Social Justice
3 Cases Where Blacks ‘Stood Their Ground’ And Were Still Convicted
Three cases where blacks stood their ground and were handed the book
Here are three cases where Black people stood their ground and were handed the book.
If you think that the justice system is just, you are sadly mistaken.
The recent cases of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis has sparked a national conversation on race and the controversial Stand Your Ground law.
Through many discussions, people have tried to stray away from race citing we should look at the facts and the law. In a recent interview, a juror on the Michael Dunn case said race played no factor in their decision.
Every time I heard a commentator try to ignore the obvious on the Trayvon Martin & Michael Dunn cases, it made me peeved.
This is why we still have so many problems in our society because we are afraid to have the conversation on race.
Society tries to sweep the issue of race under the rug, and make the highly influenced believe we are living in a post-racial society.
Whether you agree or not, the issue of race does exist in the two cases of George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn.
Though both stated that race played no factor in their decision to commit self-defense, the apparent parallel in both trials suggests that we have major work to do in our justice system.
I could not help but to recognize both are of Caucasian descent, both happened in Florida, and both were found not guilty of murder.
It took the jury 16 hours to find George Zimmerman not guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin.
It took the jury three days to find Michael Dunn guilty on three counts of attempted murder, but not guilty on the murder of Jordan Davis.
Interesting.
Though there are many cases of people who stood their ground, we wanted to bring three to your attention.
You may or may not know about these cases in which we believed blacks ‘stood their ground’, or claimed self defense but their cases have an interesting twist.
Three Black People Who Stood Their Ground But It Didn’t Work In Their Favor
1. Marissa Alexander
Marissa Alexander, is a Jacksonville, FL black woman who was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
She cited that she was acting in self-defense after her abusive husband tried to attack her which prompted her to fire a warning shot into the wall.
It took a jury no more than 12 minutes to convict her. Alexander was sentenced to a mandatory 20 years in prison.
Through an appeal, Aleaxander’s sentence was subsequently overturned and she will be fighting for justice again.
This time, she will be fighting against a 60 year sentence Florida state prosecutor Angela Corey and her team are asking for.
2. Brandon C. Jackson
The Stand Your Ground law doesn’t apply in the state of New Jersey, but self-defense wasn’t good enough for Brandon C. Jackson was who defending himself against an alleged hate crime attack.
The New Jersey man found himself being cornered by white boys in what has been referred as one of the most racist towns in New Jersey : Jackson.
The responding officer classified the case as racially/motivated but that wasn’t good enough for prosecutors and the judge.
Jackson was subsequent ally sentenced and is serving 12 years in prison.
3. Michael Giles
Michael Giles is another Florida resident who stood his ground and was convicted.
26-year-old Michael Giles was on active duty with the Unites States Air Force and stationed in Tampa.
The married father of three had recently finished two tours in the Middle East and was looking forward to a career in the military, says his family.
One night in February, a friend invited Giles to party at a Tallahassee nightclub.
Shorty after arriving, a fight broke out among members of fraternities from nearby Florida A&M University.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for standing his ground.
Crime & Justice
Paramedic involved in Elijah McClain’s death sentenced to probation, work release and community service
Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.
Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.
Paramedic Jeremy Cooper sentenced
He had faced up to three years in prison but was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months of work release and 100 hours of community service.
Cooper and another paramedic, Peter Cichuniec, were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December in the death of McClain, 23, who was subdued by police and injected with ketamine on August 24, 2019.
Both paramedics had pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. Cichuniec was sentenced in March to five years in prison, the minimum.
Police stop turns fatal
McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him. When Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec arrived, they injected him with ketamine.
He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.
The McClain family sued the city of Aurora for Elijah’s wrongful death and received a $15 million settlement.
Social Justice
Former high school athletic director arrested and charged with using AI to frame principal
A former athletic director of a high school was arrested by Baltimore County Police after allegedly using new technology to impersonate a principal.
A former athletic director of a high school was arrested by police in Maryland after allegedly using new technology to impersonate a principal.
