The Gwinnett County Police Homicide Unit is currently on the scene investigating the apparent murders of one White male and one Black male in the unincorporated area of Buford, Georgia.

The two men were discovered at a residence on Ivy Crest Drive and the third man, located at a nearby home, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, reports the AJC.

Neighbor Whitney Patrick called 911 after one of the victims knocked on her door, according to Channel 2 Action News:

He was just banging on the door, yelling, ‘Help me! Help me! I’ve been shot! We were in the living room. We came to the door and called 911.”

According to Patrick. the man appeared to be shot multiple times:

He had a couple in his neck. He had one in his forearm. So I think he was shot about four or five times.”

Police spokesman, Cpl. Edwin Ritter, said police are working diligently to get more details in this case:

Homicide investigators are interviewing witnesses and CSI is on scene collecting evidence.”

This is a developing story. At this point, no suspects nor motives have been identified.

SEE ALSO:

Is It The End For Newt?

Biden Says He Advised Against bin Laden Raid

Yesterday, the Georgia Secretary of State, Republican Brian Kemp, wrote a strongly-worded letter to President Barack Obama’s lawyer, Michael Jablonski, warning him that “if you and your client choose to suspend your participation in the… proceedings, please understand that you do so at your own peril.”

SEE ALSO:

Obama’s Got Killer Swag After State Of The Union Address

How GOP Racism Has Become The Norm

Kemp’s letter comes in response to Jablonski’s refusal to further participate in court hearings on the subject. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jablonski wrote, in part:

The Administrative Law Judge has exercised no control whatsoever over this proceeding, and it threatens to degenerate into a pure forum for political posturing to the detriment of the reputation of the State and your Office. Rather than bring this matter to a rapid conclusion, the ALJ has insisted on agreeing to a day of hearings, and on the full participation of the President in his capacity as a candidate. Only last week, he denied a Motion to Quash a subpoena he approved on the request of plaintiff’s counsel for the personal appearance of the President at the hearing, now scheduled for January 26.

For these reasons, and as discussed briefly below, you should bring an end to this baseless, costly and unproductive hearing by withdrawing the original hearing request as improvidently issued.

It is well established that there is no legitimate issue here—a conclusion validated time and again by courts around the country. The State of Hawaii produced official records documenting birth there; the President made documents available to the general public by placing them on his website.

Read more about this story here and read Kemp’s letter to the President’s attorney here.

Is GOP Racism Becoming The Norm?

SEE ALSO:

Geithner: Obama Won’t Ask Me To Stay For A 2nd Term

Why Obama’s Economy Is Built To Last

While school officials admit that students did play a slavery-based game at recess, they deny that a teacher organized the activity.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Ericka Lasley told Channel 2 that her 8-year-old daughter said she was a slave and other students were slave catchers during a game similar to tag. The third-grade student said the teacher proposed the game based on what the class is learning.

“She would sit on the bench and the slave catchers would come up to the door and ask did she have any slaves,” the girl said.

Read More At The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

SEE ALSO:

World’s Oldest Dog Dies

FAMU Dismisses Students Charged In Hazing

Macon Police Department spokeswoman Jami Gaudet says the 61-year-old Brown died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Police said it was an apparent suicide.

The 19-year senator from Macon was first elected in a special election in 1991 to fill an unexpired term. He was elected Democratic Leader in 2005. He left the Senate this year to launch a failed bid for Macon mayor, finishing third in the Democratic primary in July.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle says he admired Brown’s “passionate public service and unwavering commitment to his constituents” and called him “one of the sharpest political minds in the Senate.”

RELATED:

Hundreds Of American Troops’ Ashes Dumped In Landfill

Sandusky Accuser: “I Screamed For Help From His Wife”

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said Monday that “everything points to it being” 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera of Canton. Bankhead said officials were awaiting results of an autopsy to confirm the identity and a cause of death.

Bankhead told The Associated Press the body appeared to have been severely beaten and sexually assaulted. He said the girl’s mother had been notified.

No suspects were in custody, Canton Police Lt. Jeff Hall said Monday afternoon.

Hall said authorities had not searched the trash container until Monday because it was a large garbage compacting bin that needed to be moved offsite so they could search it.

Counselors were on hand at the girl’s school, Canton Elementary, for students and staff. School officials were cooperating with investigators, Cherokee County School District spokeswoman Barbara P. Jacoby said in an email.

The child was last seen around 5 p.m. Friday at the River Ridge apartments in Canton, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, Canton police Detective Candy Worthy said. Authorities had said they believed the girl was abducted and brought in a specialized team of law officers trained to handle child abductions.

Maria Rodriguez works with Rivera’s mother at a nearby poultry plant and used to live in the same apartment complex as the family.

“She was a very sweet girl,” Rodriguez said, crying as she held her 4-year-old daughter. “She was the type of little girl who likes her presence to be known. It’s just so sad.”

Maria Faustino, who also used to live in the apartment complex, said she always felt safe there.

“This place is small and everybody knows everybody,” said Faustino, who has a young son. “You wouldn’t have thought something like this would have happened there.”

A schoolmate who lived in a neighboring complex, 8-year-old Ashley Rosalez, said Rivera was a grade below her at Canton Elementary. She described Rivera as very talkative and said Rivera would play on all the playgrounds in nearby apartment complexes.

Searchers had been combing the nearby apartment buildings and surrounding woods as they looked for Rivera over the weekend.

Officers were also checking with sex offenders in the area, an effort that will be ongoing and possibly broadened as the investigation continues, Bankhead said earlier in the day.

There are 73 registered sex offenders living in Canton, according to state records online.

Authorities did not issue a Levi’s Call — the state’s version of an amber alert — because officers didn’t have any information about the girl’s abductor, which is a requirement for issuing such an alert.

Michelle Mercier, who lives across the street from the apartment complex, brought a bouquet of yellow, pink and purple flowers to the playground where the little girl was last seen.

