Page 20 - Florida Senttinel 7-9-19

National
Man Convicted Of Attempted Murder Wore Blackface To Sentencing
Family Receives $6.75 Million
Settlement For Terrill Thomas,
Who Died In Ex-Milwaukee
A Hawaiian man who’d been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing three people during a road rage in- cident tried to make a so- ciopolitical statement by wearing blackface, Hawaii News Now reports.
Hawaii, believes that he is being treated unfairly by the American judicial sys- tem, and therefore being treated as if he were Black. Since he thinks he is being treated as if he were a Black man, he decided to show up in court in blackface – using a permanent black marker, Hawaii News Now states.
Char was convicted in March for the attempted murder of three people after a road rage incident in which he claimed he was cut off while driving. After the other car pulled over, Char al- legedly got out of his car, pepper-sprayed the driver and then stabbed the driver and the passenger. Char also stabbed the driver of an- other car who pulled over to break up the fight. One vic- tim was stabbed five times and nearly died, the Hon- olulu Star-Advertiser re- ports.
Sheriff David Clarke’s Jail
What was found to be the largest death sentence in Wis- consin, Milwaukee County, had brought about a massive jail death settlement of $7 mil- lion. The amount of $5 million was first proposed in January by the family of the man who had died because of dehydra- tion in his jail cell in 2016. $1.7 million was, however, added by the Armor Correctional Health Services.
The Largest Settlement in the Country
This settlement didn’t just break the record for the largest settlement in Wisconsin but also managed to become the largest in the entire country. The family lawyers had re- leased a statement regarding the settlement saying that it re- flected not just the profound harm that had been suffered by Terrill Thomas but also the shocking amount of miscon- duct that had been portrayed by the defendants.
The prisoner’s water had been shut off and all his obvi- ous signs of distress had been completely ignored by the de- fendant. This is why the family lawyer had made it clear in his statement by saying that Ter- rill Thomas had quite liter- ally died of thirst.
This event had occurred in 2016 when Thomas was be- lieved to have had a psychotic episode and had fired 2 rounds in the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Once he was jailed, the water of his holding cell had been cut off and was never fixed or restored. The prisoner was also unable to communi-
Mark Char in blackface.
TERRILL THOMAS
cate his problems and the severity of his condition due to his mental health at the time.
After a long 7 days, the prisoner was found dead in his cell due to severe dehydration.
For their misconduct, the employees of the jail had been convicted with charges of abus- ing the prisoner while the ad- ditional charges on the Armor Correctional Health Services are still pending. These serv- ices were responsible for the health of all the prisoners in their jail.
Erik Heipt, who was one of the lawyers for the family, said that he had been handling deaths in jails for about 20 years, but he still hasn’t come across any correctional facility that puts their inmates’ health ahead of their private profits. He continued to say that when- ever healthcare at jails is priva- tized, the community will not be able to have the results they would expect.
During his sentencing,
where Char is going to serve life in prison with the possi- bility of parole, he was out- fitted in an orange jumpsuit and had black ink on his face to speak to the court.
“Now this kangaroo court is trying to give me a life sen- tence for me trying to protect and defend myself against the attack from three guys ― in essence, treating me like a black man,” Char said on Wednesday, July 3, Hawaii News Now reported. “I pre- pared myself to play my part in your kangaroo court — treating me like a black man, so today I’m going to be a black man.”
with most judges, does not like political statements or being “shown up” in court. Eddins countered Char’s mockery of the court by telling him that the blackface performance “continues a pattern of disruptive behav- ior designed to undermine the administration of jus- tice,” according to Hawaii News Now.
“What you need to do is look in the mirror,” Eddins told Char, KITV reported. “And if you look in the mir- ror, Mr. Char, you’re not gonna see a black person. You’re gonna see a menace. You’re gonna see a menace to society.”
Judge Todd Eddins, as
North Carolina Barber Erases Lunch Debt
For 14 Recent High School Graduates
Season Bennett, a popu- lar barbershop owner from North Carolina, says she was so inspired by the billionaire Robert F. Smith generous gift to the 2019 graduating class of Morehouse — that she was moved to raise thousands to help high schoolers in her area. Bennett has reportedly raised $4,500 to clear the debts of seniors at East Mecklenburg High School, who would not have graduated without her fi- nancial blessing, Essence re- ports.
Bennett was called to act after hearing about Smith’s generous $40 million pledge last month to clear the student loan debts of recent Morehouse grads.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that is just such a powerful thing for anybody,’” Bennett told CBS affiliate WBTV. “So many stu- dents go into so much debt just trying to get an education.”
She then contacted East Mecklenburg High School to in- quire about the debts of seniors who wouldn’t be able to gradu- ate until the outstanding
SEASON BENNETT AND HIS STAFF
amount was settled. She was re- portedly given the names of 14 students whose balances to- taled $4,500.
Bennett launched a Go- FundMe page to raise the funds, which received a signifi- cant boost from North Carolina Panthers’ Thomas Davis.
“He said, ‘You know what, whatever need you have left over, we’re going to make sure these students graduate.’ ”
Davis’ donation allowed her to reach the goal.
“Thank you to everyone
who donated to the EMHS fundraiser,” Bennett posted on the GoFundMe page. “We surpassed our goal and now our students will all be able to walk in their graduation ceremony and receive their diplomas.”
The fundraiser is still on- going, and any remaining funds will be donated to the high school’s Anti-Suicide Program, the report states.
“We’ve proven that to- gether we can change lives just a few dollars at a time,” said Bennett.
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