Maryland principal incident
In January of this year, we reported that an audio was circulating on social media accusing Pikesville High School principal Eric Eisworth of making racist and antisemitic comments.
After an investigation, authorities concluded the audio was artificial intelligence.
Suspect arrested
Dazhon Darien, 31, was charged with disrupting school activities, after investigators determined Darien faked Eiswert’s voice and circulated the audio on social media in January, according to the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office. Darien’s nickname, DJ, was among the names mentioned in the audio clips he allegedly faked.
Maryland principal accused audio
In the audio, Eisworth allegedly claimed Black students were unable to “test their way out of a paper bag” and made “disparaging comments” about Jewish individuals and two teachers, the charging document said
“The audio clip … had profound repercussions,” police wrote in charging documents. “It not only led to Eiswert’s temporary removal from the school but also triggered a wave of hate-filled messages on social media and numerous calls to the school. The recording also caused significant disruptions for the PHS staff and students.”
Retaliation
Police say Darien made the recording in retaliation after Eisworth initiated an investigation into improper payments he made to a school athletics coach who was also his roommate. Darien is also charged with theft and retaliating against a witness.
Darien was released on $5,000 bond and waived an attorney at an initial court appearance, according to court records.
Crime & Justice
Exonerated man on a mission to rebuild his life
C.J. Rice, a man who served more than 12 years behind bars for an attempted murder he was falsely convicted of, was officially exonerated on March 18, 2024. He is now on a mission to rebuild his life.
Charles “CJ” Rice was just 17 years old when he was convicted of a crime he did not commit.
CJ Rice Exonerated
Now 30 year old Rice is using the injustice of the last 13 years to galvanize the life he almost spent behind bars after being exonerated and declared legally innocent of the crime he was convicted of in 2013 on March 18, 2024.
According to the GoFundMe, CJ wants to “embrace this opportunity” and become a paralegal.
With the help of Dream.org, the GoFundMe aims to help CJ start a new life with everything from a place to stay to clothes to wear as he builds a new future.
The CJ Rice case
CJ Rice, formally known Charles J. Rice, was convicted in a September 2011 shooting for attempted murder and sentenced to 30-60 years behind bars in 2013.
According to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, the South Philadelphia shooting left a woman identified as Latrice Johnson, a 6-year-old girl and two others injured.
Johnson called 911 after the shooting and described the suspects as two men running away in hoodies and black sweatpants but couldn’t fully identify them.
Through an initial investigation with victims in the hospital, Rice’s co-defendant, Tyler Linder, was identified as one of the shooters. Detectives interviewed Johnson while she was in the hospital and she identified 17-year-old Rice as one of the shooters running away although she hadn’t seen the teen in a few years. Rice had been friends with Johnson’s son when he was younger, according to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.
In her description, Johnson said Rice was wearing a hoodie and claimed that she was able to see his full face and long braids poking out the side of the hood. However, Rice’s arrest photo depicted him with shorter cornrows flushed against his head. Despite this, a case against Rice and Linder was built.
According to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, among the evidence was a theory that the shooting was retaliatory, which wasn’t proven. That’s because Rice was shot and injured a few days prior. It’s alleged the suspects ran from the scene, and Rice’s counsel never used his medical records as evidence to help Rice’s case.
Rice’s case received national attention after CNN anchor Jake Tapper began reporting on it. His father, Dr. Theodore Tapper, is Rice’s former doctor and treated his injuries.
Although it was alleged that the shooters ran from the 2011 crime scene, this is something that Dr. Tapper believed Rice just physically couldn’t do at the time.
Officials believed the 2011 shooting involved gang affiliations, leading the DA’s Gun Violence Task Force to begin their investigation to see whether or not Rice could be re-tried for the shooting or to dismiss the charges in full.
This suggestion of motive and the sole faulty eyewitness identification of CJ led to his conviction on four counts for attempted murder.
A free man
Rice’s defense counsel filed a habeas petition to get CJ out of prison and have his conviction overturned.
On March 18, 2024, the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas granted the Commonwealth’s motion to dismiss all charges against Rice, officially making CJ a free man.
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