“I wanted everybody to know I’m thinking of her, this precious little girl who is no longer with us,” Mercier said.

“It seems like everything is happening here now,” said Dave Hollister, an R&B singer who spends a lot of time in Atlanta. “It feels like New York used to feel with a little more nicety.”

See Also: Georgia Business Owner: ‘Ho Hiring Until Obama Is Gone’

Atlanta has evolved over the past few decades into an amazing source of art and opportunity for Black entrepreneurs in various fields of industry. At the same time, so much home grown talent has exploded from the ATL, its easy to see the attraction.

“Atlanta area is now home to such a critical mass of successful actors, rappers and entertainment executives that few would argue its position as the center of black culture. Tyler Perry and his movie and television empire are based here. Sean Combs has a house in a suburb north of the city. The musicians Cee Lo Green, Ludacris and members of OutKast call it home. So does the music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri.”

Read the full story in the  New York Times

See Also: NBA Players, Owners Reach Tentative Deal

See Also: Tyler Perry Tackles Marriage With New Sitcom

VIDEO:

According to the girl and her mother, the incident started when a woman came in and complained about the prices.

Dudley says her daughter, who was treated at a hospital, was an innocent bystander. Police are investigating.

RELATED:

Tragic! NYC Groom Kills Himself Just Hours After Marriage

Also read: Bistro Chez Lucienne: French in the Heart of Harlem

Also read: Ex-Cop To Be Sentenced For Cover-up Of Hurricane Katrina Shootings

The women claim Accord Services violated their civil rights by screening the nurses based on their race. The nurses claim that their leaders said that they were “too ghetto,” or “too Black,” for their clients.

“Before placing someone in a position, I was blatantly asked in front of a group of people what color is she or how old is she,” Tracee Goodman said, who is a former Accord Services Human Resources employee.

Read more at TheRoot.com

RELATED:

Prosecutor Says Alleged Casanova Rapist Plagiarized Charlie Rose

WSB-TV reports police are trying to determine the facts involving Teresa Culpepper, who spent 53 days in the Fulton County Jail.

Man Released From Jail After Murder Conviction Is Overturned

InfoGraphic: “Not Guilty” Program Seeks To Free Innocent Minorities From Prison

The woman called police on Aug. 21 to report her truck had been taken. She was arrested on an aggravated assault charge for which another woman named Teresa was wanted.

Culpepper’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, says Culpepper’s birth date, address and description did not match the woman being sought.

Culpepper was released last week when her attorney got the woman who says she’s the victim to tell a judge the woman in custody was not her attacker.

Aysia Clements requires a wheelchair because of her medical condition, cerebral palsy.

Without her custom made wheelchair, Aysia Clements is homebound and unable to attend school.

VIDEO:

Read more at theGrio.com

RELATED:

Sleep Expert Calls Conrad Murray “Unethical And Disturbing”

The program would put two inmates in each of three existing firehouses in the south Georgia county, The Florida Times-Union reported.

Inmates would respond to all emergencies — including residential fires — alongside traditional firefighters, authorities said.

What?! Georgia May Use Prisoners To Fill Farm Labor Gap

BP Using Inmates To Clean Up Oil Spill

The inmates would have no guard, but would be monitored by a surveillance system and by the traditional firefighters, who would undergo training to guard the inmates. One traditional firefighter with correctional training can supervise up to three inmates, officials said.

The inmate firefighter program could save the county more than $500,000 a year by some estimates, authorities said.

The program would be open to inmates charged with crimes such as drug offenses and thefts. Inmates would also need to have a record of good behavior and pass an interview process.

The idea has been met with controversy in the county.

There’s “a lot of contention” among local firefighters about working alongside inmates, Camden County Public Safety Director Dennis Gailey said.

“If you vote to bring these inmates into our working environment, you jeopardize not only the employees’ well-being, but the safety of our citizens,” firefighter Stuart Sullivan told county commissioners during a recent meeting.

Commissioner Jimmy Starline said it might be a positive experience for the prisoners.

“I’ve been told these inmates are very enthusiastic about being a firefighter,” Starline said.

“It’s an opportunity to break that cycle,” he added. “This is not like a chain gang. Life at a fire station could be a whole lot more pleasant than life in jail.”

Also read: How Do You Feel About The Execution Of Troy Davis?

“I encourage everyone I know to never travel to Georgia, never buy anything made in Georgia, [and] to never do business in Georgia,” Moore said on his website this week.

The award winning filmmaker and author is even threatening to pull all his books from stores in Georgia.

Read more at AJC.com

RELATED:

Jury Selected In Michael Jackson Doctor’s Manslaughter Case

Samuel David Crowe was convicted of beating a store owner to death in 1988 and was sentenced to death the following year.

In 2008, the Georgia Pardons Board prevented Crowe from being executed due to his work in jail with other inmates, and for being remorseful for the crime.

The family members of the victim that Crowe killed were appalled by the decision.

Injustice! Davis Appeal Denied; To Be Executed Wednesday

What’s Next For Supporters After Troy Davis Execution?

Reuters reports:

“David (Crowe) takes full responsibility for his crime and experiences profound remorse,” according to Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, an advocacy group, who welcomed the board’s decision.

At Thursday’s hearing, his lawyers presented a dossier of evidence attesting to his remorse and good behavior in jail, according to local media reports. The lawyers also said he was suffering from withdrawal symptoms from a cocaine addiction at the time of the crime.

Read More At Reuters

NAACP Joins The Fight To Save Troy Davis

ATLANTA— Supporters of a high-profile death row inmate were making a last-ditch effort Monday to stop his execution for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer, asking the Georgia pardons board to grant clemency the 42-year-old who insists, along with others, that he is innocent.

The five-member Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has the power to change death sentences but rarely does. It was considering arguments surrounding Troy Davis, who claims he is innocent of killing Mark MacPhail. He’s set to be put to death by injection Wednesday, the fourth time in four years the state has tried to execute him.

