news
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Mistrial for Baltimore Officer Could Spell Trouble for Prosecutors Seeking Justice for Freddie Gray
On Wednesday, Judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial in the criminal case against Baltimore Police Officer William Porter. Porter was the first officer to face trial out of a total of six police officers who are charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Gray died from a broken neck and spinal cord injury while in police…
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‘We Need a Conviction’: Baltimore Reacts to Mistrial in Freddie Gray Case
“Indict! Convict! Send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell,” is what protesters shouted outside the courthouse in Baltimore Wednesday after the trial of Police Officer William Porter ended in a hung jury. Porter, the first of six officers facing prosecution in the police-custody death of Freddie Gray, had…
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Freddie Gray Case: Judge Declares Mistrial in William Porter Trial as Jury Fails to Reach Unanimous Verdict
A Baltimore jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter, the first of six officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray, forcing Judge Barry Williams to declare a mistrial. According to CNN, jurors told the judge Tuesday that they were unable to reach a unanimous…
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Central Park Five’s Korey Wise Donates $190,000 to University of Colo.’s Innocence Project
Korey Wise, one of the Central Park Five, is now giving back, hoping to help wrongly convicted inmates, by donating $190,000 to the University of Colorado’s Innocence Project, securing for the program a new lease on life, the Denver Post reports. The program, which is operated out of the university’s law school, has been renamed…
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Warrant Issued for ‘Affluenza’ Teen Ethan Couch
A warrant has been issued for Ethan Couch, the “affluenza”-afflicted teen who is serving probation after killing four people in a drunk-driving crash two years ago, WFAA reports. According to the station, Couch, 18, missed a check-in with his probation officer earlier this month, and court officers were unable to locate him or his mother.…
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Miss. Elementary School Apologizes After Making Child Change out of ‘Black Girls Rock!’ Shirt
A Mississippi mother is speaking out to ensure that other kids know they can speak up, after her 8-year-old was made to change out of her “Black Girls Rock!” shirt while at Popps Ferry Elementary School in Biloxi. According to WLOX, Sharika Jolly has long been hoping to instill some self-esteem in her daughter, Makiyah-Jae,…
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Mexico Finally Recognizes its Afro-Mexican Population in Recent National Census
Afro-Mexicans, for the first time, have finally been given the option of identifying as black in the national census and claiming their African heritage. As Quartz reports, as of Dec. 8, with the release of Mexico’s 2015 population survey, 1.38 million people identified themselves as having African heritage, representing a total of 1.2 percent of…
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Freddie Gray Case: Hung Jury, Judge Declares Mistrial
Updated Wednesday, Dec. 16, 3:45 p.m. EST: A Baltimore jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter, the first of six officers set to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray, forcing Judge Barry Williams to declare a mistrial. According to CNN, jurors told the judge Tuesday…
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2 Tenn. Teens Jailed for Sagging Pants
Two Tennessee high school students were arrested and spent two days in jail for wearing sagging pants to school. According to the Huffington Post, four students at Bolivar Central High School were charged with indecent exposure for reportedly wearing sagging pants to school in November, and two of the students were jailed for the offense…
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Detroit Man Arraigned in Shooting of Federal Judge
A Detroit man was arraigned Monday in a case involving the shooting of a federal judge back in March, the Detroit Free Press reports. Kevin Andrew Smith, 23, was indicted by a one-man grand jury nine months after U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg was shot outside his home. Smith is facing multiple charges, including armed…