Page 23 - Florida Sentinel 4-20-18

National
Riot In SC Prison Leads To 7 Inmates Death; 17 Seriously Injured
Smokers Beware: Folks Lacing Synthetic Marijuana With Rat Poison
NEW YORK — Hospitals in New York are being alerted about a new form of synthetic marijuana mixed with rat poi- son. It is believed that the said substance is linked to some cases of uncontrolled bleed- ing.The warning statement has been released on Monday even though there were no reports yet of the substance circulating in New York. It has been found, however, in five states includ- ing Illinois, Maryland, Wiscon- sin, Indiana, and Missouri.
A recommendation was also given to hospitals and clinics to be wary of people who are com- plaining of severe bleeding that is not related to any injury or if the bleeding happened after taking synthetic marijuana.
There are other several
People are being taken to hospital for uncontrollable bleeding after smoking syn- thetic marijuana.
chemical compounds that are used to produce synthetic mar- ijuana. It is made to copy the effects of marijuana but it usu- ally has a dangerous and even life-threatening reaction to users.
Starbucks CEO Vows To ‘Fix’ Problem That Led To 2 Black Men Being Arrested
PHILADELPHIA, PA— On Monday, the chief executive of Starbucks has called for “un- conscious bias” training for store managers and apologized for what he called “reprehensi- ble” circumstances that led to the arrest of two Black men at one of the coffee chain’s Philadelphia stores.
“I will fix this,” Kevin John- son said in a video message.
CEO Johnson appeared on “Good Morning America”, say- ing that “what happened to those two gentlemen was wrong” and said the company was reviewing the actions of the store manager who had called the police.
As Johnson was being in- terviewed on “GMA” , about two dozen protesters were at the downtown Philadelphia Starbucks chanting, "A whole lot of racism, a whole lot of crap, Starbucks coffee is anti- black.”
The protesters later held a sit-in inside the Starbucks shop.
"We don't want this Star- bucks to make any money today. That's our goal," Abdul-
Aliy Muhammad, one of the protest's organizers and co- founder of the Black and Brown Workers Collective, said.
Starbucks said later Monday that the manager “is no longer at that store.”
Johnson met Monday with Philadelphia’s mayor and its police commissioner, who is also Black, and is continues to defend the actions of the offi- cers, plans to deliver a face-to- face apology to the two men who were arrested last Thurs- day.
The two men arrested at the Philadelphia Starbucks have re- tained an attorney, but have agreed to meet with Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.
According to reports, the men were waiting to meet an associate, (a white man), who once he arrived, questioned the intentions of the police.
The timing of the meeting has not been set, according to a Starbucks spokesperson. The company said it hopes the meeting will occur this week while Johnson is in Philadel- phia addressing the controversy over their arrests.
BISHOPVILLE, SC — In- mates armed with homemade knives fought each other for about seven hours over terri- tory and money, leaving seven of them dead in the worst U. S. prison riot in 25 years, officials said Monday.
An inmate who witnessed the violence said that bodies were "literally stacked on top of each other."
At least 17 prisoners were seriously injured at Lee Cor- rectional Institution, South Carolina prisons chief Bryan Stirling said. The first fight started in a dorm about 7:15 p.m. Sunday and appeared to be contained before suddenly starting in two other dorms. Cellphones helped stir up the trouble, and state officials
The riot at the prison in S.C. is one of the worst in 25 years.
urged the federal government to change a law and allow them to block the signals from pris- oners' phones.
No prison guards were hurt. Stirling said they followed
protocol by backing out and asking for support. It took sev- eral hours to restore order, but once a special SWAT team en- tered, the inmates gave up peacefully, he said.
5 FSU Frat Brothers Get Light Sentences For Hazing Death; Compared To FAMU Band Member In 2014 Death
FAMU band members were charged with manslaughter, a felony and sentenced to 10 years probation.
TALLAHASSEE, FL —- Five Florida State University Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers entered guilty pleas on Monday in connection with the Novem- ber hazing death of a 20-year- old Florida State University student.
The men, all in their early 20s, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor hazing in the case of Andrew Coffey, a Pi Kappa Phi fraternity pledge who died of alcohol poisoning on Nov. 3.
In total, nine fraternity mem- bers were charged in the case. The four men who did not plead guilty on Monday are scheduled to go on trial for felony hazing charges in June, according to ABC affiliate WCJB.
Conner Ravelo, Coffey's
big brother in the fraternity, was the first to enter a plea on Mon- day, according to courtroom video. He was also the only de- fendant of the five who apolo- gized to Coffey’s parents in the courtroom, the footage showed.
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, half the time sentenced to the four other defendants, due to his cooperation in the case. The others -- Kyle Bauer, Brett Birmingham, Christopher Hamlin and John Ray -- were sentenced to 60 days in jail each. The men will be on probation for the next two years. They will have misdemeanor charges only on their records.
Comparably, then Orange- Osceola County State Attorney, Jeff Ashton went for the jugu- lar against 13 FAMU Marching 100 band members accused of beating drum major Robert Champion to death.
Champion, 26, was killed after participating in a ritual known as Crossing Bus C, in which band members hit, kicked
Frat members get light sentences in death at FSU, they were charged with misdemeanor hazing and received 1-2 months in jail and 2 years probation. FAMU Hazers received harsher sentences in 2011 death of drum major Robert Champion.
and punched him as he made his way down the aisle of a parked charter bus.
Champion asked to partic- ipate in what was called the "hot seat" beating and the final "crossing over" rites of passage.
The band was suspended, its longtime director was ousted, students were expelled.
Charges followed, includ- i n g 11 for felony hazing and two for misdemeanor hazing.
Most of those charged struck plea deals, though some went to trial. The latter includes three defendants were convicted on manslaughter and hazing re- sulting in death charges.
Ashton said he wanted to send a harsh message charging the Black bandmates with felony hazing.
Circuit Judge Renee A. Roche, who determined the sentences of 9 of the men who were convicted of manslaughter and hazing in April 2015, are now living with felony records for the rest of their lives and
given 10 years probation. Ash- ton asked for the minimum sentence, nine and a half years in prison.
In 2014, Judge Roche sen- tenced the accused ringleader of the ritual, 28-year-old Dante Martin, to six and a half years in prison after a jury trial. She gave him a harsher sentence be- cause he allegedly orchestrated the event, she said.
Jessie Baskin, another for- mer FAMU band member, was sentenced to nearly a year in jail.
Months after the trial in 2015, then State Attorney Jeff Ashton was caught up in a scandal, when the president of the statewide police union joined the call for an investiga- tion after Ashton admitted to frequenting the cheating web- site Ashley Madison. Ashton, lost his position as Orange Osceola state attorney to Aramis Ayala, has now filed to runforaseatasajudgeon the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court.
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