Dozens of Davis’ supporters rallied outside the government building where the parole board met. They hoisted a massive “Save Troy Davis” sign and formed a makeshift drum line at one entrance to the building. At another entrance, other supporters were holding a somber prayer vigil on his behalf.

Davis has captured worldwide attention because of the doubt his supporters have raised over whether he killed MacPhail, who was shot to death while rushing to help a homeless man who had been attacked. Several of the witnesses who helped convict him at his 1991 trial have backed off their testimony or recanted. Others who did not testify say another man at the scene admitted to the shooting.

The U.S. Supreme Court even granted Davis a hearing to prove his innocence, the first time it had done so for a death row inmate in at least 50 years, but he couldn’t convince a judge to grant him a new trial.

The pardons board in 2007 decided to delay Davis’ execution for 90 days to grant the courts more time to review the case. A year later, it denied clemency and allowed his execution to go forward. Since then, though, three new members have been appointed to the panel.

“We are hopeful this tremendous outpouring of support will demonstrate there’s such a huge concern about this case, and that this message will resonate with them,” said Laura Moye of Amnesty International, who delivered thousands of petitions in support of Davis to the board last week. “The very reputation and faith that this public has in its justice system is on the line.”

Among those who support Davis’ clemency request are former president Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI. A host of conservative figures have also advocated on his behalf, including former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, ex-Justice Department official Larry Thompson and one-time FBI Director William Sessions.

The board, which meets in a closed-door session, first heard hours of testimony from Davis’ legal team and its witnesses, although Davis himself is not scheduled to appear. The panel will then hear from prosecutors, MacPhail’s family and their witnesses.

Davis’ attorneys and supporters packed the pardons board for their session. Among the people expected to speak were Quiana Glover, who said she was at a friend’s house in June 2009 when another man told her he killed MacPhail, and Brenda Forrest, a juror who helped convict him in 1991 but is now having second thoughts.

“I feel, emphatically, that Mr. Davis cannot be executed under these circumstances,” Forrest said in an affidavit presented to the board by Davis’ attorneys.

Two of the panel’s five members have already reviewed the case several times: Gale Buckner, a former Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, and Robert Keller, the ex-chair of a Georgia prosecutors group. The other three have been appointed to the board since 2009. They are: James Donald, the former head of the Georgia Department of Corrections, Albert Murray, who led the state’s juvenile justice program, and Terry Barnard, a former Republican state lawmaker.

MacPhail was shot to death on Aug. 19, 1989 after rushing to help Larry Young, a homeless man who was pistol-whipped in a Burger King parking lot. Prosecutors say Davis was with another man who was demanding that Young give him a beer when Davis pulled out a handgun and bashed Young with it. When MacPhail arrived to help, they say Davis had a smirk on his face when he shot the officer to death.

Concerns about his case prompted the Supreme Court to order the nearly unprecedented innocence hearing. In June 2010, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. heard from two witnesses who said they falsely incriminated Davis and from two others who said another man had confessed to being the actual killer.

Moore said the evidence cast some additional doubt on Davis’ conviction, but that it was “largely smoke and mirrors” and not enough to vindicate Davis or grant him a new trial. When the appeals courts refused to review the judge’s decision, Davis’ attorneys set their hopes on persuading the pardons board to grant clemency.

In a 60-page petition to the board, Davis’ legal team contends that several witnesses who testified at his trial have disputed all or parts of their testimony, and that several others who did not testify say another man was to blame for the shooting. They say the evidence creates too much doubt to allow the execution to go forward. And they argue that a string of court rulings that upheld his conviction largely failed to address his innocence claims.

“The courts have determined that Mr. Davis’s conviction was constitutional,” the petition said. “That does not mean it was correct.”

Prosecutors have stood by their case through the years. They say ballistics evidence links Davis to the shooting and that many of the concerns about witness testimony were raised during the trial. The allegations that someone else later confessed to the shooting, they say, are inconsistent and inadmissible in court.

And MacPhail’s relatives say there’s no question that prosecutors charged the right person with the officer’s killing.

“There’s no doubt,” said Anneliese MacPhail, the slain officer’s mother. “Not after I went through that trial and saw what I saw.”

In the recording, officer Jason Deal jumps out of his patrol car and runs toward Melvin Williams, who has gotten out of his vehicle. The two begin fighting. Williams punches the officer in the head and takes a couple of steps toward Deal, who draws his gun and fires, killing the unarmed Williams.

Police encounter similar split-second decisions each day and rely on their intensive training and “shoot or don’t shoot” scenarios to guide them. Yet in this case, Deal had gone more than a year without a mandatory training on the use of deadly force. He should have lost his arrest powers several months before the May 2010 shooting, according to a report from state investigators.

“Shooting him in the stomach should have been the last resort. But it was the first thing he did,” said Williams’ mother, Lena. “And that tells you he hadn’t been trained.”

Williams’ family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer, the police department and the town of East Dublin, seeking unspecified damages. They claim East Dublin didn’t have a written use of force policy.

Town attorney Ted Freeman has disputed the excessive force allegations and said the 26-year-old Deal was properly trained. The state investigation, however, found that more than half of the eight-man force in East Dublin, including the chief, missed the training in 2009. Freeman declined further comment.

State investigators are looking into the shooting a second time and the district attorney said he will launch a grand jury investigation next month.

“There’s a lot of controversy about the arrests powers, I can tell you that,” District Attorney Craig Fraser said.

It’s not clear exactly why Deal pulled Williams, 33, over at a friend’s house in a neighborhood filled with ramshackle cinderblock houses and overgrown lawns on the edge of town. Authorities have refused to talk about the traffic stop.

Williams also seems initially confused about why he was pulled over.

“What is wrong with you? Man, what is wrong with you?” Williams said to the officer in the video. Much of the scuffle takes place outside of the camera’s view, but the audio makes clear there is a struggle. After a few more seconds of fighting, Deal fires and Williams crumples to the ground.

“I just shot one,” Deal, struggling to catch his breath, said to a dispatcher. “… I had one try to take my gun.”

