The Baltimore Police Department homicide detectives assigned to find the killer of 16 year old Phylicia Barnes who went missing and found later dead, while visiting family in Baltimore during Christmas, 2010, arrested a suspect last week. Michael Johnson, a former boyfriend of Barnes’ older half -sister has been arrested for her death. It is a bitter sweet ending to a case that failed to garner national attention of 16 year old Barnes, a bright African American teenager, headed for college. She was likely thought to have been abducted according to Baltimore police but later found dead in the Susquehanna River. Phylicia was a straight A student from North Carolina who was visiting relatives in Baltimore over the Christmas holiday in 2010 when she went missing on December 28, 2010. She was planning on attending college in Baltimore, having graduated a year early. Baltimore detectives pitched the media to cover her missing story. There was some coverage on Nancy Grace show, ABC … [Read more...] about Missing Teen Phylicia Barnes’ Suspected Killer Arrested
Archives for April 2012
Connecticut Abolishes the Death Penalty, California Up Next
The execution of Troy Davis was a galvanizing moment raising the profile of the death penalty in America as a civil rights issue. The Governor of Connecticut signed a bill repealing the state’s death penalty into law. "This afternoon I signed legislation that will, effective today, replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of release as the highest form of legal punishment in Connecticut," Malloy said in a statement released on April 25, 2012 after he signed the bill behind closed doors. Ironically it will not affect the 11 persons already on death row. Governor Malloy, a former prosecutor, said he has seen the imperfections in our criminal justice system. Today he did something about it. The execution of Troy Davis did have a real impact on Connecticut’s action. Connecticut now becomes the 5th state in 5 years to abolish capital punishment adding to the nationwide trend toward repeal. In all, 17 states have abolished the death penalty. The national … [Read more...] about Connecticut Abolishes the Death Penalty, California Up Next
This Week’s Hot Button Legal Cases Across the Country
This week is a busy week in hot button legal cases across the country. Trayvon Martin Case- George Zimmerman was able to make the $150,000.00 bail set for him by raising only $15,000 to pay a bail bondsman to post his bond. He was released in the early morning hours of Monday, April 23, 2012. He is allowed to leave the state but authorities released him with an ankle bracelet. Authorities will be able to monitor his whereabouts as he prepares for trial. His arraignment date is May 29. Reverse Trayvon Martin Case- Today in Baltimore, a case known now as the reverse Trayvon Martin case goes on trial with 2 Jewish men charged with beating a 15 year old black teen in a Jewish neighborhood of Baltimore in November, 2010. They spotted the teen in their neighborhood while they were in a car, exited and allegedly chanted “you don’t belong here” as they beat him, according to court and other documents. One brother was a neighborhood watch or patrol person. The two white men were … [Read more...] about This Week’s Hot Button Legal Cases Across the Country
Zimmerman Bail Hearing is an Abnormality in an Abnormal Case
There has been nothing routine about the Trayvon Martin case from beginning up to the bond hearing. Day 54, known as the Zimmerman bond hearing, proved to be no different. Usually a bond hearing is a brief hearing to see if the defendant should receive a bond and under what conditions. A bail hearing ordinarily has none or very few witnesses. And almost never does the defendant testify under oath about the case, except in the Trayvon Martin case. George Zimmerman’s bail hearing was one more unusual abnormality in the Trayvon Martin case. The purpose of bail being set is to ensure the defendant's court's appearances and to protect the community against danger by the defendant. The prosecutor asked for a $1 million bail. The court ultimately set $150,000 bail for George Zimmerman. Putting the $150,000 bail in perspective, there are cases where no death, assault or violence occurred and no prior criminal record and the defendant is held on $100,000 bail. And 2nd degree murder … [Read more...] about Zimmerman Bail Hearing is an Abnormality in an Abnormal Case
Why Trayvon Martin’s Killer Should Remain in Jail Pending Trial
In a surprise move, Trayvon Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, is expected back in court on the morning of Friday, April 20, 2012 to request bail. This is much earlier that his May 29, 2012 arraignment date, where bail had been expected to be raised. It is highly unlikely that he will be able to post a bond, even if the court were to set one. Special Prosecutor, Angela Corey, says that based on the evidence, the charge of 2nd degree is appropriate and one that can be proven. Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, a former prosecutor himself, wants his client out of jail to work with him on preparing his case. Judge Kenneth Lester, an experienced judge since 1996 and known for listening to both sides will decide the issue. Considerations of bail include the nature of the crime, amount of evidence, defendant’s family ties to the community, employment, criminal record and danger to the community and any previous flight risk. The strongest arguments against Zimmerman receiving a bail … [Read more...] about Why Trayvon Martin’s Killer Should Remain in Jail Pending Trial
Racial Profiling and Targeting Blacks from Slavery to Trayvon Martin
It was 150 years ago that Blacks in the District of Columbia were freed by President Abraham Lincoln, on April 16, 1862, eight months before the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet, blacks are still not free from the bondage of racial profiling and targeting that has existed from slavery to today. Before slavery ended, freed black persons needed to carry papers to prove their freedom or risk being placed into slavery. While blacks no longer need papers to prove their freedom, they are subject to racial profiling and targeting based solely on their race. Racial profiling is a form of discrimination by which persons, usually law enforcement, use a person’s race or cultural background as the primary reason to suspect that the individual has broken the law. The term “driving while black” arose from the practice, as many police officers frequently pull over African Americans for no reason other than their race and the stereotypes linked to it. In the Trayvon Martin case, George … [Read more...] about Racial Profiling and Targeting Blacks from Slavery to Trayvon Martin