Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 5-19-17

National News
120+ Black Graduates At Harvard Host Separate Graduation And Reception
Graduates of Harvard will host separate graduation, but will also participate in main ceremony as well.
#FreeBresha Campaign Set To Happen For Teen Who Killed Her Abusive Father
TRUMBULL COUNTY, OH —- Bresha Meadows, 15, has been offered a plea deal and could be released from jail in less than a year, HuffPost’s Melissa Jeltsen reports.
Bresha is accused of mur- dering her father, Jonathan Meadows, 41, according to her arrest report. She allegedly shot him in the head at the family’s home, with his own gun, on July 28, 2016 at age 14.
Bresha’s mother, Brandi Meadows, and her aunt, Mar- tina Latessa, have repeatedly said that Jonathan was a vio- lent man who, for years, physi- cally, psychologically and emotionally abused Bresha’s siblings and her mother.
To her mother, she is a hero.
“In the 17 years of our mar- riage he has cut me, broke my ribs, fingers, the blood vessels in my hand, my mouth, blackened my eyes. I believe my nose was broken,” Bresha's mother wrote at the time. “If he finds us, I am 100 percent sure he will kill me and the children.”
However, Bresha was sub- sequently arrested and sent to Trumbull Country Juvenile De- tention Center where she served time during her birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But, it looks like there may be light at the end of the tunnel, as Bresha’s lawyer, Ian Fried- man (who took on the case pro bono), has confirmed that pros- ecutors have offered for Bresha to serve a total of 18 months
under the tentative deal.
That time includes the nine
months she has already spent in jail. Mental health is also taken into account here, given that Bresha will spend the remain- ing time at an in-patient mental health care facility, receiving treatment for her PTSD, anxiety and depression.
Friedman confirmed that Bresha would likely enter a plea of “true” to an involuntary manslaughter charge, and that, as part of her deal, her record would be sealed and then ex- punged. The deal has not yet been finalized.
Social media actually had a huge part in creating awareness around this case as well as sub- sequent conversations sur- rounding domestic violence.
The Ohio Women’s March held a rally to support the teen, showcasing #FreeBresha signs and homemade buttons, and speaking out on ending violence against women during their gathering in front of the court- house.
"That little girl would have been just another black girl in- carcerated because the system let her down,” without Fried- man, said Latessa, who is Bre- sha’s maternal aunt and a Cleveland detective specializing in domestic violence. “She would have fallen through the cracks.”
A final pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 22. Assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor Stanley Elkins is hopeful that at the hearing, things will all be resolved.
Bresha Meadows, 15, is standing with her older brother Jonathan, Jr., and her father, Jonathan, Sr., is shown hugging her older sister, Brianna at her HS graduation a few months before Bre- sha shot and killed him.
Black graduate students at Harvard University will soon be a part of a first-of-its-kind cere- mony.
On May 23, the prestigious university will hold an individual ceremony for black graduate stu- dents, according to a report by The Root.
The ceremony, which took a year to plan, celebrates “fellow- ship” not “segregation,” said Michael Huggins, a graduate student that will receive his mas- ter’s of public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School this month.
This is an opportunity to cel- ebrate Harvard’s black excel- lence and black brilliance,” Michael Huggins told the on- line publication. “It’s an event where we can see each other and
our parents and family can see us as a collective, whole group. A community.”
More than 120 students have registered to partake in the cer- emony, which will be held at Holmes Field, near the Harvard law School in Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts. The students raised more than $27,000 to pay for the ceremony and a reception that will follow. The student body hopes to organize a similar ceremony for black undergradu- ate students at Harvard next year, Huggins said.
The graduate students still plan to participate in the school’s main ceremony later this month. Last year, Harvard was named the No. 2 best college for African-Americans by Essence and MONEY magazines.
Ex-Bail Bondsman Who Tortured And Murdered, Then Fed His Son, 7, To His Pigs Gets Life
KANSASCITY, KS —-A for- mer Kansas bail bondsman was sentenced to life in prison last Monday for the murder of his 7-year-old son who, law en- forcement say, was subject to abuse and starvation before his remains were fed to pigs on the family’s rental property.
According to the Associated Press, 46-year-old Michael Jones pleaded guilty to first- degree murder in March for the 2015 killing of his 7-year-old son, Adrian Jones.
The judge ordered Jones to spend the rest of his life on parole if he is ever released from prison. His attorney did not object to the life sentence, which prosecutors had sought.
Heather Jones, Adrian’s stepmother, pleaded guilty to the same charge in No- vember and is also serving a life sentence. She had attempted to argue that she felt helpless to protect the young boy and her- self from her abusive husband, however, investigators disco-
Micheal Jones tortuured and murdered his son gets life.
vered that she had also abused the 7-year-old, which added another five years and eight months to her prison sentence.
The young boy died in Sep- tember or October of 2015, but his death was not reported to authorities. His remains were found in November on the fa- mily’s Kansas City rental pro- perty after authorities discovered the boy was missing
while they were responding to a report that Jones had at- tacked his wife.
Adrian’s biological mother, Dainna Pearce, lost custody of her son and two of his siblings years ago.
Pearce’s mother, Judy Conway, said that she finally made herself look at videos and photos from the Jones’ home that detailed her grandson’s abuse.
She recounted how the Joneses kept Adrian naked in a shower stall that was modi- fied so he couldn’t get out.
She said that sometimes they strapped the small child to an inversion table and also made him stand in a swimming pool overnight, up to his neck in stagnant water.
The videos and photos also showed that Heather Jones sometimes beat Adrian with the end of a broom handle and also put alarms on the food so that he could not take any when he was hungry.
Manslaughter Trial Underway For Oklahoma Cop That Fatally Shot Unarmed Black Man
A manslaughter trial is un- derway for Betty Shelby, a white Tulsa police officer ac- cused of fatally shooting Ter- ence Crutcher, an unarmed black man.
Shelby, 43, shot and killed Crutcher, 40, after approach- ing him on the street on Sept. 16, 2016 after his car broke down. Video shows him walking away from her with his hands on his head.
The Tulsa County District Attorney’s office claims Shelby “reacted unreasonably by esca- lating the situation from a con- frontation with Mr. Crutcher, who was not responding to ver- bal commands and was walking away from her with his hands held up, becoming emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted.”
During opening statements, prosecutor Kevin Grey said Shelby had just finished dinner at the nearby police substation and was en route to a domestic
disturbance call when she came upon Crutcher’s abandoned Lincoln Navigator.
Grey, referring to the dash and helicopter cameras, told the jury, “You will see what it looks like from a police officer’s pers- pective.”
Grey implied that Shelby received special treatment by the Tulsa Police Department when she was allowed to view all police videotape before making her statement to detectives days after the shooting.
Former Tulsa Police officer Betty Shelby fatally shot Ter- ence Crutcher who’s SUV had broken down.
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