Williams was no stranger to law enforcement. He served a few stints in prison in the 1990s on cocaine and shoplifting charges and was sentenced to more than eight years in 1999 for a robbery. He was released in March 2008.

The dash-cam video was provided to The Associated Press by the Williams family. Their attorney, Mario Williams, verified the recording was the same as the one he received from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The attorney, who is not related to the Williams family, declined comment on the case.

States require extensive use of force training, though it is not uniformly administered. In Georgia, officers must complete an annual course that teaches them when to draw their weapons and how to defuse dangerous situations. Courses vary by instructor, but officials said many require officers to go through case studies and scenarios where decisions are made in an instant.

Officers in Georgia who don’t complete the training each year or obtain a waiver lose their power of arrest, said Mitch Jones, the director of the training division of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.

An initial Georgia Bureau of Investigation report concluded that Deal didn’t do either in 2009 and should have lost his arrest power in January 2010. Deal, who became an officer in 2007, did complete the annual course in 2008, records show.

In a brief interview, Chief Bill Luecke said the department has changed its training protocol, but did not elaborate. He also said officers who had failed to meet the requirement have either made up the course or are doing so.

“Everything’s cool,” he said, before declining to answer additional questions.

East Dublin is a town of about 2,800 people perhaps best known for hosting the Summer Redneck Games, an annual competition that involves watermelon-seed spitting, bobbing for pigs’ feet and the ever-popular mud pit belly flop contest. There’s no city center, but a handful of restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores line the main drag. The police station and mayor’s office share a building that was formerly a bank at one of the town’s main intersections.

The shooting, in a rundown neighborhood within a mile of the police station, incensed activists and others.

“It is so appalling to me that some law enforcement will not uphold the law,” said Kenneth Glasgow, who directs the human rights group The Ordinary People Society. “The hypocrisy is unbearable.”

Experts said an officer is generally allowed to fire a weapon if there’s an immediate threat of death or serious injury to him or others. But they differ on whether Deal should have been allowed to carry a firearm without the training.

Fred G. Robinette III, a retired FBI agent who now works as a consultant on use of force, said the officer should have been required by the department to give up his weapon until he had the proper training.

“When he lost his lawful certification, he should have been placed on administrative duty, the same as officers who are similarly taken out of active service while shootings involving those officers are being investigated,” said Robinette, a 26-year FBI veteran. “This not a new concept. It is done routinely, all of the time.”

He said both the department and the officer could be liable.

“If he had been minding his own business, and was accosted, he would have been as justified as any citizen to defend himself,” he said. “However, it appears that he was acting assertively in his official law enforcement capacity here, and created the confrontation that ultimately resulted in his use of deadly force.”

Others said Deal could have fired his weapon regardless as long as he felt he was in serious danger.

“A police officer does not lose his inherent right to self-defense just because he didn’t attend an annual refresher training course on his department’s use of force policy,” said Gregory D. Lee, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent who has written three textbooks on criminal justice procedure.

RELATED STORIES

Cop Sues NYPD After Leaving Man Paralyzed In Shooting

Miami Beach Police Department Comes Under Scrutiny

Samuel Walsham Chapman, 58, a pastor at Riverdale Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Jonesboro, was arrested after a 15-year-old boy alleged that Chapman took him to a parking lot and performed a sexual act in front of him.

Read more at YourBlackWorld.com

RELATED:

5th Man Accuses Bishop Eddie Long Of Gay Relationship

MJ’s Mom Says Molestation Claims Were “Biggest Lie”

A small Georgia town has passed a law in which they will fine men who wear “saggy pants” $50 for their first offense.

The amounts that come with repeated offenses are what have many critics up in arms.

The Georgia town of Hampton will fine repeat offenders $100, and third-time offenders $200.

Read more at TheGrio

RELATED:

NAACP slams U.S. Airways for saggy pants incident

Nelson, 30, pleaded for sympathy after she broke a state law when jaywalking with her three children. Her story attracted national attention from media agencies, the NAACP and transportation advocates, who all said the charges were unfairly pursued.

CNN Reports:

Dozens of the suburban Atlanta woman’s supporters crowded the courtroom Tuesday and applauded as Judge Kathryn Tanksley sentenced her to 12 months of probation and 40 hours of community service.

She also said Nelson could seek a new trial.

Read More At CNN.com

RELATED:

Mom Faces 3 Years For Jaywalking During Drunken Hit-And-Run

Raquel Nelson, 30, was convicted on July 12 of second-degree vehicular homicide, reckless conduct, and failure to use a crosswalk during the incident in April 2010.

The drunk driver, Jerry Guy,  spent 6 months in prison after pleading guilty to two hit-and-runs.   Nelson will be sentenced Tuesday.

“I’ve had to accept that he’s gotten six months,” Nelson said Monday in an emotional interview on NBC’s “Today” show. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I’ve had to forgive that portion of it. However, I think to come after me so much harder than they did him, it’s a slap in the face. This will never end for me,” she said.

Read more at NYDailyNews.com

RELATED:

Should Mom Be Convicted After Son Was Killed While Jaywalking

WWE’s Shad Gaspard: Cops Treated Me Like N-Word During Jaywalking

VIDEO: Seattle Police Punch Teenage Girl In The Face

Thursday’s execution of Andrew Grant DeYoung for the 1993 murders of his parents and sister was believed to be the first in the U.S. in almost two decades recorded on video. It came at the urging of defense attorneys who want to document the effects of the sedative pentobarbital.

The Georgia Attorney General’s office warned the move could set a troubling precedent and lead to the “potential for sensationalism and abuse,” and the state worried that it could encourage a rash of similar filings. The execution was pushed back a day to buy prosecutors more time to block the taping, but a second legal challenge was also rejected.

Fordham Law School professor Deborah Denno said she expects other attorneys in Georgia and elsewhere to start demanding that executions be recorded on video now that Georgia has done so.

