Just two days after the horrific mass shooting at Umpqua Community College, where nine people were killed and nine were injured, four California high school students were arrested after their detailed plan to shoot students and faculty members at Summerville High School in Tuolumne, California was uncovered.

Officials say the plot was revealed on Wednesday when a group of students alerted a teacher that they overheard several students discussing a plan to open fire on the school at an upcoming event. The sheriff’s department was contacted by Summerville High School administrators regarding the students who were making threats. The high school officials reported to authorities that three students were planning to carry out an attack on them. During their investigation, detectives discovered that a fourth student was involved in the plot as well.

Authorities found a list of names that the students had of who they planned to kill. Tuolumne County Sheriff Jim Mele said the students confessed “that they were going to come on campus and shoot and kill as many people as possible.” The students were taken into custody on Saturday. Police officials say that the students’ plan was in its beginning stages and they were in the process of obtaining the weapons that they wanted to use. The sheriff’s department said in a Facebook post:

The suspects plan was very detailed in nature and included names of would be victims, locations and the methods in which the plan was to be carried out.

Because the students are juveniles, their names will not be released, but they were identified as all male. The four students have been arrested for conspiracy to commit an assault with deadly weapons. This is a very terrifying time for the students and faculty at Summerville. Parents are terrified as well for the safety of their children. Kristin Wilson, who has a daughter attending Summerville High, stated,  “I can’t imagine getting a phone call that something like that had happened at that school.” Luckily the plot was caught in its beginning phase and no one was harmed.

Summerville High parents, however, are still unhappy about the situation because they were not notified of the incident until the following day. Shannon Duckworth has two children who attend Summerville High and only knew about the incident because her son told her through a text message. Duckworth stated, “I got a text from my son who lives in Washington asking me what’s going on about this shooting plot. What shooting plot?…We should’ve had full disclosure.” Other parents expressed similar concerns.

A motive for the shooting at Summerville has not yet been determined. Authorities plan to talk more with the teens who created the plot to get further information. Eric Hovatter, an assistant district attorney, stated,

It is clear from past history such as Columbine and Sandy Hook, as well as other recent events in Oregon, that children are willing and capable of planning and carrying out acts of violence against students and teachers on school grounds. While it is easy to say that could never happen in Tuolomne County, the public and local law enforcement must remain vigilant, as they did here. That the suspects are young does not minimize the gravity of the conduct nor the potential for great harm to many innocent people.

There have been 45 school shootings in 2015 alone, many of which didn’t make the news. Gun violence is affecting students everywhere–thankfully this story didn’t end in tragedy.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post School Shooting Plot Discovered: Four California High School Students Arrested appeared first on Law Street.

During the early morning hours of September 8, Maya Donnelly was awaken by a crash that she believed was just thunder. Later that morning she looked in her garage and noticed pieces of broken wood and signs that Hulk, their large German Shepherd, had been making a mess. Donnelly went outside to get a closer look at things and to her surprise there was a mysterious package wrapped in black plastic. Donnelly stated:

I went out to investigate, and sure enough, I looked up to see the hole, and then my eyes trailed down and the big dog’s house was destroyed. It made a hole in that hard plastic doghouse and the bundle was inside…

Donnelly lives with her husband and three teenage daughters in Nogales, Arizona, near the U.S.-Mexico border. Because of the large amount of smuggling that occurs near the border area, she immediately assumed that the package was drugs and called the police. When the police arrived, they revealed that Donnelly was correct. The package contained 26 pounds of marijuana and was worth nearly $10,000.

Nogales Police Department officers searched their property and other nearby areas for additional bundles but nothing was found. The officers then took possession of the drugs.

Nogales family woke to find a bail of marijuana fell through their roof. http://t.co/Y0gsVpCwCT pic.twitter.com/ZG7pqlJWRZ

— KVOA News 4 Tucson (@KVOA) September 27, 2015

Police are trying to determine if the bundle was transported by an aircraft or a pilotless drone. Authorities told Donnelly that an ultralight aircraft smuggling marijuana from Mexico had probably let part of its load go early by mistake. These aircrafts are one of the tools of the local drug smuggling trade. Nogales Police Chief Derek Arnson stated, “Someone definitely made a mistake, and who knows what the outcome of that mistake might be for them.”

In the United States, ultralight aircrafts are classified as “vehicles” and not aircrafts. They are not required to be registered nor is the pilot required to have a pilot license or certificate, thus making it easy to smuggle drugs. Arnson told Nogales International,

Ultralights, we’ve seen those on occasion. They’ll take a couple, two, three bundles. You can hear those kind of buzzing. They come at nighttime and they don’t land, they just drop and go back to Mexico.

Now, I’m sure some people may be surprised by the Donnellys’ integrity in calling the police and not keeping the bundle to make a profit.

Let 26 pounds of marijuana fall on my house. The last thing Ima do is call the police…the last.

— Bria (@BriaMaria92) September 28, 2015

Despite their friends joking to them that they could have kept the package and illegally sold the drugs, the family did not want to feel any guilt about the situation. “That’s what everybody says: ‘Why did you call 911?” Maya Donnelly stated. “But how can you have a clear conscience, right?”

The Donnellys do not feel any less safe after the incident and doubt that anyone will come looking for the drugs since the bundle is now in police custody. Arnson agreed, but placed patrols in the Donnelly’s neighborhood for now just to be safe. Although the family will have to pay an estimated amount of $500 in roof repairs and a new home for their dog, they are just happy that the package did not come through another part of their home and that no one was harmed.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Surprise: 26 Pounds of Marijuana Crash Through Arizona Home appeared first on Law Street.

Police have the duty of serving and protecting our communities. They are supposed to stop crime and make us feel a little safer knowing that we have people to help us during our times of need. Unfortunately this perception of the police has completely changed due to the enormous amount of unnecessary police brutality and senselessness that has affected the lives of many. A white Alabama police officer who was once awarded for his great work has been exposed to be another officer that may not be very heroic after all.

Alabama officer kept job after proposal to murder black man and hide evidence http://t.co/CT3Sw69SpF pic.twitter.com/9sr9YP1sfA

— The Guardian (@guardian) August 4, 2015

Officer Troy Middlebrooks, 33, was caught a few years ago on a secret recording device discussing how to kill Vincent Bias (an African American man) and get away with it. However, the tape was just revealed on Tuesday, sparking controversy.

In 2013 Bias was at his brother-in-law’s house when Middlebrooks showed up because of an unleashed dog. Bias was cited for the dog being unleashed even though it belonged to his brother-in-law. Bias alleged that at the time he was being repeatedly harassed by city officers, including Middlebrooks. He claimed he was singled out because he was a black man and because he was in a relationship with a white woman. Middlebrooks had previously arrested Bias on drug charges earlier in the year, but he had been released on bail after paying a bond. Reportedly frustrated that Bias had been released, the officer pulled aside his brother-in-law, who is white, and told him he did not trust Bias. The brother-in-law then secretly began to record Middlebrooks’ statements. On the recording, Middlebrooks is heard saying if he were in the same position he would, “f-cking kill that motherf-cker with whatever I had in that f-cking house”. He continued to say, “And before the police got here, I’d f-cking put marks all over my shit and make it look like he was trying to f-cking kill me. I god damn guarantee you. What would it look like? Self f-cking defense. F-ck that piece of sh-t. I’m a lot different from a lot of these other folks. I’ll f-cking tell you what’s on my f-cking mind.”

He also began to mock Bias’ brother stating, “That motherf-cker right there needs a god d-mn bullet. And you f-cking know exactly what I’m talking about. The way he f-cking talks to you? Like you’re a f-cking child? Like he’s your … Are you his b-tch or something? He talks to you like that.”

After receiving the tape, Bias hired lawyers and played the recording for police chiefs and the mayor and told the city that he planned to sue for $600,000. The situation ended up being handled quietly outside of court, and Bias was given a much smaller amount of $35,000 by Alexander City authorities so they could avoid being publicly sued. He told NBC News that he took the money in hopes of moving away from Alexander City, so that he would no longer be targeted unfairly by the police. But members of the Alexander City Council said they had not been told about the case or the payment to Bias. One city council member, Tony Goss, said he was “absolutely flabbergasted” to learn of the details. Goss also said,

 This is absolutely unbelievable. Thirty-five thousand dollars is a lot of money and our city council is being left out of deliberation.

While referring to the recording he stated:

If an officer is recorded saying something like that, there are potential grounds for termination.

Middlebrooks shockingly kept his job and could not be reached for comment. Police Chief Willie Robinson stated that Middlebrooks was disciplined, but would not give out any details. Robinson also tried to cover for Middlebrooks and said that he was suggesting for the brother-in-law to carry out the killing. “He wasn’t saying that he was going to do that,” said the police chief. “He was talking about the man doing it himself.” Middlebrooks was repeatedly investigated and cleared by the State Bureau of Investigation.

However, it is downright frightening that a policeman that may have tried to tell someone how to kill a person is still on the workforce. In an environment where distrust of police appears to be at an all time high, and many questions are being raised about the ethics of our police forces, the fact that this was covered up is simply unacceptable. 

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Alabama Police Officer Caught on Tape Explaining How to Get Away With Murder appeared first on Law Street.

Fast food restaurants are many people’s go-to place for a quick and inexpensive meal. Despite widespread concerns about the healthiness of the food they serve, these franchises still receive an enormous amount of customers daily. But recent news has just exposed a few fast food restaurants and have shown us that some may be giving out more than just food–particularly a couple recent cases of drugs being produced or found in different establishments.

Early Tuesday morning around 4:42 AM, Cedar Rapid’s police received a call about suspicious activity going on outside a Taco Bell. When the officers arrived they found two men standing outside, one of whom was a Taco Bell employee. Police then called the restaurant’s manager to the scene and went inside with him to check it out. To their surprise, they found materials identified as equipment for the production of methamphetamine in the utility area.

@tacobell do you have meth infused queso? Asking for a friend….. https://t.co/lO0gVEiI6o

— Patrick O’Leary (@ughsoawkward) August 5, 2015

The parking lot was taped off Tuesday morning while officers examined the materials, and it is still unclear if meth was actually cooked inside the restaurant. The two men were identified as 31-year-old Christopher Adam Matous and 56-year-old Kent Jerome Duby. Matous faces charges of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of sodium hydroxide and petroleum distillates. Two of the charges are felonies. Duby faces a felony charge of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Taco Bell stated,

We understand that two people, one an employee, entered our franchisee’s restaurant illegally, allegedly possessing suspicious items. Both we and our franchisee find this completely unacceptable. Our franchisee has been cooperating with Cedar Rapids Police to investigate this isolated incident. Although the suspicious items found in the restaurant were not used in the kitchen, the employee has been terminated and our franchisee is considering pressing criminal charges. The restaurant will reopen after it has been sanitized and inspected by the Health Department.

The Taco Bell will have to remove any traces of hazardous chemicals from the building and then the health department must perform an inspection before the restaurant is allowed to re-open. Police don’t think that customers or employees at this Taco Bell were ever in danger, but are still investigating the situation. This is not the first time in recent history that a fast food restaurant has had an incident involving drugs. Just last week on July 29, a lawsuit was filed against an In-N-Out Burger in Los Angeles, California when a customer, Fred Maldonado, became sick after drinking a milkshake that allegedly contained two methamphetamine capsules. Maldonado visited In-N-Out during March of 2014 and ordered a burger and milkshake. It wasn’t until the next morning that he noticed two capsules wrapped in a napkin at the bottom of his cup. He then returned to the restaurant and complained to the manager who only apologized and offered him a free burger.

A California Man Is Suing In-n-Out Burger After Allegedly Finding Meth In Drink -NBC pic.twitter.com/lG0FuaNFDD

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 2, 2015

The suit Maldonado filed states, “Plaintiff did not initially know what the two capsules were, but later testing revealed that they were methamphetamine and that it appeared that they may have been illicitly manufactured.” Maldonado also claims that he suffered severe nausea and mental distress after drinking the milkshake. Maldonado filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging negligence and strict liability. In-N-Out has denied the charges and stated:

At In-N-Out Burger, we have always served the freshest, highest quality burgers, fries, and drinks and customer safety is one of our highest priorities.

In-N-Out Burger executive vice president Arnie Wensinger told City News Service.

We will vigorously defend these baseless claims. Due to the fact that this matter involves ongoing litigation, we will unfortunately not be able to comment any further.

To have drugs around or being manufactured where people eat is completely unacceptable–both the Taco Bell and In-N-Out Burger cases are very concerning. Careless actions like this can can put customers like Maldonado in serious danger. Even though they appear to  be isolated incidents, restaurants need to pay close attention to their employees and what’s happening inside their buildings.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Drugs on the Side? Fast Food Restaurants Under Fire for Possible Drug Violations appeared first on Law Street.

Saturday was the beginning of August and the last carefree month of summer break for many. This is the month when people make the most of the free time they have with their loved ones and begin to prepare to get back into their normal work or school routine. But unfortunately in Chicago, Illinois, the beginning of August was marred by an influx of shootings in the Windy City.

Beginning Sunday afternoon, at least 15 people were shot across the city. This is consistent with recent trends–July also saw an elevated number of shootings. During the 4th of July holiday weekend about 10 people were killed and 55 injured during various shooting incidents.

The number of victims this weekend in Chicago is extraordinary–this Sunday afternoon a 17-year-old boy was shot at about 4 p.m. on the South Side.. As the day continued, in the Roseland neighborhood on the Far South Side a 16-year-old boy and 23-year-old man were shot during a drive-by around 7:15 pm. At 8:40 pm a five-year-old girl was shot in the leg in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. Five minutes later gunshots were heard in the Belmont Central neighborhood on the Northwest Side as a seven-year-old boy and 19-year-old man were shot. Two women, 34 and 39, and a man, 26, were shot at about 7:55 p.m. Sunday on South Brandon Avenue on the South Side, according to police spokesman Officer Thomas Sweeney. At 9:30 p.m. Sunday, a 19-year-old man was shot in the Cabrini Green neighborhood on the Near North Side, police spokesman Ron Gaines said. The largest shooting incident this Sunday occurred in the West Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of the city. According to Gaines, four men were shot on South Winchester Avenue around 9:50pm. The men were between the ages of 19 and 25. The violence continued all the way through the next morning when a 20-year-old man was shot at 1:40 a.m. Monday, in the West Englewood neighborhood. No one has been taken into custody yet for the shootings and police are still investigating each case. The variety of victims and geographical breadth are certainly concerning.

