PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 121 No. 17
DECEMBER 1, 2012 - DECEMBER 7, 2012
A5 Historic Presidential Inaugurations A7 Jackson Resignation Leaves District in Turmoil B4 NBA or NCAA?
High Court to Rule on DNA
Four More Teens Charged as Adults in D.C. Stabbing The Associated Press
By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO The Supreme Court next year will weigh in on the growing national debate over the collection and use of genetic material from criminal suspects when it considers a case involving Maryland’s DNA law, the justices announced earlier this month. More than half of U.S. states have laws that allow police to cull DNA from persons who are suspected of violent crime, to search for potential matches to other criminal offenses. But the laws are controversial. Law enforcement officials argue that DNA sampling is an invaluable crime-fighting tool. According to Maryland officials, in the first two years of the program’s implementation, matches from arrestee swabs resulted in 58 criminal prosecutions. “We applaud the decision by the Supreme Court to review Maryland’s case regarding DNA collection,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley in a prepared statement. “Allowing law enforcement to collect DNA samples from offenders charged with serious crimes is absolutely critical to our efforts to continue driving down crime in Maryland and bolsters our efforts to resolve Continued on A4
Four more 17-yearolds have been charged as adults in connection with a fatal stabbing earlier this month at the Woodley Park Metro station in northwest Washington. The teens were charged Nov. 26. One teen, 17-yearold Chavez Myers, had already been charged as an adult with second degree murder while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. A total of nine suspects were arrested in the Nov. 17 death of 18-year-old Olijawon Griffin of Olney. Police say Griffin was robbed of an iPhone and jacket while trying Continued on A3
Judge Says Court Should Review Delegate Nomination The Associated Press A judge says the nomination of a Prince George’s County businessman to fill a seat in the House of Delegates once held by Tiffany Alston should be reviewed by the court. The Washington Post reported that Prince George’s County Circuit Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. said in a ruling late Monday that all sides in the dispute need more time to consider the issues. The newspaper reports that the judge’s decision relieves Gov. Martin O’Malley of the requirement to approve the nomination of Greg Hall for now. AFRO File Photo A hearing has been Tiffany Alston tentatively scheduled for Dec. 4. Alston was removed from office after entering a plea deal relating to misconduct in office, though her attorneys contend she should be reinstated because her sentence has been modified.
Lawrence Guyot to be Honored in D.C., Mississippi By Avis Thomas-Lester AFRO Executive Editor Lawrence Guyot knew that his days were numbered, but he was fine with that, a close friend said. He had lived long enough to see his beloved family prosper, made his mark in District politics, celebrated several milestones in civil rights history and witnessed the reelection of President Obama. Dr. Frank Smith, a colleague of Guyot’s in the movement who later founded the African American Civil War Museum in Northwest Washington, said he had spoken to Guyot about his failing health. He last saw the devoted activist the day before he died of complications of kidney and heart disease and diabetes at age 73.
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“A minister once told me that God allows people to die slowly sometimes,” Smith said. “He and I had two very long conversations recently. He knew that his kidneys were failing and he was living on a dialysis machine. He had to be revived on at least one occasion. He was fully aware that his days were numbered. He was at peace with himself and with his God knowing he had done the best he could for as long as he could. That’s all any of us could want, to be able to say we have done
Lawrence Guyot Wikimedia Commons
everything we could.” A memorial service is scheduled at 10 a.m. Dec. 15
back against discrimination. After entering Tougaloo College in Jackson at age 17, he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and worked to right racial wrongs. Guyot threw his mind, body and soul into his activism and bore the scars from being beaten more than once for standing up for what he believed was right. In 1964, he was named the Hattiesburg director of the Freedom Summer Project and co-founded the Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party, whose activities contributed to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Margaret Kibbee, 66, of Greenville, Miss., said in an interview that she learned of Guyot’s work after moving south in the 1960s from California to work in the movement, but they became friends in 2004 when he spoke at a reunion of civil rights workers. She said Guyot is “honored in Mississippi.” Continued on A7
Christmas Tree Arrives at U.S. Capitol
Workers deliver the 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree, a 73 foot Engelmann Spruce from the White River National Forest, near Meeker, Colo., Nov. 26, on Capitol Hill. The Associated Press
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at Goodwill Baptist Church at 1862 Kalorama Rd., NW in Washington, D.C. Planning is also underway for memorial services in Pass Christian, Guyot’s Mississippi hometown, and in Jackson, the city where he became an activist, Smith said. Friends described Guyot as a “fearless” crusader for voting rights, human rights and D.C. statehood. Born in Pass Christian on July 17, 1939, Guyot came of age at a time when African Americans were increasingly pushing
The U.S. Capitol’s Christmas tree has arrived. The 65-foot tree arrived at the Capitol on Monday.
The tree comes from the White River National Forest in Colorado. It will be decorated with approximately 5,000 ornaments and will be lit by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, during a ceremony on Dec. 4.
Copyright © 2012 by the Afro-American Company
AP Photo
First Lady Michele Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia last week greeted the arrival of the Christmas tree that will be displayed in the Blue Room of the White House. The 19-foot tree arrived Friday by horse-drawn carriage.