“This development would help immensely in detecting the many problems with the lethal injection process, especially if the videotaping included all of the procedure from start to finish,” she said.

The legal fight over the video recording unfolded amid a larger debate about Georgia’s lethal injection procedure.

DeYoung’s attorney argued that using pentobarbital would cause his client to suffer based partly on an Associated Press account of the June 23 execution of Roy Blankenship, who was seen jerking his head several times during the procedure, looking at the injection sites in his arms and appearing to mutter.

State and federal courts rejected DeYoung’s requests to stay the execution. But a Georgia judge granted a request by another inmate who sought the recording as evidence for his own case about the effects of pentobarbital. The judge ordered the video be kept under seal.

The Georgia Supreme Court let the judge’s ruling stand late Wednesday, concluding that prosecutors didn’t properly appeal the decision. The court rejected a second appeal Thursday, clearing the way for the recording to happen.

On Thursday night, a videographer with a camera on a tripod stood inside the execution chamber about 5 feet away from the gurney where DeYoung lay.

When asked to make a final statement, DeYoung said he was “sorry to everyone I hurt.”

When the three-drug injection began, DeYoung blinked his eyes and swallowed for about two minutes, then his eyes closed and he became still. He was pronounced dead at 8:04 p.m.

Authorities said DeYoung cut the telephone wires of his family’s home in the middle of the night in 1993. He then stabbed his mother repeatedly while she was sleeping upstairs, and then stabbed his father and sister, prosecutors said. A brother sleeping downstairs escaped after hearing the commotion and ran to a neighbor’s house for help.

The last time an execution was recorded took place in California in 1992, when attorneys challenged the use of gas as a method of execution, said defense attorney Brian Kammer, who filed the video motion.

Timothy McVeigh’s 2001 execution at a federal prison in Indiana was broadcast on closed-circuit TV to a gathering of survivors and victims’ family members in Oklahoma City, but there was no indication it was taped.

Georgia attorneys argued the courts don’t have the power to order a video crew to monitor an execution, and warned the recording could leak out into the public despite the judge’s order to seal the tape. The state also warned that allowing the recording would interfere with the strict security measures in place for executions.

But defense lawyers said the security concerns were overblown. Kammer said in the filing that the corrections department has routinely let school tours within the prison and allowed a PBS show in 2006 to film the execution chamber, although it did not tape an execution.

“It is simply disingenuous to assert that video recording of Mr. DeYoung’s execution constitutes a fundamental threat to the security of the institution,” he said in the filing.

While death penalty attorneys applaud the judge’s order, they say additional steps are needed to ensure lethal injections are proper.

“It is always better to have more transparency in what has been an exceptionally secretive execution process,” said Ty Alper, an attorney who works with the death penalty clinic at the University of California-Berkeley. “But videotaping an upcoming execution is no substitute for conducting a real investigation into what actually happened.”

RELATED STORIES

Texas Executes Mexican Man Despite White

Stay Of Execution! Illinois Shuts Down Death Row

Bell has spent her entire career fighting for equality as a community organizer, including working for affordable housing, elderly issues and youth empowerment.

The San Diego Women’s Pride Brunch will kick off the Pride Parade for 150 guests at Saigon on Fifth at 9 am Saturday, July 16. The annual brunch will be raising money for the Victory Fund, a non-profit group that assists in getting LGBT officials elected to public office throughout the country.

Read More At SDGLN.com

RELATED:

Wanda Sykes Says It’s Harder To Be Gay Than Black

The association had blocked construction of the Gittens home after months of negotiations because it believed the house would lower neighboring property values. Homes for Our Troops said it would continue to work to get a design approved, but ultimately left the decision up to the Gittens family, which currently rents a home in the subdivision. [...]

Sharon Gittens, Sean’s wife, told news media Monday the family decided not to stay in Knob Hill because they did not feel they would be welcome. At the press conference, she said was ready to put the situation behind her and thanked neighbors who had supported her family. She asked them to encourage the association to embrace the veterans and not worry so much about property values.

The president of the Knob Hill Property Owners Association sent his regrets via email, but did not attend the press conference at which the final decision was announced. To this treatment, Sharon Gittens responded: “I think if this was important to them, a least one representative from the board would have been here today.” Every member was probably too ashamed.

The actions of this board are appalling, but in the end Sgt. 1st Class Sean Gittens will likely continue to work with Homes For Our Troops until they find a community willing to reward a wounded warrior. In fact, a Homes For Our Troops representative “said it’s the first time a build has been blocked by a homeowners association,” according to The Augusta Chronicle. Hopefully, if shame is catching, it will be the last.

When Homes For Our Troops develops homes with wider doors, ramps and other unusual fittings, disabled veteran like Sean Gittens are empowered to function more easily in life, a costly gift but one that is deserved. It is beyond comprehension that a group like The Knob Hill Property Owners Association would be more concerned with the appearance of a newly constructed house and how it might impact a neighborhood than the well being of a person who willingly made such a large sacrifice.

A home that makes life easier for a disabled veteran might not match the cookie-cutter specifications of neighboring domiciles. But rather than having a neighborhood that looks “nice,” sharing a street with a paralyzed soldier is an opportunity for true neighbors to demonstrate love in a community. The Knob Hill Property Owners Association missed out on this chance, in fact revealing the chilly hearts that must permeate their hollow houses.

Let’s hope Sgt. 1st Class Sean Gittens and his family are able to successfully work with Homes For Our Troops to find a place where his condition won’t be considered a stigma. Once they build that house, the right community will help them make it a perfect home.

Thomas, who is from Pin Point, introduced residents to Crow, who the Times confirmed is the anonymous donor behind $1.3 million to the museum project set to open this fall.

According to The Huffington Post, this isn’t the first time Crow donated money to projects directly or indirectly honoring Thomas. The Times unraveled a list of gifts and donations given to Thomas, including a $15,000 bust of Abraham Lincoln from a group affiliated with Crow.