Over the past five years, Chicago has seen more than 12,000 shootings. By June of this year Chicago had reached a total of 1,000 shootings–almost three weeks earlier than when the city reached 1,000 shootings in 2014. Chicago has gun laws that have banned assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and places to purchase ammo, which makes it one of the toughest places in the country to legally obtain a firing weapon. But even with these bans, gun violence has not decreased. Although the homicide rate has gone down, the number of shootings in the city is on the rise–indicating that the city still has work to do even with its restrictive gun laws.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Number of Shootings In Chicago Continues To Rise: When Will it Stop? appeared first on Law Street.

Yet another African-American man has lost his life at the hands of a police officer. Samuel DuBose, 43, was killed on July 19th from a shot to the head by 25-year-old University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing. DuBose was pulled over for not having a front license plate and the officer spoke to him for less than three minutes before fatally shooting him in the head. The incident was caught on video by Tensing’s body camera.

Ex-University of Cincinnati cop Ray Tensing has pleaded not guilty to murder of Samuel DuBose. http://t.co/zs5IqjjiCs pic.twitter.com/BDnIpfcsoo

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 30, 2015

Tensing claimed that he was “dragged” by Dubose’s vehicle after the two entered into a physical altercation and was forced to shoot. Hamilton County prosecutor Joseph Deters said the body-camera evidence shows that Tensing’s claim was not true. Deters said:

It is our belief that he was not dragged. If you slow down this tape you see what happens, it is a very short period of time from when the car starts rolling to when a gun is out and he’s shot in the head.

Deters also stated Tensing purposely killed DuBose and that he should never have been a police officer. DuBose did not appear to be aggressive toward the officer despite the fact that Tensing told his lawyer, Stew Matthews, he feared he was going to run him over. After 12 Hamilton County citizens reviewed the evidence on Monday as part of their grand jury investigation into the incident, they decided he should be charged with murder. UC’s campus was shut down Wednesday in anticipation of the announcement. Due to the past events that happened when innocent men were killed by police in other states, Cincinnati police prepared for possible protests and asked neighborhood activists to help keep the peace. A small group of students and residents gathered for a peaceful rally and discussion in a UC public square and there was also a small rally at the courthouse. Cincinnati police chief Jeffrey Blackwell appeared at both rallies telling the crowd “I just want to encourage you guys to keep up the fight.”

At a press conference immediately after the announcement of charges, Samuel’s mother Audrey DuBose stated,

“I trust God, and I knew it was going to be alright. I knew that if this man [Tensing] went free, and nothing was done to him, it was because he was really a righteous man and he didn’t do nothing…But I knew that my son was a righteous man. I knew that my son had the same spirit that dwells in me, dwell in him. That’s how he was fed. So, if my son is righteous and he get killed, somebody had to be wicked here.”

After the indictment was announced, the university announced that Tensing had been fired. He is the first officer in Cincinnati to face murder charges for killing someone in the line of duty. Tensing has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and involuntary manslaughter, but if he is convicted he will face 15 years to life in prison. The NAACP President Cornell William Brooks said the indictment is “encouraging” but it is just the beginning of a potentially long legal process.

The number of people killed by police in 2015 has already reached 664. During the first five months of this year 19 unarmed black men were shot and killed. People are angry, sad, and confused. Why are unarmed men who are not committing any type of crime being killed? Even with peaceful rallies, spreading awareness on social media, and occasional riots these killings are still happening frequently. It seems like there is not a month that goes by without someone having to say goodbye to the multiple people who are killed by the police. Everyone is wondering when the violence will end. More and more people are beginning to fear for their lives every time they have an encounter with law enforcement. We can only hope that this senseless violence will come to an end and that Tensing and other police officers will continue to be punished for the crimes they have committed.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post University of Cincinnati Police Officer Charged For Fatally Shooting Unarmed Black Man appeared first on Law Street.

Police in West Virginia received a frantic call last week with a woman in the background saying, “He pulled a gun on me! He was going to kill me!” The woman, who wants to be known only as “Heather,” spoke to the police after a struggle with an attacker who tried to rape her and held a gun to her chest. Luckily Heather was able to fight back to the point where the gunman set down his weapon. She then grabbed ahold of it and fired the gun, killing him. Heather ran out of the house and found a neighbor who called 911 for her. The neighbor said she “had to defend herself,” and she had “cuts and stuff all over her.” Heather made it out of the fight with just a broken vertebra and a separated shoulder. Now, police believe she may have killed an unknown serial killer, and saved countless lives in the process.

Heather’s story was understandably traumatic. In her own words, she stated the gunman asked her: “live or die?” and started to choke her. “When he strangled me, I grabbed my rake, and when he laid the gun down to get the rake out of my hands, I shot him,” she said. “I grabbed the gun and shot behind me.” Police identified the man as 45-year-old Neal Falls. Inside Falls’ car detectives found a machete, axes, knives, a shovel, a sledgehammer, bleach, plastic trash bags, bulletproof vests, and four sets of handcuffs. Heather met Falls through an escort section of backpage.com and after authorities saw what they called Falls’ “kill kit” and Oregon license plate, this led them to wonder if he could be connected to other unsolved cases involving the murder of escorts. Police are now investigating if he was linked with the disappearance of nine women across Ohio, Illinois, and Nevada. In 2005 Falls lived in Las Vegas, the same year four women went missing and were later found dead. Outside of Las Vegas, evidence found with the dismembered bodies was similar to an item found in Fall’s car.

Man slain in West Virginia may have been a serial killer, police say: http://t.co/DrvtvJbnRj pic.twitter.com/L1T2jF2Nb1

— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) July 27, 2015

Police find ‘kill kit’ in trunk of Neal Falls’ car, suspected serial killer. More: http://t.co/NeqlPrjbH4 pic.twitter.com/fFGOGXtXZk

— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) July 28, 2015

All the missing women were escorts, most of whom advertised online. Police said Falls also carried a list with the age and phone numbers of about 10 women who were also escorts in West Virginia. The listed women are all alive and have not had any previous contact with Falls, according to Charleston Police Department Chief of Detectives Steve Cooper.

However, given the damning evidence, police do not believe this was Falls’ first violent crime. “It’s likely that Mr. Falls is a serial killer,” said Cooper. “I believe she saved lives by shooting Mr. Falls, based on what he did to her and based on the items found in his car.” Heather stated, “I knew he was there to kill me…I could tell he had already done something because he said he was going to prison for a long time.” Fall’s former landlord, who wants to be identified as “Pauline,” stated that he stayed at her house in 2010, but she evicted him after only one year because his strange behavior made her feel uncomfortable. Pauline told KVAL:

The first thing that he did that was a little odd was that he immediately changed the deadbolt to his own room so that only he had a key. He said he had guns and weapons and that he was a security guard….Little creepy, very tightly lipped and not a chummy guy, definitely not a chummy guy. Somebody who doesn’t like to be exposed.

Heather’s case has been closed and she is not being charged for killing Falls because it was considered an act of self-defense. Authorities are now focused on finding out if Falls was related to other crimes in the past. Police in West Virginia have asked the FBI for help, and are entering Falls’ name into a national DNA database to see if they can find any kind of connection. If Heather did in fact kill a serial killer, it may help solve a number of cold cases, and prevent Falls’ future crimes.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Did a West Virginia Woman Unknowingly Kill a Serial Killer? appeared first on Law Street.

During this past year the media has paid close attention to Bill Cosby due to the many sexual assault allegations against him. There have been women stepping forward, some named and some anonymous, with similar stories that Cosby drugged and raped them. New York Magazine just recognized these women with its powerful new cover.

35 women of the 46 who have publicly come forward against Bill Cosby on New York Magazine Cover! Powerful Journalism! pic.twitter.com/yQaUEswsix

— John Robbie (@702JohnRobbie) July 27, 2015

Nearly 60 years after Cosby’s first alleged assault, 35 women have come together on the cover of New York Magazine to have their voices heard. The magazine photographed and interviewed the women who have accused the 78-year-old comedian of sexually assaulting them. The story features a combination of videos, photos, and individual testimonies. The list includes supermodels, actresses, playboy bunnies, waitresses, and journalists alongside many other women.

Beverly Johnson, one of 35 women interviewed, on allegedly being assaulted by Bill Cosby: http://t.co/T3DGgjNWI4 pic.twitter.com/ABg3ilTShS

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) July 27, 2015

“I felt ashamed. I was embarrassed to be me.” Listen on Instagram: http://t.co/y8zR8jXEuL pic.twitter.com/VNQySdNUoV

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) July 27, 2015

People have constantly questioned if these allegations were true due to some of the women waiting decades to speak out about it, but many claimed they did not speak out because of the fear that no one would believe them. Barbara Bowman, who accused Cosby of assaulting her from 1985 to 1987, said in an interview:

I could have walked down any street of Manhattan at any time and said, ‘I’m being raped and drugged by Bill Cosby,’ but who the hell would have believed me? Nobody, nobody.

Cosby has denied all the sexual allegations despite revealing in a 2005 court deposition that he gave quaaludes to young women with whom he wanted to have sexual relations. The case was filed by Andrea Constand, a former basketball player and administrator at his alma mater, Temple University, who claimed Cosby drugged and raped her in his Pennsylvania home. Constand was the first person to file a lawsuit against Cosby. After the deposition from that case became public three weeks ago, Spelman College ended its long term relationship with Cosby, along with Temple University, and the University of Massachusetts. “The William and Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Endowed Professorship at Spelman College has been discontinued,” Spelman’s communications office said in a statement Saturday.

Due to statutes of limitation, civil suits and criminal charges must be filed within a specific time period. If they are not filed within this period, then they can’t move forward, no matter how much evidence is presented. Because most of these allegations describe an assault that took place in 2004 or earlier the statutes of limitation for these cases have seemingly passed and Cosby cannot be charged or sued. However, several of the women have filed a defamation suit against Cosby, claiming that he damaged their reputations by accusing them of lying in their accusations against him. Although there a few cases within the statutes of limitation, the amount of time that has passed and lack of physical evidence would make it extremely difficult for him to be prosecuted.

Despite the legal complications, this magazine cover is still incredibly important. So far, there have been a total of 46 women who claimed that Cosby sexually assaulted them, and 35 have stepped up to be on the magazine. On the cover there is a 36th chair left open for the women who have not yet come forward. The cover has been described as brave, powerful, and brilliant. New York Magazine is giving powerful and recognition to the voices of the women who have stepped forward, and all those who were victimized by Cosby.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Bill Cosby’s Accusers Come Together On The Cover of New York Magazine appeared first on Law Street.

Every year we hear stories about parents getting in trouble for leaving their children in places unsupervised, whether it’s at home, in a store, or in a car. In most incidents the parents were nowhere near where they had left their children, but for a recent story coming out of Houston, Texas, that was simply not the case.

Single Mom Laura Browder Arrested After Leaving Kids at Food Court While Interviewing for… http://t.co/ez0DkFUboy pic.twitter.com/NUNj4FYFm4

— Hinterland Gazette (@hinterlandg) July 19, 2015

Laura Browder, single mother of a 6-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy, was arrested and charged with “abandoning” her children who were no more than 30 yards away from her. She went to Houston’s Memorial City Mall for a job interview but because it was last minute, Browder did not have enough time to find a babysitter. She brought her kids in the mall with her and sat them down in the food court near a McDonalds then went to her interview. According to Browder the interview was not for a job in the mall, but the food court was a meeting ground for the company’s employer and herself. Shortly after being offered the job and returning to her children, she was handcuffed. Browder claims the children were always in her line of sight, but the police officer on the scene arrested her. She is unsure of how this arrest will affect the new position.

Browder stated,

This was very unfortunate this happened. I had a interview with a very great company with lots of career growth. I am a college student and mother of two. I would never put my name, background or children in harms way intentionally. I have a promising future ahead of me regardless of what the media tries to portray me as. A judge released my children to me knowing that I was a good mother who just made a not so smart decision. My children weren’t even 30 yards away from me, I fed them and sat there with them until it was time to meet with my interviewer. This too will pass and I am not concerned with outsiders have to say or what they think.

Child Protective Services officials say they are still in the early stages of the investigation, but have stated that they can offer services to help Browder find suitable childcare. It’s hard to understand the argument for charging her. Although she purposely left her kids there, she was unaware that it would be considered abandonment even with them in her sight, and she appeared to have been doing the best she could.

This is bullshit ! I guess it would’ve been better had she left them in the hot car like most scum bag parents smh http://t.co/QHZ4bA9ZQl

— Marnica (@TeammakeMoney) July 19, 2015

Many people have commented via Twitter or other forms of social media that she should not be punished because the children were in her eyesight and not in a car or somewhere that she could not easily get to them. Browder is trying to do the best that she can with her circumstances. She is a single mother and her kids need her in the picture. Accepting the childcare help that child protective services can offer could make things a lot easier for her. But most pressingly, it’s important to make sure laws are applied in common sense ways to best help mothers who are struggling to seek care for their children.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Texas Mother Charged with “Abandoning” Her Kids Who Were 30 Yards Away appeared first on Law Street.

On Thursday night at the Grand 16 Theater in Lafayette, Louisiana a crowd of about 100 people gathered to watch a screening of Amy Schumer’s comedy film “Trainwreck.” As the lights dimmed down and previews ended, instead of being able to enjoy the movie, the crowd had to escape the theater to stay alive. Before the movie could begin, a man stood up and opened fire on the audience. The gunman has been identified as 59-year-old John Russel Houser. According to Police Chief Jim Craft, Houser fired at least thirteen rounds. Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson were fatally shot and nine others were injured. Those injured ranged in ages from their late teens to their 60’s. By the time four officers entered the theater, the gunman had shot and killed himself.

