s. lee merritt
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Marvin Scott III Died in a Texas Jail. His Family Is Still Waiting for the Officers to Be Charged
In March, Marvin Scott III was arrested in Allen, Texas, for possessing less than two ounces of marijuana—a misdemeanor. Scott, 26, suffered from schizophrenia and sometimes used the drug to self-medicate, according to the family’s lawyer, S. Lee Merritt, the Texas Tribune reports. Allen officers took him to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital for what they said…
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Tamir Rice’s Mother Calls Out Tamika Mallory, Then Shaun King Wades In, Exposing More Fractures in the Movement Against Police Brutality
A speech made by Until Freedom founder Tamika Mallory during a performance at the Grammys on Sunday has set off yet another wave of public dissension from people who’ve lost loved ones in high-profile cases of police brutality. Over the last year, Tamika Mallory and her group have been a notable presence leading protests, sit-ins…
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Travis McMichael Was Heard Uttering Racial Slur After Ahmaud Arbery Was Killed, Investigator Testifies
On Thursday, during preliminary hearings in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, an investigator revealed damning evidence against Travis and Greg McMichael and William Bryan, the three men charged with Arbery’s death. Richard Dial, the special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, testified that William Bryan heard Travis McMichael utter a racial slur moments…
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Family Demands Justice in Officer-Involved Shooting in Kansas City, Mo.
An investigation is underway as another black man has lost his life as the result of an officer-related shooting. From the Kansas City Star: The incident began Tuesday afternoon when a disturbance between two vehicles was reported near 35th Street and College Avenue. A police helicopter tracked one of the vehicles, which pulled behind a…
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Joshua Brown, a Key Witness in Amber Guyger’s Murder Trial, Killed Outside Apartment
A message has clearly been sent. Joshua Brown, a key witness who testified for the prosecution on Tuesday in the trial of killer cop Amber Guyger, was fatally shot outside of his apartment building in Dallas on Friday night. The neighbor of Botham Jean, who was murdered by Guyger, Brown’s body was found on the…
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Botham Jean Attorney: Nothing In Amber Guyger's Story Makes Sense
An attorney for Botham Jean—the 26-year-old innocent black man who was shot and killed inside his own home—is looking to set the record straight. Despite several stories that Jean and his attacker, Amber Guyger, knew one another, attorney S. Lee Meritt claims that the two were merely neighbors as Jean lived directly above Guyger. “The…
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Felony Charges Against DeAndre Harris Dropped in Charlottesville, Va., White Supremacist Rally
Twenty-year-old DeAndre Harris of Charlottesville, Va., has had all felony charges dropped in connection with an alleged attack during August’s white supremacist rally where he was actually beaten by poles in a parking lot. Harris was charged with unlawful wounding in connection to an incident that took place the same day. In October, when the…
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#DerickWiley: Grand Jury Returns ‘True Bill’ Against Officer in Lyndo Jones Shooting
A Texas grand jury has returned a true bill indictment against now former Mesquite, Texas, Police Officer Derick Wiley in the Nov. 8 shooting of 31-year-old Lyndo Jones (pdf), The Root has exclusively learned from Jones’ attorney, S. Lee Merritt. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is expected to make the announcement Wednesday afternoon, at…