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

RELATED:

Clarence Thomas Reveals Details Of Wife’s Finances

Clarence Thomas’ Ex-Girlfriend Airs Out Relationship In Memoir

Unless the cucumbers come off the vine soon, they will become engorged with seeds, making them unsellable. Mendez’s crew of Mexican and Guatemalan workers will keep harvesting until 6 p.m., maybe longer. Not so for the men participating in a new state-run program aimed at replacing the Latino migrants Georgia farmers say they’ve lost to a new immigration crackdown with unemployed probationers.

“Tired. The heat,” said 33-year-old Tavares Jones, who left early and was walking down a dirt road toward a ride home. He promised Mendez he’d return the next morning. “It’s hard work out here.”

Mendez urged another man to stay. “I need you today,” he said. “These cucumbers not going to wait until tomorrow.”

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal started the experiment after farmers publicly complained they couldn’t find enough workers to harvest labor-intensive crops such as cucumbers and berries because Latino workers – including many illegal immigrants – refused to show up, even when offered one-time or weekly bonuses. One crew who previously worked for Mendez told him they wouldn’t come to Georgia for fear of risking deportation.

Farmers told state authorities in an unscientific survey that they had more than 11,000 unfilled agriculture jobs, although it’s not clear how that compares to prior years or whether the shortage can be blamed on the new law.

For more than a week, the state’s probation officers have encouraged their unemployed offenders to consider taking field jobs. While most offenders are required to work while on probation, statistics show they have a hard time finding jobs. Georgia’s unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent, but correction officials say among the state’s 103,000 probationers, it’s about 15 percent. Still, offenders can turn down jobs they consider unsuitable, and harvesting is physically demanding.

RELATED STORIES

GOP: Undocumented Immigrants Taking Minorities Jobs

CBC Accuses GOP Of Pitting Blacks Against Immigrants At Hearing

The Georgia Supreme Court stood by an earlier decision which deemed the Georgia Charter Schools Commission unconstitutional, a move which could potentially close the doors of at least 16 of the state’s charter schools.

The Huffington Post reports:

Supporters say charter schools provide more choices to families that feel underserved by local schools. Critics assert that charter schools sap local districts’ resources, outsource education into the hands of external organizations and do not serve high-needs populations.

Several protests are set to take place on Thursday, organized by local advocacy groups and parents. The Supreme Court’s decision could force thousands of charter school students to find an alternative by the time school starts again in August.

RELATED:

Why Charter Schools Are Not The Answer

Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones says the body of Michael Dewayne Jones was pulled from the lake Saturday about an hour after he disappeared. The coroner is not related to the victim.

Leon Jones says the man was rescuing children ages 5, 7 and 8 who were having trouble swimming. Leon Jones says the children were saved but Michael Jones drowned.

Authorities say the children did not belong to Michael Jones.

RELATED STORIES

Hero! Teenager Saves Building From Fire

Mother Dies After Saving Children From Townhouse Fire

“It was alleged that he walked to the back of the class, told the class not to turn around and allegedly urinated in one of the garbage cans,” Riverdale police Major Greg Barney told the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“A couple of students turned around and observed him”

Read more at NYDailynews.com

RELATED:

Drunk Man Screams Anti-Muslim Slurs In Mosque; Urinates On Rugs

Cop Accused Of Tasering And Threatening Sodomy On 12-Year-Old Kids

MACON, Ga. — Republican Newt Gingrich told a Georgia audience on Friday evening that the 2012 presidential election is the most consequential since the 1860 race that elected Abraham Lincoln to the White House and was soon followed by the Civil War.

Addressing the Georgia Republican Party’s convention, Gingrich said the nation is at a crossroads and that the re-election of Democratic President Barack Obama would lead to four more years of “radical left-wing values” that would drive the nation to ruin.

Gingrich also blasted Obama as “the most successful food stamp president in modern American history.”

The former House speaker gave his speech at the end of a day of campaigning that took him from a gathering of economic conservatives in Washington to an old-style restaurant in Georgia and then the evening gathering of the party faithful.

Gingrich received a warm welcome at the GOP dinner. He represented Georgia in Congress for two decades and is stressing his ties anew after having lived in northern Virginia for more than a decade.

“I am glad to be home,” Gingrich said Friday evening.

On economic issues, the 67-year-old Gingrich said his program would lead to more paychecks.

He outlined a jobs plan that would eliminate the estate and capital gains taxes and lower the corporate tax rate, which he said would infuse the nation’s sputtering economy with new investment.

He said the United States needs to reexamine its relationship with Pakistan after revelations that Osama bin Laden had been hiding out there for years as America poured billions of dollars in aid into the country.

“I was trying to figure out what the word ally meant,” Gingrich said. “I know what the word sucker meant. How stupid do you think we are?”

In an interview with The Associated Press earlier Friday Gingrich said he’s grown more mature since his days as House speaker, and before that, when he was often described as a bomb-throwing insurgent member of the House Republican minority. He said it took him two years after taking the reins in Congress to learn that he had to re-calibrate his style and change his message.

And by then, he said, “the damage had been done.”

“There are the things you want to say and what you need to say,” Gingrich told The AP.

Some have questioned whether Gingrich– known for his combative style and what some consider over-the-top rhetoric — has the temperament and discipline to be president.

Last year, he suggested U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was a racist, said Obama is best understood by his “Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior,” and argued that placing a mosque near ground zero in New York City was akin to placing a Nazi sign next to the Holocaust Museum

Earlier Friday, at a speech before a gathering of economic conservatives in Washington, Gingrich said General Electric’s aggressive legal and accounting strategy, which led to reports of a zero corporate tax liability last year, was a clever and rational response to the nation’s high tax rates.

Saying he wanted to slash an array of taxes and bureaucracies, Gingrich praised the author of the “Laffer Curve,” an economic theory that says unless taxes are kept low, individuals and corporations will invest less and seek ways to avoid paying taxes.