Shooter in Louisiana theater shooting identified as 59-year-old John Houser http://t.co/86veVCQsRK pic.twitter.com/XjC5197Ebd

— WTKR NewsChannel 3 (@WTKR3) July 24, 2015

Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police described the shooter as a “drifter.” “He was a guy that was a drifter … that just happened to be in this theater and took two beautiful lives,” Edmonson stated. “Don’t lose sight of the fact that these 2 individuals had a vision, had a name, had a future. It wasn’t to die as they did horribly in this theater here.” Authorities say Houser, who is orginally from Alabama, had been staying in Lafayette since early July at a Motel 6 where they found wigs and glasses–“disguises basically,” Craft said. Keifer Sanders, who was nearby the auditorium, stated that the movie theater was calm before the gunman opened fire. “There was no argument, nothing going on at all. And a guy just stood up and started opening fire,” Sanders said. “The guy was just kind of at ease, just standing there, just shooting.” The shooter’s motive is still unknown. Craft said:

This kind of stuff just leaves you wondering. Why would a guy come into a theater in this city — we have a relatively safe city — and just, you know, randomly start shooting people? It’s hard to figure out. He’s deceased, so we may now never know.

There were some indications that Houser had consumed alcohol, but there were no indications of drug use. Craft also stated the gunman had a criminal record for arson and selling alcohol to a minor, but his record had been clean for the last 10 to 15 years. Authorities checked suspicious packages inside Houser’s car and the movie theater, but nothing was found. This shooting happened only days after the conviction of James Holmes for the Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting in 2012 that left 70 people wounded and 12 dead. Theaters began to increase their security after the Aurora shooting, but for the most part movie theaters are still very lax on security and people can walk in and out without being questioned. “Whenever we hear about these senseless acts of violence, it makes us both furious and sad at the same time,” Governor Bobby Jindal said. “This is an awful night for Lafayette, this is an awful night for Louisiana, this is an awful night for the United States. But we will get through this.”

Amy Schumer, star of “Trainwreck” sent out her condolences to the people involved.

My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana.

— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 24, 2015

It’s horrifying to constantly hear of so many acts of violence occurring in the United States. People should not have to wonder if they will make it back alive from the movies or church, but it seems like incidents of those sort happen constantly now. Movie theaters may start checking people’s belongings and clothing for any weapons, and we may see increased security at different venues. If that’s what it takes to prevent more incidents like this moving forward, it may be worth it.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Louisiana Movie Theater Shooting Ends in Tragedy appeared first on Law Street.

Dating websites are nothing new to our generation. Singles go online, make a profile, and meet people similar to them with hopes of finding their soulmate and happily ever after–or so we thought. A different kind of dating website with some taboo clientele is changing the matchmaking game, and hackers don’t like it.

AshleyMadison.com is a dating website for people who are not so single…in fact, they’re usually married. Millions (yes millions) of married people have gone to the site to have secret affairs. Although Ashley Madison claims to be discreet, users of the site are now nervously watching for news updates after hackers calling themselves the “Impact Team” stole their personal information from the site late Sunday, and are now threatening to expose it.

AshleyMadison, a website for people seeking affairs, boasts 37 million users. It was hacked. http://t.co/lisUnFg839 pic.twitter.com/UIKaxIa0nC

— WSJD (@WSJD) July 20, 2015

The site, which has over 37 million users, prides itself on being the “world’s leading married dating service for discreet encounters.” It even offers users who want to erase their sneaky past a “full delete” feature (for a $19 fee) that promises to delete all of the user’s personal data from the server. However, the hackers are claiming that this feature is a complete scam and the data of those who paid for it was never deleted.

According to Brian Krebs, the blogger behind Krebs on Security, the hackers have warned that if Ashley Madison and its sister site, EstablishedMen.com, are not taken down for good they will “release customer records, including profiles with all the customers’ secret sexual fantasies and matching credit card transactions, real names and addresses, and employee documents and emails.” Impact Team went on to mock the site and its users writing,

Too bad for those men, they’re cheating dirtbags and deserve no such discretion. Too bad for ALM [Avid Media Life, the parent company], you promised secrecy but didn’t deliver. We’ve got the complete set of profiles in our DB dumps, and we’ll release them soon if Ashley Madison stays online. And with over 37 million members, mostly from the US and Canada, a significant percentage of the population is about to have a very bad day, including many rich and powerful people.”

Unfortunately for Ashley Madison hack victims, sympathizers are few. Some people are even glad the site was hacked, and think the information being released would be a good thing.

I see the ‘Ashley Madison’ website has been hacked and they’re threatening to expose everyone on it. GOOD, cheating should not be condoned.

— Ashley (@Ashleyybrewer) July 20, 2015

In a statement responding to the hack Avid Media Life said,

We were recently made aware of an attempt by an unauthorized party to gain access to our systems…At this time, we have been able to secure our sites, and close the unauthorized access points. We are working with law enforcement agencies, which are investigating this criminal act.

CEO of Ashley Madison, Noel Biderman, believes that the attack was an inside job by someone who has worked with the company’s technical services before and that he is getting close to confirming who the culprit is. But was Ashley Madison cheating cheaters? If the company’s “full delete” feature is in fact a scam, it cheated users out of an estimated $1.7 million during 2014, and could be cause for some serious lawsuits against the company.

For now Ashley Madison is still up and running. The excerpts from the site that have been leaked by the hackers were taken down; however, this doesn’t get the cheaters off the hook. The Impact Team still reportedly has a copy of the full database so users might want to think twice before continuing their “discreet” affairs.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Ashley Madison May Have Cheated Cheaters appeared first on Law Street.

Planned Parenthood is an organization with a mission to promote a healthy sexual lifestyle and family planning. But recent news of a few controversial videos surfacing may be changing some people’s opinions toward the organization. In the more widely viewed video, Center for Medical Progress–an advocacy group that claims to report on medical ethics–had two undercover actors pose as representatives of a human biologics company and went to lunch with Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services. Nucatola was secretly recorded and what she said during the video has led to serious arguments about both the video’s validity and Planned Parenthood’s actions.

The Center for Medical Progress released the video early last week and called it the first in its “Human Capital” series, “a nearly 3-year-long investigative journalism study of Planned Parenthood’s illegal trafficking of aborted fetal parts.” There were two versions of the video posted on YouTube, an eight-minute version and a “full” version that is close to three hours. The Center for Medical Progress says the video was shot on July 25, 2014 in a California restaurant. David Daleiden, who led the undercover project, said, “Planned Parenthood’s criminal conspiracy to make money off of aborted baby parts reaches to the very highest levels of their organization” in a written statement.

Throughout the video Dr. Nucatola makes shocking statements such as,

We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.

In another part of the video she states, “Every provider has had patients who want to donate their tissue, and they absolutely want to accommodate them. They just want to do it in a way that is not perceived as ‘This clinic is selling tissue. This clinic is making money off of this.'” She did not specifically say the price for the purchase of tissue, but many have questioned if the organization was trying to make a profit.

The Center for Medical Progress also posted an advertisement from a big purchaser of aborted fetal tissue that was posted in Planned Parenthood clinics. The advertisement features words such as “financial profitable,” “financial profits,” “financial benefit to your clinic,” and “fiscal growth of your own clinic.”

Planned Parenthood issued a response statement denying having done anything wrong and accused the Center for Medical Progress of releasing a video that was heavily edited in order to twist its meaning. It also denied that any money was made from selling aborted baby parts. “There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood,” Spokesman Eric Ferrero said. “In some instances, actual costs, such as the cost to transport tissue to leading research centers, are reimbursed, which is standard across the medical field.”

The video has been met with many horrified reactions–including from the government. The sale or purchase of human body parts, including fetal tissue, is a federal felony that can land someone in prison for ten years. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has called on the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals to conduct an investigation of this incident which he refers to as an “alleged evil and illegal activity.”

There are two sides to every story and Planned Parenthood has stated that Nucatola was not talking about the illegal sale of fetal body parts but instead the legal donation of organs to biomedical research laboratories that use the body parts to save lives. There have also been allegations that the video has ties to James O’Keefe, a well-known video fraudster. According to a statement made by Planned Parenthood today, there are new videos surfacing that the organization once again claims are very heavily edited. However, Planned Parenthood’s reputation is still certainly reeling, and it remains to be seen how it will deal with the continued controversy.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Planned Parenthood Video: The Controversy Continues appeared first on Law Street.

About a year ago, MTV started “Look Different,” an online and on-air campaign with the goal of erasing the hidden racial, gender, and anti-LGBT bias that remains in our society. A new ad that is a part of Look Different was just launched this week and has left many people feeling uncomfortable. The campaign posted a faux advertisement called “White Squad” Wednesday evening on YouTube where it has well over 100,000 views so far. The ad aims to lessen racial prejudices but may be creating more controversy than conversation.

The commercial acknowledges the fact that white privilege exists and tries to make it comical by encouraging minorities to call the “White Squad” to help them in situations where they are often treated unfairly–like to win court cases, buy better homes, and receive scholarships. The ad says White Squad will “give the full benefits of being white in the legal system.” Although this was a satirical ad, most first time viewers had no clue it was fake and couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The campaign even went so far as to make a fake website for White Squad which links to the Look Different online site.

As expected, Twitter has had a field day with the commercial. There was a pretty broad range of reactions:

I’d literally forgotten ALL about MTV til #WhiteSquad. Of ALL the desperate promo attempts I’ve seen, when ALL else fails, use Black People.

— Black Reign (@KockTailz) July 16, 2015

Bruh I’d call White Squad YESTERDAY.

— Jer’Maine Montiel (@JerMaineMontiel) July 16, 2015

White Squad…. How yall feel about this? I think it’s great because you see what people of color go through on a daily basis.

— Fonzio (@alphcee) July 16, 2015

You don’t CHALLENGE #WhitePrivilege by making a joke of it. Nothing is funny about being discriminated against. #EpicFail#WhiteSquad

— Black Reign (@KockTailz) July 16, 2015

Yes, the ad does shine a light on issues that people of color have to face. But, people are offended and uncomfortable because they feel that the commercial is making fun of real life struggles minorities deal with every day–struggles that can’t just easily be fixed by calling someone who is white to come out and help. For decades people have known that racial privileges exists, but simply showing a commercial will not make it go away. MTV acknowledging that white privilege exists was a very small step toward working to solve this huge problem.

This isn’t the only example of MTV addressing racial issues head on in a controversial manner. MTV is planning to air a documentary called “White People” which shows how it feels “to be young and white.” Network executives say the show’s aim is to “challenge ‘whiteness’ and help ‘address racial bias through honest, judgment-free dialogue.'”

This documentary promises to elicit some interesting reactions as well–I for one am looking forward to hearing everyone’s opinions on the topic. With MTV’s decrease in ratings over the past few years, people are questioning if it has started talking about racial discrimination to draw attention back to the network. While that may or may not be the case, MTV’s attempts to spark social conversations promises to be an interesting (and controversial) move to watch.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post MTV’s “White Squad”: Funny or Offensive? appeared first on Law Street.

Despite having improved over recent decades, HIV/AIDS rates remain a particular problem for sex workers in Cambodia. On Thursday, July 9th, an event at the Pulitzer Center delved into these issues, raising many questions about how to combat the crisis–including creating common sense laws to protect women who are forced into sex work. Video journalist Steve Sapienza gave an inside look at the life that sex workers in Cambodia are living through his project “The Hidden World Of Cambodia’s Sex Workers: New Risks, New Hope.” Accompanying him were Antigone Barton, a free-lance journalist who has written extensively about the AIDS epidemic in the US and abroad, and Sebastian Kohn, program officer for law and health with the Public Health Program based in New York.

Sapienza began the conversation with some background information about the situation in Cambodia. Sex workers are often, although not always, forced into this business by sex traffickers. Kohn stated that “trafficking involves threats of abusive force.” Traffickers use these women for commercial sex acts to make a profit. Because the practice is so prevalent in Cambodia, there remains a high risk for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

The first case of HIV was found in Cambodia in 1991. The disease was quickly spread through sex workers, causing the country to have the highest HIV rate in Southeast Asia. In an effort to stop the spread of HIV, troops were even sent to the brothels where sex workers saw customers. In 2003 a law passed that mandated that girls in Cambodia’s brothels had to use condoms. Although this lead to a dramatic decrease in the percentage of the population with HIV, in 2008 prostitution became completely illegal. That didn’t stop the illicit sex trade, however, as there was a 46 percent increase in prostitution after it became banned. When the government decided to close these brothels, sex workers started going to bars, clubs, and restaurants to secretly continue their business. Others also recruited clients on the street. Estimates put the amount of sex workers somewhere between 20,000-100,000. Most importantly, HIV transmission still remained a problem, although it has dropped dramatically in recent decades.

Sapienza highlighted some changes that have helped to stem the epidemic. Sapienza’s video showed a quick look at programs such as SMARTgirl, which aims to prevent and lessen the impact of HIV among “entertainment workers” living in Cambodia. SMARTgirl gives out free condoms and offers free HIV screenings, but with sex workers often constantly on the go many of them are not able to be checked regularly.

Most strikingly, the event also highlighted some shocking truths that seem to run counter to commonsense. For example, Sapienza explained that Cambodians can get arrested for carrying around condoms because it is seen as evidence that they are sex workers. Sex workers that want to be safe while working have to be very careful carrying protection or they can be taken to jail. Many of these women believe that police use this as a means to get money–essentially citizens found with condoms sometimes have to bribe police officers to avoid arrest. Inconsistent policies along those lines have made it hard to improve the HIV/AIDS rate in some cases.

When it comes to considering the dangers in sex work, it’s important to remember that for many women, it was not a choice. When an audience member asked if most of the sex workers seemed to be happy with their employment, Sapienza stated, “I don’t think any expressed joy, it [prostitution] was a fallback.” Many of the women involved in the prostitution business continue working because they feel that it is one of the only ways they can provide for their family; or because they are victims of human trafficking. Both are sad realities of the sex trade in many countries.

It’s clear that things are getting better in Cambodia for sex workers in some ways, particularly when it comes to the HIV infection rate. Yet, there is still much work to be done–particularly when it comes to ineffectual laws that punish women for trying to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases, regardless of whether or not they are sex workers. Programs like SMARTgirl need to continue to implemented, and advocates like Sapienza need to continue bringing up the difficult conversations.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Sex Workers in Cambodia: A Struggle for Protection appeared first on Law Street.

