Page 33 - Florida Sentinel 5-24-19

National
Tamela Mann Celebrity Becomes Ambassador For Weight Watchers
Texas Transgender Woman Seen In Videotaped Attack Found Dead
A 23-year-old transgender woman whose beating in front of a crowd was captured on video has been found dead on a Dallas street, police said. Muhlaysia Booker was found face-down early Satur- day after officers were called following reports of shots being fired. She was pro- nounced dead at the scene, au- thorities said.
Weddington said there's no evidence indicating a link between the shooting and the April 12 beating Booker suf- fered after she was involved in a minor traffic accident . A po- lice affidavit released at the time said Booker accidentally backed into a vehicle before the driver of that vehicle pointed a gun at her and re- fused to let her leave unless she
Muhlaysia Booker in un- dated family photo
paid for the damage.
As a crowd gathered, some-
one offered $200 to a man to beat the woman, who suffered
a concussion, fractured wrist and other injuries, police said. Other men also struck Booker, with one stomping on her head. Edward Thomas, 29, was arrested and jailed on a charge of aggravated assault.
A cellphone recording showed her being beaten as the crowd hollered and watched. Video of the attack was shared on social media.
Booker attended a rally the following week where she said she was grateful to have sur- vived.
"This time I can stand be- fore you, where in other sce- narios, we're at a memorial," The Dallas Morning News re- ported her as saying.
Weddington said the in- vestigation into the April at- tack continues.
TAMELA MANN
Gospel singer/actress Tamela Mann is ready to embark on a healthier lifestyle journey, which is why she has teamed with Weight Watchers (now called WW) as their new celebrity ambassador.
“I decide that this is the help that I needed because I couldn’t do it my own,” she told Essence.com in an ex- clusive interview.
“I prayed about it for a minute to make sure that I wanted to make this step,” she added. “Looking over my life and just thinking about everything, I was like, man, it would be great to be an en- couragement to somebody else and not just to help my- self get over this journey I’ve been struggling with my whole life, because I’ve lost
weight and gained weight, and lost weight. I’m really excited about the lifestyle change and to be able to have people that you can connect with and who can coach you.”
Tamela also took to social media to share the exciting news about her WW partner- ship in hopes of inspiring others with their weight loss goals.
“I’m so excited to start my @ww_us journey!” she wrote on Twitter. “I joined @ww_us b/c I’m really ready for this lifestyle change and I know WW, the new Weight Watchers, can help me lose the weight–Let the journey begin...”
Weight Watchers is just as thrilled to have Tamela on the team.
Ex-Nurse Accused Of Raping Patient Appeals HIV Testing Order
PHOENIX (AP) — A for- mer nurse charged with sex- ually assaulting an incapacitated woman who later gave birth at a Phoenix long-term care facility has appealed a court order re- quiring a test to determine if he has HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.
A lawyer for Nathan Sutherland says in an ap- peal filed last week that a lower-court order should be overturned because there is no evidence to suggest his client has a sexually trans- mitted disease.
Attorney Edwin Molina says such a test would violate Sutherland’s constitutional protections against unrea- sonable searches and seizures.
The Maricopa County At- torney’s Office, which is pros- ecuting Sutherland, declined to comment on the appeal.
Prosecutors have previ-
NATHAN SUTHERLAND
ously cited a state law that says people accused of sexual assault are subject to tests to determine whether they have a sexually transmitted dis- ease. Such results are to be released to the victims.
Authorities say Suther- land, 37, was working as a li- censed practical nurse at Hacienda Healthcare when
he raped the 29-year-old vic- tim, who has been in long- term care since age 3 after suffering a near-drowning.
She gave birth to a boy at the facility on Dec. 29. Em- ployees said they had no idea she was pregnant.
The surprise birth trig- gered reviews by state agen- cies, highlighted safety concerns for patients who are severely disabled or incapac- itated and prompted the res- ignations of Hacienda’s chief executive and one of the vic- tim’s doctors.
Investigators say Suther- land’s DNA matched a sam- ple from the woman’s newborn boy, who is being cared for by her family.
Sutherland has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual abuse and abuse of a vulnera- ble adult.
Hacienda fired Suther- land after his arrest. He has since given up his nursing li- cense.
Theo Shaw Turned A Bad Situation Into A Life’s Calling
In 2006, Shaw and five other Black teenage boys made national headlines after they were charged with attempted murder following a fight with a White student from their Jena, Louisiana high school.
Unable to make bail, Shaw spent seven months in jail awaiting trial. The origi- nal felony charge was low- ered to misdemeanor simple battery. He pleaded no con- test, and his record was later expunged.
Inspired by that experi- ence to help fix the criminal justice system, Shaw later went on to study law at the University of Washington on a full scholarship. After com- pleting a clerkship with Louisiana Chief Justice Ber- nette Johnson, Shaw was recently sworn in to the bar
THEO SHAW
of the District of Columbia. Shaw said, “Being wrongly arrested and incar- cerated as a teenager moti- vated me to become a
lawyer.”
Congratulation Mr.
Shaw on your major success! Your heroic efforts can help push against the criminal jus- tice system and make a change in our community.
PAGE 10-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2019