Baltimore Washington Afro American Newspaper May 28 2016

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Volume Volume 124 123 No. No. 43 20–22

May 28, 2016 - May 28, 2016, The Afro-American A1 $1.00

www.afro.com

$1.00

MAY 28, 2016 - JUNE 3, 2016

Inside

Washington

• Early Metrorail

20 Things to Do and See in Baltimore and D.C.

Closings Could Impact D.C. Nightlife

A7 & A8

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Baltimore ‘Roots’ Returns in History Channel Remake

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Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Marsai Martin, left, and Miles Brown, stars of ABC comedy ‘Black-ish,’ speak at the 41st annual Gracie Awards Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on May 24, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Aunjanue Ellis, Iyanla, Jada Pinkett Smith and Angela Bassett were among the winners.

• AFRO to Launch

New Clean Block Campaign

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SCOTUS Finds 1987 Murder Trial Racially Biased By Gloria Browne-Marshall AANIC Supreme Court Reporter

659k That’s how many people have liked the AFRO Facebook page. Join last week’s 2,500 new fans and become part of the family. INSERT • Walmart

In 1986, Timothy Foster was tried and convicted for the murder of an elderly White woman, Queen Madge White, 79, in Rome, Georgia. The prosecutor decided to dismiss all potential Black jurors. Known as a peremptory strike, using this power for racial reasons had been ruled unconstitutional only months before the Foster v. Chatman case. It took 30 years for the Supreme Court to rule that the prosecutors had violated Foster’s Sixth Amendment rights by striking those Black jurors. Rome is a small city in Georgia with a long history of racial segregation. District Attorney Stephen Lanier and Assistant District Attorney Douglas Pullen represented the State

Georgia Department of Corrections via AP

The Supreme Court threw out a death sentence handed to Timothy Tyrone Foster because prosecutors improperly kept African-Americans off the jury that convicted Foster of killing a White woman.

afro.com

Your History • Your Community • Your News

One Down, Five More to Go: What’s Next for Officers in Freddie Gray Case?

Cosby Lawyers Outline Defense as Case Heads to Trial By Maryclaire Dale and Michael R. Sisak The Associated Press

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On May 23 Baltimore police officer Edward Nero walked into a downtown Baltimore City courtroom to learn his fate in the death of 25 year old Freddie Gray. Officer Nero was one of the arresting officers of Gray on April 12, 2015; a week later Gray fell into a coma and died of a spinal cord injury he sustained in police custody in the back of a police van. Nero, along with five other officers; William Porter, Caesar Goodson Jr, Brian Rice, Garrett Miller, and Alicia White were all charged with various misdemeanor’s and felonies. The verdict for Officer Nero: Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams found him not guilty of all charges. Nero faced charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office; with Officer Nero’s acquittal, what’s next for the city of Baltimore? Who is Officer Edward Nero? Edward Nero is from Sewell, New Jersey, graduated from Washington Township high school in 2004, and was a volunteer firefighter with the Washington Township Fire Department between 2002-2012 before moving to Baltimore in 2012 and joining the Baltimore City Police Department. “An outstanding and dedicated firefighter,” said Gloucester County Fire Chief John Hoffman said in a statement about Nero, adding that, “He was never in

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AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Bill Cosby departs the Montgomery County Courthouse after a preliminary hearing on May 24 in Norristown, Pa. Cosby was ordered to stand trial on sexual assault charges after a hearing that hinged on a decade-old police report.

Bill Cosby’s lawyers gave a blistering preview of the questions the actor’s accuser will face at trial, as a judge refused to dismiss the sexassault case at a preliminary hearing. The defense on May 24 attacked the consistency of Andrea Constand’s police statements; offered context to her friendship with Cosby;

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Black Teen Sues Idaho School District in Locker Room Rape, Alleges Lengthy Racist Abuse By Kimberlee Kruesi The Associated Press A Black teenager who prosecutors say was sexually assaulted by three White football players in the locker room of an Idaho high school has sued the school district, alleging the rape was the culmination of months of racist taunts and physical abuse. The federal lawsuit says the school failed to prevent the bullying and attacks despite many

Copyright © 2016 by the Afro-American Company

incidents happening in front of football coaches and other officials at Dietrich High School, which serves a rural town of 330 people that is predominantly white and known for being religious. The teen said the abuse included a forced fistfight that coaches encouraged to toughen John Howard is one him up. “The deliberate indifference of three White teens and negligent actions of these accused of raping a defendants exposed the plaintiff to Black disabled high school student. Continued on A3 Photo courtesy of Tarrant County

Join Host Sean Yoes Monday-Friday 5-7 p.m. on 88.9 WEAA FM, the Voice of the Community.

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Court had ruled in the case of Batson v. Kentucky that using racial bias to strike potential jurors in a criminal case was unconstitutional and violated the Sixth Amendment. Despite the Batson ruling, Georgia’s appellate courts did not find the prosecutors in Foster case had violated the law. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the case in 1989 when it was first appealed. Then, in 2002, Foster used the Georgia Open Records Act to access the prosecutor’s file from his 1987 trial. Although Georgia objected, a special state habeas corpus court overruled the objections and disclosed the voir dire documents. It was here that the evidence of racial bias was made clear to the Supreme Court. A notation on the document read: “No. No Black Continued on A3

By Michelle Richardson Special to the AFRO

Listen to Afro’s “First Edition”

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of Georgia at trial. During the process known as voir dire, potential jurors are asked about their backgrounds. Prosecutors and defense counsel use this process to determine if potential jurors can decide the case without bias. Prosecutors Lanier and Pullen chose to compile a race-based list of the jury pool. Each Black juror was systematically struck because the prosecutors’ office believed that person could not view the facts in an unbiased manner. When Foster’s defense counsel objected, the judge sided with the prosecutor’s position that age, marital status, and personal circumstances were the basis for dismissing Black jurors. Timothy Foster was found guilty and sentenced to death. His attorneys appealed. That same year, a few months earlier, the U.S. Supreme


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