Just as the search for New York prison escapees David Sweat and Richard Matt recently came to an end, an even bigger manhunt has begun in Mexico. Joaquin Guzman, also known as “El Chapo” and Mexico’s most powerful drug lord, escaped from Altiplano maximum security federal prison on Saturday night.

This isn’t Guzman’s first escape. In 2001 he escaped by hiding in a laundry cart with the help from prison guards who were later prosecuted and convicted. He was not captured again until 2014 during a raid in a condo in Mazatlan, a Pacific resort in Sinaloa state.

After spending almost a year and a half behind bars, the kingpin is on the loose again. Guzman used an intricate escape route that was somehow built without any authorities noticing. According to the National Security Commission, he was last seen in his shower area around 9pm on Saturday. Once he was lost by the prison’s security cameras, his cell was checked. Authorities found it empty and saw a 20-by-20-inch hole near the shower. He climbed down a 30 foot vertical hole and then escaped through a fully ventilated tunnel with lighting according to National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubid. Guzman’s cartel is known for building tunnels beneath the Mexico-U.S. border to transport cocaine, methamphetamines, and marijuana, often including ventilation, lighting, and even railcars to easily move products. The tunnel ended in a half-built barn, which according to an unidentified woman was bought by outsiders–possibly connected to Guzman–who began to build immediately about a year ago. Tools, oxygen tanks, and a motorcycle adapted to run on rails were also found by authorities.

#ElChapo‘s friends built him an underground tunnel and helped him escape prison on a motorcycle…. My friends don’t even text me back…

— JayDalton (@JayyDalton) July 13, 2015

While Guzman was a fugitive after his 2001 escape, he turned himself into one of the world’s most notorious drug traffickers with an estimated fortune of $1 billion. Forbes magazine listed him among the “World’s Most Powerful People,” and ranked him above the presidents of countries such as France and Venezuela. Michael S. Vigil, retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chief of International Operations, stated that if El Chapo is not caught immediately he will most likely be back in full command of the Sinaloa cartel within two days. So far thirty employees from Altiplano have been questioned to see if Guzman received any inside help. His escape has embarrassed the Pena Nieto administration, which once received praise for its aggressive approach to top drug lords. President Enrique Pena Nieto said:

This represents without a doubt an affront to the Mexican state. But I also have confidence in the institutions of the Mexican state … that they have the strength and determination to recapture this criminal.

In an interview after Guzman’s 2014 arrest, the president said that allowing him to escape again would be “unforgivable.” The attorney general at the time, Jesús Murillo Karam, said the possibility of another Guzman escape “does not exist.” Clearly both men were wrong. Ana Maria Salazar, a security analyst and former Pentagon counter-narcotics official stated exactly what most people are thinking,

One would have assumed that he would have been the most watched criminal in the world, and apparently, that just didn’t happen. This is a huge embarrassment for the Mexican government. Obviously it’s going to raise a lot of questions as to what’s happening with the Mexican criminal justice system.

Authorities have launched a widespread manhunt to find Guzman and have also closed Toluca International Airport, which is a 45 minute drive away from the prison. The drug lord was very prepared and probably had his escape and post-escape plans well thought out. This scandal should serve as a huge wake up call for the the Mexican government. Officials need to thoroughly examine their prisons and improve the security so that there will be no more chances of criminals escaping. There was no trace of Guzman 24 hours after his escape and officials are going to have to work extremely hard to find him, given his track record.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Manhunt For Mexico’s Most Notorious Drug Lord Begins appeared first on Law Street.

Imagine being told you have a potentially fatal disease and going through weeks of expensive treatments and stress. Then you find out you were intentionally misdiagnosed. This is the nightmare that 553 patients are experiencing after Michigan-based Dr. Farid Fata purposely misdiagnosed them with various types of cancer so that he could make more money. The unnecessary treatments they received amounted to 9,000 injections and infusions that cost the insurance companies and patients millions.

One by one, patients confront doctor who falsely diagnosed them with cancer http://t.co/lgC88qbYai pic.twitter.com/EInUjqYHe1

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 8, 2015

For example, Robert Sobieray, a 62-year-old disabled autoworker, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer by Fata in 2010. Sobieray claims the treatments he endured caused his body to uncontrollably twitch and his teeth to fall out. When Fata was arrested in 2013 for healthcare fraud Sobieray went to another doctor who told him he actually never had the disease. Sobieray stated:

I have so much hatred towards Fata. His name causes an instant headache. He gets my stomach turning. It is hard to explain…the things I want to do to that guy I couldn’t say in public. I hope he gets life.

It’s easy to imagine that the other patients feel as similarly betrayed as Sobieray. As his patients were fearing death, the 50-year-old doctor was running seven upscale clinics and then going home to rest in his comfy Michigan mansion. After undergoing countless aggressive and unnecessary treatments many of his patients now do have health issues. Victims said the cancer treatments Fata gave them caused problems such as hair loss, depression, and high blood pressure, among others.

this doctor lied an told healthy people they had cancer so he could make money….this is the world we live in.

— tayrn. (@_annakae) July 7, 2015

This doctor who lied to his patients saying they had cancer just so he can get more money from treatments, appts, etc makes me sick

— Briana Lafontaine (@brilafontaine) July 7, 2015

In addition to misdiagnosing people, Fata also never told those who were terminally ill that they were dying. This led patients who were close to death to continue buying treatments–making him more money. They thought that their health was improving while it simply was not. “Some of these terminal patients never knew they were dying because of Fata’s lies,” prosecutors stated in a sentencing memo. Cheryl Blades said when her mother Nancy LaFrance had a recurrence of lung cancer, the surgeon told her that chemo would not help. However, Dr. Fata had different beliefs. Blades claims

He told my mother he was going to cure her. He promised her. He said you will see your youngest granddaughter graduate from high school. And none of that happened.

In September Dr. Fata pleaded guilty to health care fraud, money laundering, and conspiring to pay and receive kickbacks. Federal prosecutors are asking that he gets a 175 year sentence, while his attorney is trying to lower it to only 25 years. His hearing began Monday, and may last all week. Several of Fata’s victims have been giving statements in court this week on their changed lives–hopefully Fata’s sentencing will ultimately provide some closure and peace to his victims.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Michigan Doctor Misdiagnoses Patients to Make Extra Cash appeared first on Law Street.

Within the past few years there have been multiple cases of athletes putting their hands on women and suffering the consequences. Baltimore Raven’s running back Ray Rice and Texas Tech football player Nigel Bethel II both recently assaulted women and were dismissed from their teams. But most recently, Florida State University’s Quarterback De’Andre Johnson has made the news after an altercation with a young woman at a bar.

On June 24th at a night club called “Yiannis,” 19-year-old Johnson was caught on video shoving past a woman–a 21-year-old FSU student–waiting in line for her drink as he made his way to the front of the bar. The two then began to argue and the woman proceeded to hit him in the face. Johnson grabbed her arm and punched her across the left side of her face.

According to the Tallahassee Police Department incident report, the woman had bruises near her left eye, swelling of the left cheek and upper lip, and a small cut near the bridge of her nose. Jose Baez, Johnson’s well-known criminal defense and trial attorney stated on Monday:

While it is clear from the video that De’Andre Johnson was not the initial aggressor, his family wants to take the lead in helping him learn and grow from this experience. He is currently participating in community service and faith-based programs focused on battered women, substance abuse and the empowerment of children…De’Andre is extremely embarrassed by this situation and would like to express his heartfelt apologies to everyone, including those who were directly affected, Coach Fisher and his teammates, the entire Florida State University community, as well as his family and friends.

The Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher announced that Johnson had been suspended indefinitely from the FSU football program on June 25th. This week, just hours after the state’s attorney’s office released the video, Coach Fisher dismissed the freshman quarterback from the team. Johnson, who was named Florida’s “Mr. Football” as a senior at First Coast High School in Jacksonville was charged with misdemeanor battery. He turned himself in to Tallahassee police on June 30th and was released on a $500 bond. According to FSU’s athletics policy, if a student-athlete is charged with a misdemeanor or felony, or convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the department makes a decision on discipline on a case-by-case basis.

This is not the first time an FSU football player has been in the headlines due to trouble off the field. Jameis Winston, the former Florida State University quarterback-turned-top NFL draft pick, was accused of rape in 2012. Winston claimed the charges were false and they were eventually dropped. It does not seem that Johnson will be as lucky as Winston was.

While this might seem like a straightforward case of yet another instance of violence from a promising young football player, there is another thing worth noting–a double standard. Although Johnson was obviously very much in the wrong, the woman who hit him has not yet been charged. I have always been a firm believer that no man should ever put his hands on a woman, but I am also a believer that no woman should put her hands on a man, and I’m not alone.

I think De’andre Johnson should be kicked out of FSU and charged with battery, but the woman (clearly the aggressor) should be charged too..

— Marcus Aurelius (@marcusjordandoe) July 7, 2015

Everyone deserves to be punished if they behave inappropriately and violently. The student who was hit should be charged for hitting him as well–regardless of the high profile nature of this case, respect should still be key. Obviously, Johnson’s behavior was completely over the line here; by putting his hands on the woman he lost the respect of many and a promising future. Violence is never the answer–that’s a lesson worth repeating again and again.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post FSU Quarterback Pays the Price for Bar Brawl with Young Woman appeared first on Law Street.

The sister of Dylann Roof launched an online campaign just a few days ago to raise money to pay for her wedding and honeymoon. Amber Roof’s wedding was abruptly cancelled after her brother massacred nine people in Charleston, South Carolina. The couple was to be married on June 21st, four days after Dylann Roof gunned down nine people at the historic Emanuel AME Church. Dylann Roof told officials that he wanted to start a “race war.” He has now been charged with nine counts of murder. His actions have been labeled an act of terrorism by some, and many are still trying to cope with the pain of this tragedy. However Amber Roof’s actions are coming across to many as more insensitive than sympathetic.

Dylann Roof’s sister creates GoFundMe page asking for $5K to cover cost of cancelled wedding: http://t.co/D9WOLKTW7F pic.twitter.com/uGLzgIQYXS

— Rachelle Spence (@RachelleWSPA) July 2, 2015

The fundraiser was just removed from GoFundMe last week. Before it was removed, Roof stated that she and her fiance cancelled the wedding “to protect our family and mourn the lives of those lost” but now they want another chance at happiness. She went on to say that the media abused their privacy and destroyed the first day that they were going to share together. Her GoFundMe Page was titled “A Fresh Start For Michael and Amber.” She stated,

Our wedding day was suppose to be the most important and special day of our lives. It was suppose to start our lives together with our new family. Our day was the exact opposite. Our wedding day was full of sorrow, pain, and shame, tainted by the actions of one man.

Roof raised over $1,700 out of her $5,000 goal before the campaign was taken down. No one is sure if she took the campaign down herself or if it was removed by those in charge of GoFundMe. Despite receiving some support, the page attracted some very harsh comments as well. One woman posted:

This has to be the most self-centered and insensitive fundraising page I’ve ever encountered and I’m shocked that gofundme hasn’t erased you from their existence already! I can’t imagine the anguish and sorrow that your own brother has inflicted on so many wonderful and kind people and all the while, you are fantasizing about letting others fund your honeymoon!!

For Roof to say that she has endured sorrow and pain due to their wedding cancellation is something I see as selfish and ridiculous. She stated on the fundraising page, “We know money cannot replace the wedding we lost and our perfect day, however it will help us to create new memories and a new start with our new family.” But what about the lives that cannot be replaced? I am honestly shocked that Roof had the nerve to refer to her wedding as such a huge loss when people had family members that they lost and will never be with again. There is no comparison between canceling a wedding and having a family member killed. People have described Amber’s want for money as disgusting, tacky, and some even joked that there needs to be a “Defund Me” site created just for her.

I’m conflicted: Dylan Roof’s sister has a GoFundMe for her wedding ’cause “the media destroyed our dream day”. The MEDIA?!

— Joe Flynn (@fenian2153) July 2, 2015

Why do I log in to find out Dylan Roof’s sister has a GoFundMe for her canceled wedding. There aren’t enough “I can’ts” in this world.

— #JeSuisCharleston (@radrebellion) July 2, 2015

Before Amber’s GoFundMe was launched, rumors were going around that over $4 million was raised for the murderer himself. Although these claims have not been proven to be true, there are some people who do actually support Dylann Roof. Amber’s a different story–I do not think that Amber Roof should be punished for the actions of her brother nor do I think that she should never have her dream wedding. But this was not the appropriate time or way to go about making that happen. She should not be thinking only about herself during a time that has rendered pain, hurt, and fear in the hearts of so many people.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Dylann Roof’s Sister Launches GoFundMe: Sympathetic or Offensive? appeared first on Law Street.

Laura, a 24-year-old woman without a terminal illnesses, is making headlines after she qualified for euthanasia in Belgium. Euthanasia is the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve them from a form of suffering. Although Laura does not have a life-threatening sickness, she has qualified for this procedure due to the depression she has dealt with for several years. We typically do not hear of stories like this occurring in the U.S. because there are very few states that have legalized euthanasia and there are strict regulations, including that the patient has to be terminally ill. However that’s not the case everywhere, and while the date of Laura’s death has not been decided yet, her story has raised many questions about the ethics of euthanasia worldwide.

Laura’s argument is pretty straightforward. She has been a patient of a psychiatric institution for the past three years and stated that she has tried to kill herself on multiple occasions. During both her childhood and adult life she suffered from “suicidal thoughts.” She told journalists, “Death feels to me not as a choice. If I had a choice, I would choose a bearable life, but I have done everything and that was unsuccessful.”

Although most states in the U.S. have not legalized it, seven out of ten Americans back euthanasia. The U.S., and other developed countries, can learn from the proliferation of the practice in various European nations. In 2002 Belgium became only the second country to legalize euthanasia, following the Netherlands. This allowed Belgian doctors to help patients end their lives if they expressed a wish to die to relieve suffering. Any competent adults and emancipated minors can request this procedure if they feel that what they are dealing with is beyond any medical help. In February of 2014, the Belgian Parliament passed a bill also allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children, although any children must have parental concent. This makes Belgium the first in the world to have legalized euthanasia without an age limit.

