Page 24 - 4-10-15 Friday's Edition

National
Nashville Prosecutor Fired After
Trial Begins For Former
Plea Deal Was To Be Sterilized
Cleveland Police Officer
NASHVILLE, TN --- A prosecutor in Nashville, Tenn., was fired after reports emerged that he had de- manded that women in- volved in some plea negotiations undergo sterili- zation, the Associated Press reports.
Brian Holmgren, a for- mer Davidson County assis- tant district attorney, told AP on Wednesday that he had been fired. But the move comes after an investigation by AP revealed that steriliza- tion surgery was used as part of plea bargains at least four
ders, 36, who had a 20-year history of mental illness. She had been charged with neg- lect after her 5-day-old baby mysteriously died, the report says. And her defense attor- ney says the prosecutor as- signed to the case refused to move forward with a plea deal to keep the woman out of prison unless she had the surgery.
The Nightly Show Host Lights Into Gov. Rick Scott
The Nightly Show host Larry Wilmore recently did a show that featured Gov. Rick Scott.
Larry Wilmore took on the subject of 'banned words' on last Wednesday's episode of The Nightly Show - and cer- tainly didn't mince his in doing so.
The host was incredulous over a recent report that Florida Governor Rick Scott banned local scientists from using the terminology 'climate change' or 'global warming' in official reports and speeches.
Wilmore headlined the show with the news report, which gathered pace on Tues- day with an environmental group calling for an investiga- tion into the allegations.
'Florida bans the term cli- mate change?' Wilmore said, before adding: 'Sorry Republi- cans, it's like the phrase black president, you can't just wash it away.'
Clearly not planning on ad- hering to the ban himself, Wilmore entered into a cor- dial discussion about how the weather had improved in New York.
Yesterday was cold, today warm. Climate. Change,' the host said with emphasis and a wry smile.
Minutes later, after playing some news footage, Wilmore was still up in arms about Gov- ernor Scott.
'Can't use the words climate change? That's like telling Rudy Giuliani he can't us the term 9/11,' Wilmore went on, skewering the former New York mayor in the process.
After ranting about how 'climate change' terminology was formerly invented by Re- publicans to replace 'global warming', Wilmore reached exasperation.
'Can't we just ban the term Rick Scott,' he said, to laughs from the studio audience.
Involved In Deadly Shooting
JASMINE RANDERS
times in the past five years in child abuse and neglect cases.
The most recent case, first reported by the Tennessean, involved Jasmine Ran-
The trial of a white Cleve- land police officer began Monday in a case that trig- gered a federal investigation into the Cleveland Police De- partment’s use of deadly force.
Michael Brelo faces two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the Novem- ber 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who were African American, after a high-speed chase. A judge will decide whether Brelo’s 15 shots in a hail of 137 police bullets were justified, according to the As- sociated Press.
It all began with a traffic stop near downtown Cleve- land that turned into a car chase involving more than 100 officers driving in some five dozen police cars. The chase ended in a middle school parking lot, where Russell and Williams’ Chevy Malibu became trapped.
An officer opened fire when Russell allegedly tried to move the Malibu. Prosecu-
The trial of former police of- ficer Micheal Brelo began Mon- day.
tors say that Brelo jumped on the hood of the car and fired the final 15 shots down into the windshield. Russell and Williams were un- armed. The prosecution con- tends that Brelo fired his weapon directly at Russell and Williams after the threat was over. But the de- fense says that the threat to the officers’ lives did not end until Brelo removed the keys from the suspects’ vehicle.
Brelo’s defense team opted to have a judge rather than a jury decide his fate. He could receive a maximum sentence of 25 years if con- victed.
Teen Will Stand Trial For Killing Friend
GREENSBURG, Pa. – A 16-year-old Pennsylvania boy charged with fatally shooting a friend in the face, then tak- ing a selfie with his body has been ordered to stand trial on criminal homicide and firearms charges.
Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey doesn't deny that Maxwell Morton, of Jeannette, killed 16-year-old Ryan Mangan at Man- gan's home Feb. 4.
But Thomassey dis- putes that Morton meant to kill Mangan. He says the boys were horsing around with a loaded gun when Mangan was shot.
A police officer testified that Morton was trying to
MAXWELL MORTON
take a picture of Mangan with the cellphone aimed down the barrel of the gun before pulling the trigger.
Thomassey says Mor- ton panicked and took the selfie to send to a friend as "proof" after the friend re- fused to believe what hap- pened.
Answering Craigslist Ad: Woman Charged In Death Of D.C. Lawyer
JAMYRA GALLMON And DAVID MESSERSCHMITT
‘Dean’ Of Black Preachers Dies On Easter Sunday
A bizarre case has taken an even stranger turn after Dis- trict of Columbia police ar- rested a 21-year-old woman and charged her with first-de- gree murder in the killing of young newlywed David Messerschmitt.
It all began Feb. 9, when Messerschmitt, 30, logged into Craigslist and posted an ad looking for gay sex under the name "dcguy456."
He believed he was chat- ting with a guy. The two agreed to meet.
The person on the other end of those messages was al- legedly 21-year-old Jamyra Gallmon. Gallmon al- legedly posed as a man in her responses with the intention of robbing Messerschmitt. Court records allege that Messerschmitt's hotel- room door was open when Gallmon arrived. The pair got into a struggle and "the
defendant pulled a knife from her pants and stabbed the vic- tim repeatedly until he fell to the floor where she stabbed him several more times. His hands had been bound with zip-ties into a pair of makeshift cuffs.
The next day, police found Messerschmitt dead inside the hotel room. Messer- schmitt's credit cards were scattered and police also found a "computer, lubricant, condoms, cell phone and enema kit."
They soon discovered Messerschmitt's Craigslist correspondence and report- edly linked the incoming emails back to Gallmon. Gallmon's apartment turned up a black coat, boots, knife, gloves and a packet of zip ties.
Gallmon made an initial appearance on the felony murder charge in Superior Court in DC on Thursday.
DURHAM, NC --- The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor, one of the leading voices on faith, politics and social jus- tice during the civil rights movement, died Easter Sun- day of a heart attack, the New York Times reports.
He was 96 years old.
Taylor presided over a 10,000-member congrega- tion in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Concord Baptist Church of Christ from 1948 to 1990. There, he grew his following and cemented his place in black American culture as “one of the nation’s most elo- quent churchmen,” the Times explains.
Taylor had attended a church service in Durham, N.C., earlier Sunday, and then had lunch with his wife, Phillis Taylor. He later died at the Duke University
REV. GARDNER C. TAYLOR
Medical Center. Taylor had been living in North Carolina for about 25 years, having re- tired there.
Rev. Taylor wrote sev- eral books and 2,000 ser- mons, and was the recipient of 15 honorary doctorates. He was a brilliant craftsman who combined Scripture with “mystical allusions” and straight talk to impart his sermons.
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