Equal Credit Opportunity Act.  As is typically the case, the DOJ had no evidence of direct discrimination against members of a protected class and relied instead on the disparate impact theory in alleging violations of these statutes.  The major takeaway from recent matters is that redlining and the use of discretionary pricing are likely to continue to be matters that draw the attention of the DOJ and CFPB.

Corpse Biden Pardons Thousands of People Convicted of Federal Marijuana Possession as His Fellow White Liberals Fill the Jails with Black People in DC, NYC, Chicago, LA etc.

From [HERE] President Biden on Thursday pardoned(link is external) all people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and said his administration would review whether marijuana should still be a Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LSD, saying that “makes no sense” (article available here)(link is external).

The pardons will clear about 6,500 people who were convicted on federal charges of simple possession of marijuana from 1992 to 2021 and thousands more who were convicted of possession in the District of Columbia.

Mr. Biden urged governors to follow his lead for people convicted on state charges of simple possession. The number of convictions under state laws vastly outnumbers those who have been charged with a violation of federal laws.

“Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives — for conduct that is legal in many states,” Mr. Biden said on Twitter(link is external) on Thursday. “That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs.”

Marijuana is already fully legal in about 20 states, and some other states have relaxed criminal penalties.

Proclamation available here(link is external).

Ninth Circuit Court Rules that Law Criminalizing Homelessness Violates Eighth Amendment

From [HERE] Grants Pass, Ore. has more homeless residents than shelter beds, forcing some homeless to sleep in public spaces. Easy fix, says the town, we'll just make that illegal. Ninth Circuit(link is external): You can't ticket the involuntarily homeless just for being homeless. “We affirm the district court’s ruling that the City of Grants Pass cannot, consistent with the Eighth Amendment, enforce its anti-camping ordinances against homeless persons for the mere act of sleeping outside with rudimentary protection from the elements, or for sleeping in their car at night, when there is no other place in the City for them to go.” Dissent: Even if that's right, it has to be assessed person by person, not on a class basis. This case “should be overturned or overruled at the earliest opportunity.”

New Study Finds Significant Racial Disparities in the Administration of the Death Penalty in Liberal St. Louis County. Death is 3.5 Times More Likely to Be Imposed if the Victim was White

From [HERE] A study of more than 400 death-eligible murder cases in St. Louis County, Missouri over a 27-year period has found significant racial disparities in the county’s administration of the death penalty based upon the race of the victim.

St. Louis County is liberal area - St. Louis county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.

An expert report by University of North Carolina political scientist Frank R. Baumgartner released on September 20, 2022 found that the likelihood that a death sentence would be imposed in St. Louis County was 3.5 times greater if the victim was white, as compared to cases in which the victim was Black. The race-of-victim effects “persist[ed] after the introduction of controls for aggravating and mitigating factors,” Baumgartner wrote, “meaning that these disparities cannot be explained by legitimate case characteristics.”

Baumgartner’s study was prepared in connection with defense efforts to obtain clemency for death-row prisoner Kevin Johnson, a teen offender sentenced to death for killing a white police officer. It covered the years 1991–2018, tracking the period in which former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch was in office. Voters ousted McCullough in 2018 after he failed to indict a white police officer for the murder of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, which incited the Ferguson protests. 

Baumgartner found statistically significant evidence that white lives mattered more to county prosecutors than Black lives during McCullough’s tenure, with the greatest race-of-victim disparities in the treatment of cases occurring at the stages of the case in which prosecutors had the greatest discretion. While more than twice as many of the 408 death-eligible cases that came before county prosecutors during the study period involved Black victims (68.4% to 31.6%), nearly two-thirds of the 29 cases that resulted in death sentences in the county involved victims who were white (62.1% to 37.9%). (Click to enlarge graphic.) On average, 7.1% of death-eligible cases resulted in death sentences. However, death was imposed in 14.1% of white-victim cases, as compared to 4.0% of cases in which the victim was Black.