Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 6-11-19

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Autistic Foundation Awards Laptops For Second Year
A Night Of Comedy Raises Funds For Innocence Project
ATTY. LANSING C. SCRIVEN AND JAMES BAIN, who was exonerated after spending 35 in prison.
ANTHONY NAIBOA
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
For the second consecu- tive year, the Anthony Nai- boa Autistic Foundation has awarded laptop computers to two graduating seniors. The students were presented the laptops during a cere- mony at their respective high schools.
The recipients were cho- sen by school personnel and were selected based on the obstacles they overcame.
This year, David Brown was chosen as the Middleton High School re- cipient. Cristopher Mc- Cray was chosen as the recipient at Hillsborough High School.
Casimar Naiboa, fa- ther of Anthony Naiboa, and his family made the pre- sentations. The presentation was designed to help strug- gling students who have overcome obstacles to con- tinue their education. They are also a means for the Naiboa Family to giving back to the community.
The Anthony Naiboa Autistic Foundation was named in honor of 20-year- old Anthony Naiboa. He was the oldest of his family’s five children.
Anthony, who was Autistic, was killed in Octo- ber 2017, after he exited the HART bus on N. 15th Street. He was walking north on 15th Street in the area of Wilder Avenue when he was shot. He was the third of 4 victims killed in a 51-day pe- riod in Seminole Heights.
The Foundation was es- tablished in his name.
David Brown, a senior at Middleton High School, was the recipient of a laptop. He was chosen as the recipient of the An- thony Naiboa Scholarship.
Some of those attending the program at Middleton High School were on the left of the photograph of Anthony Naiboa were: Ms. McCray, Ms. Ravenel, Ms. Clarke, recipient and David Brown. Shown on the right of the photograph are: Taino Naiboa, Sgt. Rutzke, Casimar Naiboa and school prin- cipal, Ms. Tia Brown.
Cristopher McCray, a senior at Hillsborough High School, is shown with: his right proud mom, Latorria Moore, and his brother, Elijah Settles, left of Anthony Naiboa picture. An- thony Naiboa’s family shown on he right are family, Casimar Nubia, Taino Naiboa and Maria Rodriguez.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
“Stand Up For Comedy, a night of comedy benefitting the Innocence Project of Florida, was held last month. Thee well-attended comedy show was held at the Friday Morning Musicale. All Sports Community Service (ASCS) and the Junior Buccaneers were sponsors of the event. Featured during the evening were: Karen Bergreen, Andy Pitz and Owen Smith.
Instead of taking its an- nual trip to the Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery, AL, Tyrone Keys, founder ASCS, said, “We felt it would be a good opportunity for the ASCS alumni o meet person- ally, the men who would be in attendance, who have sur- vived decades of injustices and celebrate them. These men have been locked away in prison for decades with no hope of ever getting out.”
The goal of the Innocence Project of Florida is to find and free the staggering num- ber of those who are innocent housed in Florida prisons, and to reform the system re- sponsible for their unjust im- prisonment.
Proceeds from the event will provide critical funding for the Innocence Project’s litigation efforts on behalf of the wrongly convicted, ex- plained Atty. Lansing C. Scriven.
“Since the inception of the Innocence Project in 2003, 20 persons have been freed from Florida’s prisons, pri- marily through DNA evi- dence, which proved their actual innocence,” Atty.
TYRONE KEYS Scriven continued. Those
individuals collectively served over 430 years in prison.
“In March 2019, the Inno- cence Project of Florida helped secure the exonera- tion of Hubert Myers and Clifford Williams in Duval County. The men served al- most 43 years in prison.
Atty. Scriven, who serves on the Board of Direc- tors of the Innocence Project, said the Project helped a gen- tleman named James Bain, with whom he has kept in contact.
“At the time of his exoner- ation in 2009, Mr. Bain’s 35 years in prison was the longest time served by any DNA exoneree in the entire country. Mr. Bain is now a Tampa resident and doing well.”
Bain was 19 when he went to prison in 1974, and 54 when he was released.
Among those who con- tributed to the success of the comedy event were: Atty. Scriven, Jamal Jefferson, Junior Buccaneers’ Deb- bie Berkovits, Baigrie, Heather Castle, Randall Tucker, Sergio Perez and Andre Kirwan.
Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the An- thony Naiboa Autistic Foundation can send do- nations to:
Anthony Naiboa Autistic Foundation, Account #10001006182860 Routing #263182817 Suncoast Credit Union.
PAGE 8 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2019