The country has had a large increase in euthanasia cases over the past few years. In 2013, 1,807 deaths were recorded as opposed to 2012 when there were 1,432 deaths recorded. More than half of the patients were over the age of 70, but recently younger patients have been requesting this procedure more frequently due to depression. Dr Marc Van Hoey, a general practitioner and president of the Right to Die Association in northern Belgium, is an open supporter of the law. Van Hoey told the Independent newspaper that he believes that sometimes this procedure is the kindest option. He stated,

I’ve seen quite a lot of persons dying in – how do you say in proper English – agony?…I never saw that when I gave someone euthanasia he or she asked for.

Although euthanasia is considered acceptable to many, there are people who are not in favor of this law at all. Carine Brochier, a project manager with the Brussels-based European Institute of Bioethics, believes that this law is leading to too many young people in Belgium dying. “Euthanasia is not the answer to all human suffering,” Brochier says. “We need to develop better palliative care for people,” something she believes Belgium is not currently doing. Opinions on euthanasia vary, but majorities have been supporting the law for the past two decades.

Euthanasia should be legal, should be about quality of life not sanctity of life. It shouldn’t be illegal if you want to stop the suffering

— Mark Bowden (@markbowdn) May 26, 2015

Euthanasia should just be made legal, no one should have to suffer in their own bodies not being able to do anything about it

— michael cum thru (@hurrymgc) December 14, 2014

No, euthanasia should not be legal and God owns your life. Believer or not, it’s the truth #ontopictalkshow

— Sema. (@Sema187) May 31, 2015

In contrast, in the U.S. euthanasia is legal in four states. Montana requires those seeking the procedure to be a “terminally ill, competent patient.” Oregon, Washington, and Vermont have also legalized euthanasia but require patients requesting it to be 18 years old or older and a resident of the state. The patient must also be capable of making and communicating health care decisions for himself and have been diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.

This has been a particularly controversial debate because it’s impossible to truly analyze how someone is feeling. In a case like Laura’s, it seems to go against accepted norms to not work with her to treat her depression. Detractors from euthanasia worry that it gives the doctor too much power and romanticizes death. On the other hand, advocates argue that allowing euthanasia gives people control over their own lives. Whether or not we’ll see euthanasia become legalized in the U.S. to the same extent as Belgium any time soon is questionable, but Laura’s story certainly sparked many questions.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Euthanasia Without Terminal Illness: Should it Be Legal? appeared first on Law Street.

The connection between prostitution, drug use, and crime has long been known, but a new horrifying story coming out of a small town in Ohio raises many concerns about how deep this connection is. Chillicothe, Ohio, a city afflicted by drugs, poverty, and unemployment, is now filled with citizens who are concerned for their safety after six women have disappeared in a little over a year.

Charlotte Trego, a mother of two, was the first to go missing about a year ago after being evicted by her roommate. She was not seen alive after. That same day Tameka Lynch, a mother of three and a friend of Trego, went missing as well. Next came Wanda Lemons who was last seen by her mother. A friend of Lemons told Chillicothe police she had talked about going with a truck driver to Texas where Lemons had family but has not heard from her since. Two months later Shasta Himelrick’s body was found floating in the Scioto River outside of Chillicothe. Himelrick was pregnant when she went missing on Christmas Day after promising to return to her grandmother’s house. In the same vein, Tiffany Sayre also went missing after promising her return. She was doing business at a local motel and told her friend that she would come back shortly but never made it. Lastly Timberly Claytor, a woman who was actually never reported missing, was found dead after she was shot in the head three times.

Four of the women have been found dead and officials are still working to locate Lemons and Trego. Each seemed to have a history of drug use, prostitution, and had connections to the same social circle. There also appeared to be a pattern of the bodies being dumped along waterways outside the city leaving officials to wonder if there is a serial killer involved. Staff Lt. Mike Preston of the Ross County Sheriff’s Department told The Washington Post:

I don’t want to come out and say ‘yes, we have a serial killer,’ but it’s a small community that we live in … and the number of females who have come up missing, and then the bodies that we’ve found, that’s quite a bit for our community.

Authorities have made one arrest so far involving the death of Timberly Claytor. Jason A. McCrary, 36, of Chillicothe, was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor more than ten years ago. He has not been charged with Claytor’s murder because investigators are waiting for results of DNA collected in a vehicle seized during a search warrant of McCrary’s home before filing charges. He still remains in the Ross County Jail on a charge that he failed to register his address as a sex offender. Authorities are still working hard to find information on the rest of the women despite the lack of leads that they have. Chillicothe Police Chief Keith Washburn said:

We’ve checked land, air and water for any signs of (the women). But the problem is you’re trying to find a needle in a haystack unless you have the information. The information we have is running dry on some of these cases.

Washburn said prostitution in the Chillicothe area appears to be driven by a need for quick money to purchase drugs. Lieutenant Preston acknowledged that the city is battling a heroin problem and there have been frequent arrests as a result. This leaves me to wonder what the town has done to stop this constant drug battle, and if that could have had an impact on these disturbing disappearances. This has to be a terrifying time for Chillicothe. With so few answers and arrests made, people are in fear for their lives. It is sad to see that a city once known as Ohio’s capital is now known as a city of such tragic events. Police have to crack down on finding information about these deaths and also curtail the drug and prostitution businesses to keep people safe before this tragedy continues.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Drugs and Missing Women: The Sad State of Chillicothe, Ohio appeared first on Law Street.

In our society, millennials constantly want to stay updated on important events occurring in the world. With today’s technology, most news events can be checked through our cellphones, whether we use news and social media apps or online sites. But one of the hottest social media apps is now getting into the game–Instagram is now trying to get involved in real time news.

This makes a lot of sense, as the American Press Institute did a study that shows 56 percent of Americans actually use their phones to access the news. Studies have also shown that people from the ages of 13-18 are on their phone for an average of four hours every weekday. People are constantly on their devices checking their Twitter, Facebook, and other apps for the newest trends or stories.

Instagram is now trying to be used for more than just posting casual pictures and videos by creating a new feature that will show real-time news to its users. Instagram CEO and Cofounder Kevin Systrom said in an interview:

People are hungry for what’s happening right now in the world. All of us in social media and regular media, we’re all competing for the same thing, which is this gap between something happening in the world and you knowing about it.

The popular app seems to be following the trend of social media companies like Twitter and trying to become a main source for news. Both tweeters and instagrammers log life experiences as they happen. To date, Twitter has been a better outlet for news because it has a more detailed search engine and features that better highlight relevant information. But Instagram has some advantages. Twitter’s growth has only jumped 18 percent to 302 million users in the past year, as opposed to Instagram’s 50 percent growth from 200 million to 300 million in only nine months.

Many see this update as Instagram trying to compete with Twitter’s new product-in-the-making–“Project Lightning”–which organizes tweets, photos and videos based on live events. Twitter also bought live stream startup Periscope earlier this year. But unlike Twitter, Instagram has no intention to stream events. Instead it is going to continue with photos and videos and utilize those types of media to cover the news. Systrom believes that users, especially journalists, will thoroughly enjoy the new features. He stated, “So if you’re a journalist and you want to see live photos happening at any location in our system, you can simply type in the location and up comes the page.” People seem to be agreeing with him so far.

Loving this new update, thanks #Instagram! #SocialMediaTools #SMM http://t.co/mLWggRUjT6

— #SocialMediaQueen™ (@stephanievoong) June 23, 2015

I love the new @instagram update. Y’all made the Explore page even better than it already was.

— Samuel Satterfield (@samuel_satt) June 23, 2015

Instagram is ranked as the second most used social media platform among young people. With the new update, users are now able to watch events unfold in real-time as images are uploaded to the app. By improving its “Explore” tab, people can see images taken at a specific place or under the most popular hashtags. The app also introduced a new search function that lets users search for images by people, hashtag and place. The updated Explore page will only be available for U.S. users as of now, but company team members said they are working to bring it to the rest of the world after they fine-tune the experience in the U.S.

With its constant growth rate and new features, I would not be surprised if Instagram surpasses Twitter’s dominance in real time news. This is a smart move for a company on a rise–expect to see it attract even more users and revenue.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Things Are Getting Real (Time) For Instagram Users appeared first on Law Street.

Given the amount of security guards and surveillance cameras located in prisons there shouldn’t be inmates doing drugs or dying from drug-related causes. But in California prisons, that’s exactly what’s happening. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is spending $8 million this year on drug-detecting scanners and new drug-sniffing dogs. Officers have also conducted strip searches on visitors suspected of carrying drugs. These new procedures were born out of the shocking revelation that inmates in California prisons are dying from drug overdoses at three times the national rate. But is increased scrutiny of visitors really the best course of action?

Officials have hopes that these new methods will lead to a decrease in the death rate. But despite officers’ opinions that the efforts are discouraging drug smuggling, reports show that might not be the case, and that instead these policies just create problems for visitors. There have been more than 6,000 scans on visitors and employees at eleven different prisons and no drugs were found. Mohamed Shehk, an Oakland-based spokesman for Critical Resistance, stated, “The statistics — $8 million, 6,000 scans and nothing to show for it — show that these are intended to intimidate and criminalize people who are going to see their loved ones inside.”

More than 150 California inmates have died due to drug overdoses since 2006, with a high of 24 deaths in 2013. Sharing needles, which often leads to the spread of Hepatitis C infections, killed 69 inmates in 2013 alone. Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard is determined to change this high rate and is modeling California’s new procedures after those that were successful in the Pennsylvania Corrections Department, which he led for a decade. Pennsylvania’s annual rate of drug or alcohol deaths per 100,000 inmates is one, while California’s is eight per 100,000 inmates.

But while officers may feel like these new methods are helping, many visitors disagree and have begun to criticize them, especially the strip searches. “It’s a humiliating process, that can be easily used to humiliate and demean people, and was only for visitors, often women,” said Democratic Senator Loni Hancock. Tania Gamboa, a visitor at Kern Valley State Prison in California, was visiting her brother when an ion scan machine tested her positive for exposure to heroin. She felt humiliated after she was required to strip naked in front of two female correctional officers and squat to demonstrate that she was not concealing drugs. “It doesn’t make sense for me, knowing that I don’t do all that and I got detected for it,” Gamboa said. The big problem is that these procedures are beginning to make visitors feel like suspects.

Along with the strip search complaints, there have also been complaints about the dog searches. Wayne Conrad, the department’s statewide canine program coordinator, resigned last fall after the correctional facility decided to use dogs to search humans. Conrad explained his problem with the procedures, saying that there’s potential for false positives that could lead to lawsuits.

In order to mitigate those concerns, there are changes being made to the breeds of dogs used to search visitors. German shepherds in California prisons have been effective at finding hidden drugs. But as a result of these complaints, the department is now turning to less intimidating and more approachable dogs such as Labrador Retrievers–“fluffy, friendly dogs,” Northern California canine program coordinator Sgt. Brian Pyle called them. While this is an understandable move, it doesn’t change the fact that the dogs are searching these visitors can be read as upsetting or demeaning in some cases.

Concerned lawmakers that oversee state prisons included language in the California budget plan passed this week that would put an end to the searches and require an evaluation of the department’s other efforts. Correctional facilities do not want drugs brought into prisons that could lead to inmates deaths, but visitors do not want to feel embarrassed or humiliated as they are being searched. Officials are going to have to find an effective way to lower the death rates of the inmates and stop drug smuggling with procedures that do not leave the visitors feeling violated.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post How Do We Solve the Drug Overdose Problem in California Prisons? appeared first on Law Street.

Date rape, also known as “acquaintance rape” or “hidden rape,” has been increasingly recognized as a problem in our society. A shocking study shows that 82 percent of sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone who is not a stranger, and 47 percent of rapes are by a friend or acquaintance. The tragic story of a woman in Montgomery County, Maryland who was recently raped and killed serves as a horrifying reminder of these statistics.

At 11:40 PM on Thursday, June 18th, a security guard at the Montgomery County Circuit Courthouse  in Rockville, Maryland witnessed a struggle between 16-year-old Marquiz Turner and a 19-year-old girl outside. The guard notified the sheriff’s deputies who went outside the building and allegedly saw Turner forcing sexual intercourse on the young woman. He was immediately taken into custody. According to court documents, the victim had gone to see a movie in downtown Rockville with her ex-boyfriend, Turner, on Friday night. When the film ended Turner expressed that he wanted to have sex with her and she told him she was not interested. As the two of them walked to the car, Turner allegedly ripped off her clothing, pushed her against the courthouse’s concrete wall, and proceeded to rape her. The charging documents stated, “when the Deputies rounded the corner and identified themselves, Turner jumped back and pulled his pants up.”

Detectives interviewed Turner, who did admit to forcing the victim to have sex with him. He stated that “he was unwilling to accept ‘no’ for an answer,” and that he was going to have intercourse regardless of her objections. According to the charging documents, he felt that she “owed him” sex. At the scene, the victim told police she had broken up with Turner previously because he kept pressuring her to have sex with him.

Paramedics transported the victim to Shady Grove Medical Center for a forensic rape exam. While en route, she stopped breathing and lost a pulse. Doctors pronounced her dead at 1 AM, less than 90 minutes after the alleged rape occurred. The official autopsy and toxicology results have not yet been released, leaving questions about the reason for her mysterious death. According to reports, Turner showed little to no emotion after hearing of the victim’s death.

Court documents show that Turner is a sophomore at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland where he had a 3.7 GPA. He lived with his mother in a Silver Spring high-rise apartment building. Neighbor Felicia Charles expressed, “I’m very shocked. I think that’s disturbing. I would have never thought he would do something like that. He never gave off that vibe.” Jean Arthur, a counselor for victims of sexual abuse, said,

Unfortunately that thinking is pervasive. It’s just really sad that a person thinks they can do that to another person. The fact that a person at 16-years-old even thinks to do that, I mean it just boggles my mind. I completely don’t understand it.