Gingrich cited GE. The company reported global profits of $14.2 billion last year, including $5.1 billion from U.S operations, but modest tax liabilities.

Gingrich said the 35 percent corporate tax rate should be cut to 12.5 percent. He cited GE’s “remarkably rational behavior in recognizing the corporate tax rate is clearly past the Laffer curve point. And so 375 tax lawyers in the largest tax department in the world” devised “a very clever strategy which enabled General Electric to pay zero corporate taxes.”

After news organizations reported that GE might pay no corporate taxes for 2010, the company stated that it expects a “small U.S. income tax liability” for that year.

GE and others would pay more in taxes at a 12.5 percent rate because they would consider it more fair and rational, Gingrich contended. He also urged eliminating the estate tax and extending former President George W. Bush’s income tax cuts for high earners beyond 2013.

Expanding on his remarks, Gingrich told The AP it would be “absurd” to expect that any company would pay more than it legally had to. And he blamed the Obama administration for adopting a patchwork of tax credits and loopholes that effectively encourage companies to hire lawyers to manipulate their returns.

“You should lower the tax rate and fire the lawyers,” he said.

Asked if he would encourage other companies to exploit loopholes to keep their taxes down, the author and one-time college professor said, “They already do.”

Gingrich also called on Congress to defund the National Labor Relations Board if it continues to pursue a complaint against Boeing Co.

The complaint says Boeing illegally retaliated for a 2008 strike by adding a non-union assembly line in South Carolina for 787 passenger jets. Most of that work is now done in Washington state by union workers.

Gingrich was in Georgia on a day when Gov. Nathan Deal — a key supporter and former House member– signed a tough immigration law with some similarities to Arizona’s controversial law.

He said he had not read the law so he could not comment on it, but that he generally supported states and localities being able to enforce the law.

Gingrich has made efforts to reach out to Hispanic voters and said he doesn’t think that the tough GOP stance on illegal immigration has alienated the fast-growing minority group. “I do think we will have to work very hard to get that vote,” he said.

He called Obama’s recent address on immigration “very dishonest.”

“Obama has to answer the question: he’s had two years to pass a bill and he never made it a priority. Why should they trust that he will now?” he said.

Former Arkansas Gov., Mike Huckabee is set to announce on Saturday whether he will enter the Republican race for president.

Gingrich said he did not know what Huckabee would decide. But he said if Huckabee declines to run “I suspect it will make the road ahead for us somewhat easier.”

RELATED:

Newt Gingrich Announces 2012 Presidential Run

Newt Gingrich Says President Obama Exhibits ‘Kenyan, Anticolonial Behavior’

CONYERS, Ga. — Funeral services were held for North Carolina teen Phylicia Barnes, who went missing while visiting a relative in Baltimore. Her body was found unclothed in a Maryland river on April 20, over three months after she vanished from a relative’s apartment.

The Root reports:

Barnes’ funeral was held at Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers, Ga., where her mother moved in order to have more family support after the disappearance of her daughter. Sharon Smith of WBTV reports, “Phylicia Simone Barnes was remembered as a girl who could light up a room, who worked hard and had a strong faith.” The honors student was laid to rest on Saturday afternoon, the culmination of a series of memorials held for the teen in Charlotte, N.C., and Baltimore.

On Wednesday, Maryland State Police, along with officers with the Baltimore Police Department released a statement saying an autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide.

RELATED:

Body Of Missing Phylicia Barnes Found In Maryland River

Phylicia Barnes Family Offers $25,000 Reward For NC Teen

Perry saw the story on a local television newscast and decided to rebuild the house. He also fully furnished it.

More than 20 family members attended ceremony in rural Coweta County on Friday.

Perry says he wanted to do something for Ransby when he found out the family didn’t have any way to rebuild. He says the main thing was getting her enough space for the children and for them to have room to play.

RELATED:

Why Is Everyone Hating On Tyler Perry? He Is Putting African 

Tyler Perry Tells Oprah Sexual Abuse Almost Led To Suicide

Also Read: Chris Brown dyes his hair again

Savannah Now reports:

The video shows several women fighting outside and inside a red SUV, a man watching and then participating in the fight by hitting the vehicle and forcing the open door into the combatants while a crowd watches and encourages the participants.

Two police officers arrive on scene and force the man to the ground, striking his legs with a baton. As the officer secures the man, one of the women who appears bloodied from the fight pushes the officer. The officer chases her away by striking her on her legs with the baton.

Read The Whole Story

RELATED STORIES

Rodney King Talks To CNN About Forgiving His Attackers

Video Released Of Houston Police Brutally Beating 16-Year-Old

Williams acknowledged to U.S. Magistrate James Graham that he provided the syrup to patients, and gave controlled substances to people without a legitimate medical reason, the Florida Times-Union reported.

The newspaper said the cough syrup is a key ingredient in “purple drank,” an illegal recreational drink made with a mixture of lemon-lime soda or fruit-flavored candy.

Williams has surrendered his medical license.

Kenneth D. McGhee, of Columbus, was charged with child molestation and providing false information, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. McGhee allegedly lied to police about his age when he was arrested after running to a store across the street, police told the newspaper.

A woman in the restaurant told police McGhee sat down at the end of a table she was sharing with her two children. Then she noticed he had exposed himself and was touching himself, police said.

Read more at AJC.com

Reports are coming out of Georgia that prison guards have retaliated with violence in response to the Georgia Prison strike that took place last month. According to Georgia State NAACP President Edward Dubose, inmates have been beaten with hammers and other foreign objects allegedly in retaliation for their participation in the strike. President Dubose says that one inmate has been beaten beyond recognition and another has suffered significant brain damage.

“They said they [officers] were hitting inmates with hammers,” Williams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They [guards] said an inmate was trying to escape.”

The Department of Corrections has remained stoic and silent on the matter, even to the point of denying that a prison strike ever took place. But advocates for inmate human rights have argued all along that the conditions in Georgia prisons are simply unacceptable.

