By:Leon Kwasi Kuntuo-Asare PART I He arrived on the 4th of July, โa hell of a way to spend the independence day of the greatest country in the worldโ, thatโs what the Defense Secretary of the United States, Franklin Benjamin said to himself while visiting a site in the United Arab Republic (U.A.R), where a [โฆ]
Two Transportation Security Administration (TSA), officials have been suspended after allegedly hanging a noose from a pole with two monkeys attached. The incident happened at the Miami International Airport.
After the incident was discovered, TSA reported that they removed the offensive material and are currently investigating the incident.
In a statement the TSA stated:
โThe TSA doesnโt tolerate racist or offensive behavior and those found responsible will be held accountable for their actions.โ
At the end of last week the Justice Department revealed it intends to release 3,100 inmates from federal prisons nationwide. Most of the people are being released for good behavior and were non-violent drug offenders, but some of the people being released also served time for weapons charges, robbery, sex offenses, and national security-related crimes.
This move is part of Trump’s administration implementation of the “First Step Act”, which is part of a criminal justice reform bill, that President Donald Trump signed into law in December of 2018.
According to The Boston Globe:
The First Step Act is one of the signature pieces of legislation passed during the Trump administration with bipartisan support. It shortens sentences for some inmates โ partly through a change in the credit they are given for good behavior โ and increases job training and other programs. It also requires the new risk assessment system, which officials said Friday will allow inmates to complete in-prison programs and, for some, receive โโearned timeโโ credits to get out earlier.
Reportedly, the Trump administration will redirect $75 million in fiscal spending for 2019 to help fund the First Step Act and its programs.
This past Monday a federal judge threw out the charges against three White supremacist gang members, who were indicted for their roles in brutal and violent clashes in political rallies throughout the state of California.
The federal judge, Cormac Carney claimed the three men, who are members of the Rise Above Movement (RAM) gang, were not properly charged when they were charged under a federal anti-riot statute, for planning and then carrying out racist assaults at rallies in 2017 in cities like Huntington Beach, San Bernardino and Berkeley, following the months after President Trump election win.
According to pbs, the federal prosecutor complaint claimed : ” the defendants used the internet to coordinate combat training in preparation for the events”.
When the judge dismissed the case, he claimed he dismissed the case not because the men weren’t guilty of assaults, which they could be charged with later, rather the anti-riot statute of 1968 was too broadly defined.
Judge Carney ordered the release of Robert Rundo, Rober Bowman; Aaron Eason, the third gang member who was already free on bond.
In a separate case in Virginia, three RAM members pleaded guilty to similar charges for their roles in the chaos at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.
An African-American man, who went to prison for six years was awarded $13 million dollars in a settlement , which was agreed upon by the San Francisco board of supervisors .
According to NPR, Jamal Trulove, who is also an actor, was reportedly set up and served prison time for a 2007 murder he did not commit. His 2015 retrial proved his innocence, and he was acquitted for the crime.
In 2007, Trulove sued the SFPD, after he was arrested and sent to prison for the murder of his friend Seu Kuka.
A jury would later determine that San Francisco police officers Maureen DโAmico and Michael Johnson lied and falsified evidence in the case, and even coerced a witness to lie and claim that Trulove was the shooter.
If the case was not overturned, Trulove could of spent the rest of his life behind bar.
Tens of thousands of citizen activists came together in San Francisco, California, standing united against President Donald Trump’s racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.
In a horrendous miscarriage of justice, the Supreme Court of the United States studied a criminal case from Utah, in which evidence was collected illegally by police officers to determine whether it was constitutional for police evidence collected unlawfully to be used in a court of law.
In a 5-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that ” Evidence does not violate the Fourth Amendment because the evidence seized weakened the unlawful stop”
According to news one:
“Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagreed, and says stops like this are all too familiar for people of color. In her dissent, she uses James Baldwinโs The Fire Next Time, W.E.B. Du Boisโs The Souls of Black Folk, and Ta-Nehisi Coatesโ Between the World and Me to support her argument.”
This decision will undoubtedly disproportionately affect the daily lives of ethnic minorities and their treatment by cops.
DISCUSSION ON THE GUTTING OF THE FOURTH AMENDMENT.
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