Turner is currently being charged with second-degree rape, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors say there may be additional charges depending on the deceased victim’s autopsy and toxicology reports.

Unfortunately sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes, with an average of 39 percent being reported to the police each year. While this was a more high profile case, more attention does need to be brought to the pervasive issue of date rape.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Maryland Woman’s Death Sheds Light on the Problem of Date Rape appeared first on Law Street.

Human trafficking is the second largest form of organized crime in the world behind the illegal drug trade. The industry affects 12.3 million people each year, and generates more than $32 billion worldwide, yet many Americans don’t necessarily expect it to take place close to home. Yet the two most common forms of human trafficking, sex trafficking and labor trafficking, are on the rise in many states such as Pennsylvania. In a horrifying example of this phenomenon, a Pennsylvania man named Paul Sewell was just sentenced to 23 years in prison for prostituting young teenagers and producing child pornography, illustrating the prevalence of the crime.

According to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it has become a source, destination, and pass-through state for human trafficking. Sewell, 49, of Reading, PA, ran a prostitution ring from his home and used the building next door as a brothel. He once ran a car dealership, a bail bond business, and even held a job as a school counselor with the Reading School District. Sewell, who often referred to himself as “God,” would bring in the girls, many of whom were minors, and have sex with them to “test them out.” He would then brand a chosen girl with a tattoo on the back of her neck stating “God” as well as a nickname he gave her. Sewell also advertised the women on his website, and emailed explicit pictures of them to potential clients. The business serviced eight to nine clients a day and Sewell kept 40 percent of the profits that the girls made. When girls no longer wanted to work for Sewell he would sometimes subject them to physical violence to force them to continue working. One of the prostituted children spoke up and stated,

It’s like I had given my soul away in exchange for money… . If it wasn’t for me having a child, I would have killed myself by now. I’m so disgusted with myself.

Sewell has been previously convicted for impersonating a police officer, resisting arrest, and making terroristic threats. Sewell applied to become a police officer in the 1980s but was dismissed from the academy after an altercation at the school’s pistol range. Sewell pleaded guilty in September 2011 to four counts of sex trafficking and three counts of producing child pornography. In addition to the 23-year sentence that he was given yesterday, he will be required to serve five years of supervised release and pay $52,000 in restitution.

Many trafficking victims enter this industry between the ages of 12-15. Not only can trafficking create serious physical harm, it can damage victims mentally and emotionally as well. It is scary to think that someone who was once a school counselor could also run a sex ring. While operating this business, Sewell allegedly had sexual relations with his 13-year-old niece and has fathered fourteen children with ten different women. Even more disturbingly, most of his children lived with him along with many of the women who worked as prostitutes. To think of children living with a man of this sort and being around such a disgusting crime is saddening.

Human trafficking is ruining the lives of countless girls, and it routinely happens right here in the United States. As these businesses continue to grow, the police need to continue to be vigilant. Sewell’s crime should not have gone unnoticed for so long.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Human Trafficking in the U.S.: Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Horrifying Crime appeared first on Law Street.

The infamous hacker group “Anonymous” reportedly conducted an attack against the Canadian government on Wednesday. This attack made multiple government websites go dark, including Canada.ca and the websites for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Transport Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Justice Canada. This hack was supposedly in protest against the government’s controversial new security legislation. Bill C-51, or the Anti-terrorism Act, that would broaden the mandate of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Exact ramifications of the attack are unknown, but it’s almost certainly the latest in a string of efforts by Anonymous to protest increased surveillance in various nations.

The act would give the agency new powers to disrupt perceived security threats and make it easier for federal agencies to increase surveillance and share information about individuals. Anonymous believes that this bill is not in its favor, stating as much in a video posted on YouTube. The video said the anti-terrorism law violated human rights and targeted people who disagree with the government, saying:

A bill which is a clear violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as removing our legal protections enshrined in the Magna Carta for 800 years. Perhaps it was fate that the day the Magna Carta arrived in our country to go on display to the populace that our corrupt government was symbolically pissing upon it and us all.

Soon after the hack,  Twitter user @Blakeando10 took credit for the cyberattack. He is pictured on his account as wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, which is usually associated with an act of this sort committed by Anonymous.

It was your move senators, now it’s ours. http://t.co/Fs67YrqOTH#cdnpoli#Opcyberprivacy#opC51 Huffpostcanada

— SplendidMass29 (@blakeando10) June 17, 2015

evasiv3 Your sites were not secure. A gov that can’t protect its own cyberspace can’t protect yours. Get it?

— SplendidMass29 (@blakeando10) June 17, 2015

Treasury Board President Tony Clement confirmed that the government’s servers were hit with a denial of service attack. “I can tell you, I’ve just been through a briefing on it. There has been an attack on Government of Canada servers, GC servers. It is as a result of a, of a — what we would call a cyberattack,” he said. By 3 PM, most of the websites were back online, although exact damage was still unknown. Liberal Defense critic, Joyce Murray, believes that this cyber attack should be a wake-up call for the Canadian government. Nadeem Douba, who has previously advised governments on security issues, told iPolitics the hack was not a very sophisticated one.

It definitely is more about optics than anything else. If we were looking at a denial of service attack similar in nature to StuxNet, where critical infrastructure was impacted, then I would consider it more of a security threat. The same could be said if the attack were able to create any kind of political unrest or economic instability. However, as far as we know now, this attack is more of a nuisance than anything else.

Government websites should be some of the most secure in the world. There is no reason why a group of people should be capable of hacking into them, especially if these sites hold valuable information. Steven Blaney, the public safety minister, criticized the cyber-attackers, telling reporters that there were many other more democratic ways for Canadians to express their views. Blaney also said the government is implementing efforts to improve its cyber security. Hopefully that’s not too little, too late.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Anonymous Strikes Again: Canadian Government Experiences Security Breach appeared first on Law Street.

Church members of the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina gathered together on Wednesday evening for their weekly prayer meeting. No one would have ever predicted the horrific events that took place later that night when a visitor came into the church and changed many people’s lives forever.

The evening seemed to be going as normal, like every other week. About an hour into the meeting, a man who was sitting in the church the whole time and mingling with others suddenly pulled out a weapon and began to fire, leaving nine people dead. The Pastor of the church and South Carolina state senator Clementa Pinckney, 41, was killed during the shooting. Pinckney was also one of the black community’s spokesmen after the slaying of an unarmed man, Walter Scott, by a North Charleston police officer earlier this year.

The suspect has been identified as Dylann Storm Roof, a 21-year-old white male. He was seen on the church’s surveillance camera and then found on facebook. His Facebook page also carries a photo of him wearing a jacket with patches of the racist-era flags of South Africa and Rhodesia.

Have you seen Dylann Roof? @FBI confirms 21-year-old as #CharlestonShooting suspect. http://t.co/3ijYaNanPM #chsnews pic.twitter.com/6blL5HGMLX

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) June 18, 2015

After the shooting Roof escaped onto the streets of the city’s historic downtown, an area normally overflowing with tourists. According to CBS News police have just brought the suspect into custody this afternoon after finding him in Shelby, North Carolina.

There were 13 people inside the church when the shooting happened–the shooter, the nine people who were killed, and three survivors, according to South Carolina state senator Larry Grooms as told to CNN. Two of the survivors were not harmed. A five-year-old girl reportedly survived the attack by following her grandmother’s instructions to play dead.

Charleston NAACP President Dot Scott told CNN that a woman who survived says Roof told her he was letting her live so that she could tell people what happened. Scott said she heard this from the victims’ family members.

I did not hear this verbatim from the almost victim, I heard it from at least half a dozen other folks that were there and family of the victims. There seems to be no question that this is what the shooter said.

After the shooting 50 or more church and community members gathered together at the Embassy Suites hotel near the church to pray. Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen vowed that they were committed to finding the gunman. He also said,

This is a tragedy that no community should have to experience. It is senseless and unfathomable in today’s society that someone would walk into a church during a prayer meeting and take their lives.

“The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people that were praying is hate,” Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said. Events such as these terrify and anger people around the world. Community organizer Christopher Cason told the Associated Press that he felt certain the shootings were racially motivated. “I am very tired of people telling me that I don’t have the right to be angry,” Cason said. “I am very angry right now.”

Cason feels just as many other people do. The hashtags #CharlestonShooting and #PrayersForCharleston have begun trending on Twitter, as tweeters express how they feel about this awful incident.

No words. On our knees with you. #PrayersForCharleston

— Jennie Allen (@JennieAllen) June 18, 2015

Make no mistake, this was terrorism, this was mass murder, this was driven by racial hatred. This is American history. #CharlestonShooting

— . (@Bhattousai) June 18, 2015

if it was black, he’d be a thug if it was a muslim, he’d be terrorist but bc he’s a white gunmen, he’s excused w illness #CharlestonShooting

— semi hiatus julianne (@djagonalley) June 18, 2015

It is evident that everyone is disgusted by this tragedy. I am truly saddened that we are living in a time where there are constantly killings or disturbing incidents happening due to someone’s race. Church is a safe haven for many, and now countless people will worry about their safety every time they step into one. President Obama delivered a statement today about the Charleston shooting on CNN stating, “It is in our power to do something about it.” I hope that people will take what he said and truly realize that we have the power to change our community and change our country.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Developing: Shooter Arrested in Charleston Church Shooting appeared first on Law Street.

Tower Hamlets Mulberry School for Girls in London received a visit from two very special guests on Tuesday. Hundreds of students welcomed former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and First Lady Michelle Obama, while cheering and waving American and British flags. Obama has been very active in charity work, setting an example for many people with her programs such as Let’s Move!, aimed at raising a healthier generation of kids, and her Reach Higher initiative which pushes young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to go beyond high school and enter college or undertake professional training. The First Lady has now launched a $200 million program to help girls with their education. Gillard and Obama joined forces this week to talk about Obama’s Let Girls Learn program, aimed at helping adolescent girls around the world finish school. Michelle’s goal is to “build a healthier family, a stronger community, and a brighter future.”

“We can pay forward all of the love and support that our families have poured into us.” Michelle Obama… http://t.co/0cOEuQvdJK

— Bisila Bokoko (@BisilaBokoko) June 17, 2015

Obama announced this collaboration between the U.S. and the U.K., sharing her plans to advance education, particularly in countries experiencing crisis and conflict. She has hopes that the $200 million dollar effort will remove hindrances such as school fees, transportation issues, early marriage, pregnancy, and family obligations–all things that prevent 62 million girls around the world from going to school. Gillard, who is now the chair of the Global Partnership For Education, plans to assist this initiative. Gillard stated, “Why would we not want to have the best of the world’s talent available to participate in building the world’s future.” Michelle told the young girls in the audience:

I see a roomful of business leaders and surgeons and barristers. I see women who are going to win elections, and science competitions, and arts awards. I see leaders who will inspire folks not just here in Tower Hamlets, but all across the country and all around the world.

She informed the crowd about current trends that show it will take 100 years before all girls in South Sudan will have the ability to complete a lower secondary school-level education and explained that this is simply not good enough. Her ability to make change happen rather than wait for things to change eventually is certainly admirable. She passionately spoke to the girls, telling them about her upbringing as an African-American girl who worked hard to receive an education with her working class family on the south side of Chicago. When a student asked Obama what inspired her campaign, her response was touching:

Oh, it’s you. Didn’t you notice how I almost cried? I couldn’t get through my speech. It’s you. It’s your soul, it’s your passion. And there are — I can’t tell you how many times I interact with young girls like you in every part of the world. And I am always in awe of what you’re able to do, what you’re able to push through, and how hungry you are for your education; that when given the tools and the opportunity, you run with it.

People are risking their lives in other countries for the sake of education. Yet many of us see education as something that is automatically given to us because we have been in school all our lives. We take it for granted and forget that everyone does not have such amazing opportunities. With an education, people can be unstoppable; there are no limits to the things that can be done. To see someone such as Michelle Obama have passion and truly want to help others is refreshing. The First Lady made sure these girls know to always go after their dreams, despite the circumstances they may be in.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Michelle Obama Takes Education Efforts Global appeared first on Law Street.

Former University of Mississippi student, Graeme Phillip Harris, has announced he will plead guilty to a charge of using a threat of force to intimidate African-American students and employees at the university. Harris, who is white, was charged after hanging a noose around a college statue dedicated to integration and diversity. In February of 2014 Harris placed a noose and the former Georgia state flag that featured the Confederate battle emblem on the James Meredith statue on the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, inciting anger and horror.

James Meredith is a civil rights activist who made history when he enrolled as the first African-American student at Ole Miss in 1962. The Meredith statue was erected in 2006, although not without controversy.

Harris, originally from Alpharetta, Georgia, may face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Because he is pleading guilty he likely won’t be prosecuted for the other charge from his March indictment, conspiracy to violate civil rights, which could have landed him in prison for 10 years.

Harris was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter during his time at Ole Miss. After three of the chapter’s members were accused being involved with this incident, the national office of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity suspended the chapter. The names of the students were not released at the time but The Washington Post reported that all were expelled. Sigma Phi Epsilon CEO, Brian C. Warren Jr., said it was “embarrassing” that they were members. Harris withdrew from the university last spring following the incident.

Ole Miss officials stated that they turned the case over to federal prosecutors. Since the statue was not damaged or broken, prosecutors said vandalism charges didn’t apply, but the intimidation and conspiracy charges were applicable. There were also no state charges filed because no state laws were broken. James Meredith, who is now 81, said Friday that that it appears the only justice black people could expect is from the federal government and not from state officials.

When the indictment was first released, then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder explained his frustration stating:

This shameful and ignorant act is an insult to all Americans and a violation of our most strongly-held values. No one should ever be made to feel threatened or intimidated because of what they look like or who they are.

University of Mississippi Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Brandi Hephner LaBanc, said,

I can’t help but feel the pain of the student and the parents who will now feel the full weight of our justice system, but also feel the pain of our campus community and the entire Ole Miss family, which suffered greatly from the terrible act committed a year ago. We’re hopeful that this indictment will begin to bring closure and the next step in healing for our university.