“Family members are frantic and mothers are crying and anguished after learning their loved ones have been badly injured. We cannot allow those cries to go unanswered,” said President Dubose. “Since the start of the December 9 peaceful work stoppage and appeal for reform and respect for human rights, some inmates have been targeted and others have simply disappeared. We are urging the Department of Corrections and Governor-Elect Nathan Deal to act now to halt these unjust practices and treat these men like human beings.”

In the course of the strike, the inmates demanded access to education, better healthcare, fair parole decisions, the right to a fair wage for their work (which is currently unpaid), job training programs and an escape from cruel and unusual punishment. Although inmates are not paid for their labor, many of them are charged for routine healthcare and phone calls to their families. Some have argued that it is inconsistent for someone who is unpaid for their work to be expected to pay for prison services. In a conversation I had with President Dubose, he mentioned that there are reports of inmates even being forced to shine shoes for guards and give them haircuts, which he connects to a form of slavery.

Read entire article at BlackVoices.com

RELATED:

Biggest Prison Protest In History Underway In Georgia

The majority of the schools on the proposed closures are in the south end of the county, which is home primarily to African-American families. Board chairman Tom Bowen insisted the schools were chosen based on empty seats, not race or academics.

“South DeKalb is where most of the under population is,” Bowen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “However, we took a countywide approach this time to push some of the overcrowding to the south end too.”

But the task force ran into parental opposition, political posturing and internal divides that undermined its many hours of work. It seems likely this new list of closures will provoke similar public outcries and political battling.

Read more at AJC.com

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Inside the ransacked home, police officers found notes left on two beds reading, “thank you merry christmas.” The Athens Banner-Herald reports that the notes were scrawled on white cards with a yellow marker.

Police were not immediately sure what was missing since the residents were traveling.

The shooter was identified as 19-year-old Vonn Gibbons Jr., who police said was at his mother’s home early Saturday when he shot 7-year-old Jalen Griffin in the head.

After killing the boy, police said, Gibbons committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.

Authorities said they weren’t sure what caused the outbreak of violence. But Bibb County coroner Leon Jones told WMAZ-TV it appeared Gibbons shot the young boy intentionally.

VIDEO:

“We have no idea why,” Jones said. “We probably will never get the answers, the truth about this. We just don’t know.”

Gibbons’ mother, Cheryl Cole, said she was asleep when the shots were fired.

Cole, who was babysitting Jalen, said she didn’t know her teenage son had a gun.

“I just want my baby back,” said Cole, distraught and tearful.

Police took Cole into custody and questioned her for about two and a half hours before she was released Saturday.

Helena Gore, a friend of Cole’s, said Gibbons was a student enrolled at Macon State College.

Read entire article at AJC.com

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Despite being purchased by the Glynn County and St. Simons Land Trust as part of a 12-acre park, the school building has fallen into disrepair through the years. Last fall, Glynn County declared the building beyond repair and placed its demolition on their 2010 agenda. Plans for demolition were tabled after supporters obtained a second opinion by preservationists that the building’s foundations were solid and restoration was possible.

Writer Terry Dickson reported the plans back in June:

The St. Simons Land Trust is preserving the land around the school and had intended to tear down Harrington School, preserve its foundation and establish a “ghost structure,” that would explain the school’s history and heritage.

That wasn’t enough for the former students and others who think keeping the building intact is the best way to tell the story.

Many would see the long gone conditions from the days of segregation as a privation. But the adults who should have had better as children still have a special fondness for the playgrounds where they skinned their knees and stubbed their toes, the classrooms where they took their spelling tests and the corners where their rowdy classmates stood.

They just want to have a place to fill with their memories.

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

Two Georgia men have filed suit claiming that prominent Atlanta pastor Eddie Long coerced them into sex.

The suits, filed Tuesday in DeKalb County, Georgia, allege that Long used his position as a spiritual authority and bishop to coerce young male members and employees of his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church into sex.

Long took one plaintiff, Anthony Flagg, 21, to overnight trips to a half dozen American cities, Flagg’s suit alleges.

“Long shared a bedroom and engaged in intimate sexual contact with plaintiff Flagg including kissing, massaging, masturbating of plaintiff Flagg by defendant Long and oral sexual contact,” the suit says.

Read The Whole Story

RELATED STORIES

Gay Exorcism Youtube Video Causes Controversy

Harlem Pastor Accused Of Child Molestation Resigns

The town of Dublin, Georgia, is putting saggy, baggy pants in the category of indecent exposure, with violators facing fines of up to $200.

Dublin Mayor Phil Best said he plans to sign this week an amendment to the municipality’s indecent exposure ordinance. The amendment, which Best plans to put into immediate effect at the City Council meeting, prohibits the wearing of pants or skirts “more than three inches below the top of the hips exposing the skin or undergarments.”

“We’ve gotten several complaints from citizens saying the folks with britches down below their buttocks was offensive, and wasn’t there something we could do about it,” Best said.

Text continues after Pics of the week gallery:

The mayor said after about a year of fielding complaints, he put the city attorney to work researching how other localities have dealt with the derriere dilemma. The result was that council members decided to put exposure due to baggy clothing in the same category as masturbation, fornication and urination in public places.

Patrolling for offenders will be left to local police in the town about 140 miles southeast of Atlanta. Violators could face fines ranging from $25 to $200, or court-mandated community service.

“That’s not our intent, we’d (rather) not fine anybody but we are prepared to,” Best said.

Dublin residents are divided on the issue.

Lashika Haynes supports the push to force folks to pull up, “It’s just disrespectful by showing your drawers to people,” she said.

But there are those who feel that the ordinance singles out a specific group of citizens.

Jean Wolf, who volunteers with young black men in the community said, “They’re the ones wearing the saggy, baggy pants.”

Wolf said she believes the ordinance will lead to profiling by authorities.

Read entire article at CNN.com

RELATED:

High School Basketball Star Shot And Killed In Baltimore

7 Die In Holiday Weekend Shootings In Baltimore