Mississippi’s NAACP branch has called Harris’ actions a “racial hate crime.” FBI statistics relating to hate crimes show that nearly half of the victims were targeted because of their race. Hates crimes are happening everywhere for varied reasons such as the victim’s race, sexual orientation, and religion. Whether they occur at a college campus, workplace, or even at home it is important that those who commit these crimes are persecuted. Harris will pay the price for his actions, and hopefully dissuade others from committing similarly upsetting crimes.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Former Ole Miss Student to Pay the Price for Hate Crime appeared first on Law Street.

The biological parents of civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal, president of the NAACP’s Spokane, Washington chapter, have revealed shocking news about their daughter’s true racial identity. Dolezal, 37, is the chair of the Office of Police Ombudsman Commission and professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University, where she specializes in Black Studies and African American culture. She has regularly spoken out on local media about racial justice, but it turns out that there is information that she may have been keeping from everyone.

In a recorded interview with the local Spokane news channel KREM 2 News this week, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal said their daughter’s biological heritage is not African American, but German and Czech, with traces of Native American ancestry.

“Our daughter is Caucasian” say parents of Spokane NAACP President Rachel Dolezal. pic.twitter.com/6VHxm9v4Wt

— Taylor Viydo (@KREMTaylor) June 11, 2015

Her parents said Rachel had black adopted siblings, a social circle consisting primarily of African Americans, and she was formerly married to a black man. After her divorce in 2004, Rachel began identifying herself differently. She started claiming to be partially African American and the daughter of biracial parents. According to her mother,

It’s very sad that Rachel has not just been herself. Her effectiveness in the causes of the African-American community would have been so much more viable, and she would have been more effective if she had just been honest with everybody.

The Dolezals state that they do not have a problem with their daughter being an advocate for civil rights; their problem is that she is being deceptive about who she really is. The same day the Dolezals were interviewed, Rachel told KREM 2 News that due to an on-going legal issue she does not speak to her parents. She brushed off the controversy surrounding her racial identity as part of a family dispute. Rachel would not directly answer the newspaper’s questions about her ethnicity and said she wanted to talk to local NAACP leadership first. “I feel like I owe my executive committee a conversation.”

In an interview with KXLY, she spoke about multiple alleged racist threats made against her, including nooses found near her home. Each case was closed by police because of insufficient evidence to prosecute and some even questioned if she did these things herself. When asked during the interview if she is African American, Dolezal said that she did not understand the question and walked away. Mayor David Condon and the council president Ben Stuckart said in a joint statement,

We are gathering facts to determine if any city policies related to volunteer boards and commissions have been violated. That information will be reviewed by the city council, which has oversight of city boards and commissions.

The former president of the Spokane NAACP, James Wilburn, told the CDA Press that although it is traditional to have a person of color in Rachel’s position, that has not always been the case. Wilburn believes that Dolezal’s race was not what had qualified her for the job.

Dolezal has been trending all over social media, with some people even seeing it as a comical matter.

This morning #RachelDolezal woke up, opened her eyes, took her durag off & wished ystrdy was just a bad bad dream.

— Amanda Seales (@amandaseales) June 12, 2015

People seem to believe that Rachel would have been more effective in white communities challenging white supremacy, rather than identifying herself as black. Most are upset that Rachel was claiming an oppression that she never truly endured.

The question that everyone wants answered is simply why? I truly hope that Rachel will be able to comfortably embrace who she is while still being an advocate for civil rights.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Community Reels After Local NAACP President’s Parents Reveal She Isn’t Black appeared first on Law Street.

Students affected by one of the largest educational scams in modern years are finally getting some relief. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) says it will forgive students’ federal student loans on the grounds that Corinthian Colleges Inc. defrauded them after the company’s bankruptcy earlier this year.

A string of reports and lawsuits, including one by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, led to Corinthian’s end. The for-profit school used tactics that enticed students, many with limited education and money, with promises of workplace skills ranging from video game design to nursing. Students left these colleges with nearly worthless degrees and very little knowledge in their fields.

Before its closure, the two decade-old company was one of the biggest for-profit education companies in the United States, operating more than 100 campuses at one point under various names, including Everest, Wyotech, and Heald. Corinthian had campuses throughout North America and Canada. It ceased operations this April, shutting down campuses and selling off others after the Department of Education cut off its loan lifeline and fined Corinthian $30 million for misrepresenting job placement rates. The ending was tragic for many–thousands of students were given a one-day notice when campuses closed, leaving them to wonder if their hard work and credits could be transferred to other institutions to complete their education.

This is a very sensible decision by the DOE that will help thousands of students who were struggling to pay back these loans. But although this may give many students a fresh start, consumer and education groups worry that this loan forgiveness process will be too tedious for most to complete. Students have to individually apply for the loan relief. This process requires legal savvy and documents–including transcripts–that could be difficult to obtain, especially considering that the schools are no longer operating. It is also important for those who apply to know that the relief is only applicable to federal student loans, not the private loans which countless students were reportedly lured into getting. Finance blogger, Alexis Goldstein, criticized the plan stating:

Instead of providing broad debt cancellation to former students of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. the Department decided to require students to jump through extensive loopholes in order to apply for relief.

Although this may give the impression that the Corinthian problem is solved, it is only the beginning. Because federal regulators let the operation run too long, the lost loans may total up to $3.5 billion in taxpayer money.

We’re going to do everything we can to help #CorinthianCollege students, while also protecting taxpayers. http://t.co/FhePt7hD6c

— Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) June 8, 2015

A Huffington Post analysis recently found that nearly half of the schools listed by the Department of Education as “Alternative Education Options” are for-profit institutions owned by corporations that are also under federal investigation for possibly misleading students. The Obama administration is already guaranteeing forgiveness to the 40,000 students who borrowed hundreds of millions in federal loans to enroll at Heald from 2010 on. Forgiving the loans is a great step for the thousands of hard-hit students, but it should also make the government much more watchful of the educational marketplace.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post For-Profit College Scam Victims Get Loan Forgiveness: Will it Be Enough? appeared first on Law Street.

Doctors need the proper resources to be able to treat their patients. But a new viral Facebook page started in Egypt illustrates that doctors and dentists in that country don’t necessarily have access to what they need. The page is shocking to many, as photos of multiple hospitals in Cairo, Egypt have been shared illustrating that they are unequipped and unsanitary for doctors to properly operate in.

On Saturday Egypt’s Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, surprised the National Heart Institute in Cairo with a visit. He was accompanied by TV cameras that showed him shouting at one hospital employee as he began to walk through the facility. Mahlab was truly surprised at the facility’s lack of medical equipment and the mistreatment of patients and ordered some of the facility’s top officials to be fired.

Egyptian doctors felt degraded and wrongly blamed for the poor state of health services and took  to social media to show people the true conditions in which they have to work. A Facebook page–the title translates in English to “So He is Not Surprised if He Comes”–was created. There are pictures of several of Egypt’s hospitals with snakes, cats, and rats roaming around inside and even on patients’ beds. The pictures also show patients lying on the floor for treatments, filthy bathrooms, broken equipment, and overcrowded rooms. Moreover, the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) has stated that only 33 beds are available for every 10,000 citizens in Cairo’s hospitals. The page reached over 100,000 likes within just a few hours and quickly went viral.

Can’t get over how depressed i feel from the moment i saw those photos of hospitals in Egypt ! God please take me away from all this mess !

— Lobna Ehab (@lobna_ehabb) June 9, 2015

 

Poor conditions of #Egypt‘s hospitals highlighted by humiliated health employees http://t.co/X2U0ZXHWsj pic.twitter.com/HD3xcgEmSE

— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) June 10, 2015

#Egypt hospitals pushed FB users to launch a campaign pointing out the severe neglection at government hospitals. pic.twitter.com/59X55OaSj1

— MMisrNetwork English (@MMisrNetwork_En) June 10, 2015

Following the Prime Minister’s visit, the military announced it would work to renovate the Heart Institute’s clinics, reception areas, and emergency rooms. Doctors in Egypt have held several strikes within the past few years demanding an increase in the state budget devoted to healthcare, but this request has been frequently ignored. Groups such as the Nursing Rebel Movement advocate for change in this regard; one of their members explained his frustrations with the current system:

There is total negligence to nursing centres in provinces, and whenever we voice our concerns to the syndicate, they suggest for us to join the syndicate instead of identifying a clear plan to solve the problem [from] its roots.

The Egyptian government is reportedly negotiating with the World Bank to receive a new loan of $300 million to support healthcare in government hospitals. This money would go toward things like new medical supplies.

Seeing the conditions of these hospitals were truly disturbing. How can people get treatments for their illnesses when they are surrounded by stray animals and filth? Egyptian doctors are trying to raise awareness and get help to improve healthcare and the circumstances in which they are being forced to work. Hopefully these pictures will lead to serious changes for the hospitals.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Sad State of Egypt’s Hospitals: Shocking Pictures Released appeared first on Law Street.

Within the past few years there has been an enormous amount of shocking incidents involving police brutality. Even with protests nationwide it seems that nothing has been done to stop this issue. Now, people are angry yet again over another incident involving the ridiculous actions of a police officer. The video aftermath of a pool party in McKinney, Texas has gone viral, and infuriated many who have seen it.

On Friday, June 5, a group of Texas teens gathered together at Craig Ranch North Community Pool. Craig Ranch’s strict homeowners’ association rules prohibit bringing more than two guests to the pool. But the invite to the pool party spread around Twitter, leading to many other guests. According to bystanders, when a crowd of teenagers showed up, stood by the gate, and yelled to be let in, things got out of control. Kids began to jump over the fence as a security guard tried to get them to leave. The security guard was outnumbered, and called the police. The authorities were told there was a “a disturbance involving multiple juveniles at the location, who do not live in the area or have permission to be there, refusing to leave.” There were also numerous calls to the police reporting fights as well.

But Tatiana Rhodes, the 19-year-old girl who hosted the pool party, shared a different side of the story. Tatiana said that she and some friends had organized the party and were enjoying it when a conflict with a white neighbor broke out. Rhodes told E. Johnson IV, a photographer who recorded the conversation and uploaded it online:

This lady was saying racial slurs to some friends that came to the cookout. She was saying such things as ‘black effer’ and ‘that’s why you live in Section 8 homes.’

According to Rhodes, who is black, a white neighbor approached her and smacked her in the face.“That’s when both of the women attacked me,” the teen said.

However, what really sparked national outrage was a video taken by Brandon Brooks and posted on Twitter. In an email to NBC News Brooks stated:

When I started the video was right after all the kids who got put on the ground had gotten up and ran away. The cop was chasing after all those kids just putting every black person he saw on the ground.

Here’s the video, but keep in mind, it is NSFW due to language and violence:

The video went viral, leaving people truly disgusted at the actions of the police. One of the officers, later identified as Eric Casebolt, was recorded forcefully pinning an unarmed 14 year-old-girl in a bikini to the ground and handcuffing her. In the video Casebolt can even be seen pulling the girl’s hair and pushing her face toward the ground. The officer also drew his gun and pointed it at several unarmed teens in the area as well. Casebolt, a Navy veteran with 10 years on the McKinney force, has been place on administrative leave after the video surfaced. Police Chief Greg Conley stated:

Our initial reaction was to place the officer on administrative leave until we can conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the incident….The McKinney Police Department is committed to treating all persons fairly under the law. We are committed to preserving the peace and safety of our community for all of our citizens.

The girl who was tackled by Casebolt was detained and released. “Ultimately, everyone was freed. Other than the person who was arrested, everyone was released to a parent or guardian or to a responsible adult,” Conley said. McKinney police had to call in extra dispatchers to handle incoming phone calls, many asking for Casebolt to be fired. Mayor of McKinney, Texas, Brian Loughmiller, described feeling “disturbed and concerned” over this incident. Overall, the incident left many people with one question: how threatened could an experienced police officer feel by an unarmed 14 year-old-girl?

Spoke with my family about #McKinney. My dad’s response: “If you are that afraid of a bunch of teens in bikinis, you shouldn’t be a cop.”

— Russell Drew (@RussOnPolitics) June 8, 2015

Who can we call when the police are the ones threatening our safety? Police once made citizens feel safe and secure but many now feel even more threatened when the police are present. This video leaves parents angered and frightened for their children’s safety, as well as teens who could become an officer’s next target. With situations like these becoming more and more common, one can only hope that justice will begin to be served.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Police Brutality in McKinney, Texas? Video of Officer Goes Viral appeared first on Law Street.

Journalism can be an incredibly dangerous field. Last year 61 journalists were killed while covering topics such as war, crime, human rights, and politics. Everyday, journalists put themselves in danger to get the hard truth so that people can be informed of what is occurring in our world. As a result, campaigns such as A Day Without News were created to draw attention to the importance of journalism and those journalists that risk their lives on a daily basis.

The Newseum in Washington, DC put on a ceremony this morning recognizing 14 journalists who have died covering the news in 2014. For the first time in the Newseum’s history, no newspapers will be displayed in the “Today’s Front Pages” exhibit inside or outside of the building, or on its website. Instead, there are blacked-out pages featuring the hashtag #WithoutNews.

A world #WithoutNews would also leave us without knowledge, insight, and an understanding of how we are cogs in a greater machine @Newseum

— Kamahl Santamaria (@KamahlAJE) June 8, 2015

These 14 journalists have been selected to represent those who died in 2014, and will be placed among the other names on the memorial for fallen journalists. The “Today’s Front Pages” exhibit reaches more than 800,000 people who visit the Newseum annually. Through the museum’s website and mobile app, more than three million users visit “Today’s Front Pages” online every year. Displaying blacked-out front pages is a smart way to attract people’s attention and raise awareness of the increasing dangers of journalism. Peter S. Pritchard, chairman and CEO of the Newseum stated:

Part of our mission is to educate people about growing threats to journalists around the world. These blacked-out front pages vividly demonstrate what it means when journalists are murdered or kidnapped — we receive no news from some regions of the world. We hope the #WithoutNews campaign will encourage people to think about where news comes from, and to remember the brave men and women who often risk their lives to report it.

Newseum ceremony. Image courtesy of Angel Idowu.

One of these featured journalists is Michael Du Cille, a photojournalist for the Washington Post. Featured in the ceremony was a short summary honoring his life and work:

Despite the risks, Washington Post photographer Michael du Cille made three trips to Liberia in four months to photograph victims of the deadly Ebola virus. While hiking back from a remote village, du Cille collapsed from an apparent heart attack and was transported two hours across dirt roads to a hospital, where he was declared dead. He was 58. A three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his powerful images, du Cille became the Post’s director of photography in 2007. But his passion for reporting drew him back into the field to cover dangerous assignments such as the war in Afghanistan, where he came under fire in 2013. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people.

The atmosphere was heavy, but I had the opportunity to speak with colleagues who worked with du Cille and spoke about the difference he worked to make.

“Michael was was so incredibly inspiring,” said Sari Horwitz, a staff writer for the Washington Post. “He was so dedicated to the work, it’s so sad to see a person so passionate about their work gone.”

It was easy to feel surprise and frustration for the lack of attention this campaign seemed to be receiving from the media, in comparison to the influx of other topics in the news, such as celebrity gossip.

Horowitz’s comments echoed that frustration, claiming Du Cille and all of the other fallen journalists  were the true heroes. She stated:

What’s so crazy about this is that these are the true heroes, and no one even knows their name. They sacrifice their lives every day to get the story out, but it’s still so sad to see his name be added to the list of fallen journalists here in the Newsuem.

The other thirteen journalists that were honored at today’s event include: Yusuf Ahmed Abukar of Radio Ergo and Mustaqbal Radio who died in Somalia; Muftah Bu Zeid of Brnieq who died in Libya; Simone Camilli of the Associated Press who died in Israel; James Foley, a freelancer who died in Syria; Rubylita Garcia of Remate and dwAD who died in the Philippines; Nils Horner of Sveriges Radio who died in Afghanistan; Camille Lepage, a freelancer who died in the Central Africa Republic; Irshad Mastoi of Online International News Network and ARY News who died in Pakistan; Pablo Medina of ABC Color who died in Paraguay; Anja Niedringhaus of the Associated Press who died in Afghanistan; Luke Somers, a freelancer who died in Yemen; Steven Sotloff, a freelancer who died in Syria; and Vyacheslav Veremiy of Vesti who died in Ukraine.

With a total of 61 journalist lives lost in 2014 alone, the efforts the Newseum and other news sources make to honor the lives of those who have worked to tell an important story are truly appreciated.

Angel Idowu also contributed to this story.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post #WithoutNews: Newseum Raises Awareness of Fallen Journalists appeared first on Law Street.

Millions of travelers visit Hawaii every year with the hopes of experiencing beautiful beaches, luaus, and other exciting adventures. With a record number of 7,998,815 visitors in a year, Hawaii is one of the most popular vacation spots for tourists. Because this is such a tourist heavy location, the city council in Honolulu has placed a few rules on the city that they believe will make tourists’ visits a bit more pleasurable. Most recently, Honolulu placed a ban that does not allow people to sit or lie down where a tourist can spot them–leading to controversy in the island vacation destination.

The island first placed this ban on the commercial parts of Waikiki, an area located on the southern shore of Honolulu, after receiving complaints about the city’s homelessness rate from the tourism industry. Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s spokesman, Jesse Broder Van Dyke, said at the time that Caldwell frequently received letters from tourists complaining about public drunkenness and urination. The city now wants to expand the sit-lie ban from just commercial areas to areas off sidewalks as well. Caldwell vetoed this bill, fearing that it is unconstitutional and could cost the city pricy legal fees. But the city council voted 6-3 in favor, overriding his veto. There is a huge concern that this ban targets those who are homeless and will put them in a position to get in trouble with the law. Caldwell stated,

If they make an argument that this legislation is based on targeting homeless, and not about commerce and business, then the whole bill is jeopardized.

Two members of the council, Brandon Elefante and Kymberly Marcos Pine, voted against the bill because they feel that it wrongly addressed the issue of homelessness. Councilman Ron Menor, who also voted against the bill, introduced a new proposal that would limit this ban to only commercial areas. Menor’s compromise never got a hearing in committee. A violation of the sit-lie ban ranges from warnings to fines and forced removal if necessary. Hawaii’s homeless population increased to 6,918 last year and citizens of Honolulu believe that the city should be more focused on providing housing and services than criminalizing homelessness. David Cannel, a 62-year-old man who was homeless for eight years, stated,

This is such a crisis. It’s a city of squalor. This isn’t a third world country. … Everyone has to go somewhere to get some sleep, at least. So where do they go?

While many have concerns that this law will hurt the homeless, the director of Hawaii’s Institute for Human Services, Connie Mitchell, believes that it is getting homeless people off the streets and beaches. She stated: “People are coming into the shelter. It’s working the way it’s supposed to.”

Van Dyke has made it known that Honolulu police will enforce this ban among tourists as well by saying, “Police have to enforce the laws equally against everyone. They don’t target homeless in park-closure enforcements.” A tourist that faces these charges can plead guilty by mail, or fight the charges in person. Failure to do so can lead to a criminal warrant for missing court dates. Mayor Caldwell has tried to address the homeless issue with a plan for a $42 million Housing First program which will not begin until later this year. He stated, “We have never promised we are going to solve homelessness, and I don’t think anyone who does is being honest. But I think we can make a dent.” The Honolulu Police Department will enforce the law, which depends on the number and type of complaints they receive about people sitting or lying on the sidewalks. City officials did not say when enforcement of the expanded ban will begin.

This leaves many people questioning if Honolulu really cares about the well being of the homeless, or if the city is more concerned with keeping tourists happy and bringing in their money. With more than 3.5 million people experiencing homelessness every year in America, this is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. Citizens want to see the city working hard to bring the homeless into shelter, rather than working hard to reprimand them because they are resting in a commercial area. Although many people seem to be against it, if the ban can truly help those who are homeless then it will become very beneficial for the city.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Honolulu’s New Law: Helping or Hurting the Homeless? appeared first on Law Street.

A place once called the “City of Angels” is now known as the gang capital of the nation. Los Angeles, California has become one of the most gang prevalent cities in the United States. Over the past three years there have been a total of 16,398 verified gang crimes in LA including homicides, rapes, robberies and felony assaults. These gangs have affected many families and communities by taking the lives of innocent people. One of the families recently affected by this violence was the family of Tavin Price. Price, a developmentally disabled 19-year-old, was shot and killed in front of his mother on Friday in Southern Los Angeles, in an incident that many believe was gang related.

Price and his mother, Jennifer Rivers, were on their way to the beach when they stopped at a car wash near the corner of Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. According to Detective Eric Crosson of the Los Angeles Police Department, while Tavin’s mother was at the carwash he went to a nearby market to purchase cigarettes. There he was approached by a suspect described as a black man in his late teens or early 20s and was questioned about his red shoes. Crosson stated, 

He was confronted by someone who inquired about his possible gang affiliation because of some red clothing he was wearing. He denied being a gang member and went back to where his mother was.

Price, who was no taller than 5 feet and less than 100 pounds, quickly returned to his mother as she said “let’s go” while the man followed him. Before they could leave, Tavin was shot four times in the back and chest. After hearing gunshots, Rivers turned around and chased the gunman until she lost sight of him. Price was then rushed to the hospital where he passed away during surgery. Rivers stated,

Every time I close my eyes, I see my son’s eyes rolling around as he cried, ‘Mommy I don’t want to die.’ That’s my final memory of him. But I can’t let that be my strongest memory.

Price would have turned twenty on Monday, and had just accepted a warehouse job. Police and family members believe that Price had no affiliation to any gang. Detective Crosson said that he was victimized because he wore “the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood.” The color red is associated with a dangerous network of street gangs founded in Los Angeles called the Bloods. Melvin Farmer, a gang interventionist who was formerly associated with the Crips–the rivals of the Bloods and affiliated with the color blue–said the car wash stands on a dividing line between the rival gang territories. Detective Eric Crosson describes this area as “exceptionally violent” and has noted at least five other killings nearby. About three blocks away a 40-year-old man was killed two days before Price. A few blocks farther, a 28-year old woman was killed two weeks earlier. It does not appear that these murders have any connection, but are representative of the prevalence of violence in the gangs’ territories. Tavin’s mother stated:

I wish he would have just shot me instead of my child because that’s cold for a mother to watch somebody just gun her child down in front of her face. That’s a hard, hard thing to deal with, believe me, I can’t even sleep at night since my son died.

Price’s family held a vigil at the car wash where he was described as a man “who loved his family more than anything.” Antheyst Jarrett, a 27-year old black woman, was arrested after the shooting and has been charged with witness intimidation and conspiracy to commit murder. Authorities say she was present during the confrontation. Police are still working hard to find the suspect and bring peace and justice to Price’s family.

R.I.P. #TavinPrice, a young man who was murdered near Florence & Crenshaw ’cause his shoes were the wrong color. #BlackLivesMatter

— The Eclectic Beings (@EclecticBeings) June 2, 2015

Gang violence has declined in Los Angeles, but there is still significantly more work to do. In the LA area alone, there have already been over 200 homicide deaths in 2015. According to the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, LA has more than 400 gangs, with over 39,000 members. Communities, families, and policemen have to continue to work hard to put a stop to this violence and to save the lives of innocent people like Tavin Price.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Los Angeles Teen Killed: Was His Shoe Color to Blame? appeared first on Law Street.

Should all online threats lead to time in prison? According to the Supreme Court, simply reporting a threat posted by someone on the internet is no longer enough to put them in jail, as the Supreme Court just overturned the 2011 conviction of Anthony Elonis. A Pennsylvania native, Elonis was sentenced to jail after posting multiple threats toward his wife, co-workers, and elementary schools in the form of lyrics on Facebook. He claimed to use these posts as therapeutic methods to cope with his depression. However, due to their violent nature, he was convicted for violating a federal threat statute. Elonis appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, arguing that the government should have been required to prove he truly had an intent to act on these threats before sentencing him to a 44 month term in jail. That argument convinced the Supreme Court–but what does it mean for online communication moving forward?

With this ruling, the Supreme Court says courts must consider the defendant’s state of mind and whether he intended to actually do wrong. This simply means that there must be some proof that the defendant intended to follow through on what he was posting. The court gave a 7-2 opinion but did not set a clear standard for what constitutes this intent to act out these threats. There are questions of whether this will potentially create uncertainties during future trials. In fact, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. believe that this opinion is more confusing than enlightening. Thomas wrote, “This failure to decide throws everyone from appellate judges to everyday Facebook users into a state of uncertainty.”

This is a very tricky case with two sides to it. Something that is posted online may very well be taken out of context, but there is also a good chance that someone who has intent to cause harm to others will not be seen as guilty in a courtroom due to the lack of proof. Michele M. Garcia, director of the Stalker Resource Center, stated,

This decision fails to recognize that victims of stalking experience fear regardless of the offender’s intent. If what constitutes a threat is not clearly defined, our concern is that this ruling provides enormous space for stalkers and abusers to act.

Mai Fernandez, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, described the internet as “the crime scene of the 21st century. Kim Gandy, president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, stated,

Threats play a central role in domestic abuse and is a core tactic that many abusers employ, regardless of whether the abuser intended to threaten or only intended to vent or to make a joke.

I can’t help but wonder if this decision will help people who do plan to harm others avoid prison?  There is a big concern that this will let internet abusers get around the law by writing hateful posts that “technically” are not threats but are still frightening to others. This decision may make it much more difficult to prosecute those whose posts are a precursor to violence that is going to take place. Only time will tell if this decision by the Supreme Court was beneficial or harmful for those dealing with internet threats.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Anthony Elonis’s Conviction Overturned: Are Online Threats Now Fair Game? appeared first on Law Street.

Given that they spend a large amount of time checking passengers and throw away a number of passengers’ personal items, should airport transportation security officers have a hard time finding weapons? With an annual budget of $7 million, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials believe that they set the standard for excellence in transportation security. According to ABC News, after an internal investigation with the Department of Homeland Security red teams, reports have shown otherwise. In fact, the results were so shocking that it led to the resignation of the head of the department.

Red team agents posed as passengers and conducted a series of tests to see just how secure this system really is. TSA agents did not pass 67 out of 70 tests, failing to find several mock weapons and explosives. Homeland Security discovered that the TSA fails to stop fake weapons or explosives from being smuggled through security checkpoints 95 percent of the time at some of our nation’s busiest airports. One red team investigator was stopped after setting off a magnetometer. Shockingly, after a pat-down, TSA agents still failed to find the fake explosive device taped to the investigator’s back. Frustrated by these results Jeh Johnson, the Homeland Security Secretary, set out immediately for a detailed briefing at the TSA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. DHS officials stated,

Secretary Johnson immediately directed TSA to implement a series of actions several of which are now in place, to address the issues raised in the report.

Melvin Carraway, the head of the TSA, resigned from his position as the acting administrator upon hearing these reports. He was appointed to this position in January of 2015 and was a veteran of the TSA for 11 years, holding many positions within the organization. Carraway was reassigned to serve in the Office of State and Local Law Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters. There doesn’t appear to have been official word from Carraway on why he has resigned yet. Mark Hatfield will be his replacement until a new acting administrator is appointed. In regards to how the TSA will be dealt with moving forward, Johnson stated,

We take these findings very seriously in our continued effort to test, measure and enhance our capabilities and techniques as threats evolve.

Unnamed officials spoken to by ABC News admitted that these results were disappointing. Government officials claim that because red team agents are familiar with TSA procedures these results are not realistic and they are able to get past security in ways that terrorists could not. The TSA requires every passenger to go through various security checks before boarding a plane. Many believe that this process is nothing but an unnecessary and insulting ritual that does not protect anyone’s safety. It seems as if the TSA is more concerned with throwing away harmless personal items than finding weapons that threaten the lives of others.

The @TSA may not be able to find any bombs, but they sure as hell can find my shampoo..

— Larry Kraus (@lsk0334) June 2, 2015

The TSA has been failing to detect mock weapons for years and studies like this spark concerns that airline security is no safer than it was during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. With very few improvements, TSA has to figure out how to change their security procedures and stop these incidents from occurring.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Acting Head of the TSA Resigns After Shocking Test Results appeared first on Law Street.