6A • Wednesday, November 4, 2015 • Daily Corinthian
Officer cleared in teen’s death The Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A white police officer was cleared by a grand jury in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old black man during a fight at a traffic stop, a prosecutor said Tuesday. The grand jury declined to indict the officer despite Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich’s recommendation that he be indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, Weirich said. Weirich refused to elaborate on what led her to file the charges. Police have said previously that Darrius Stewart was a passenger in a car stopped by the officer July 17 for a headlight violation. Stewart was placed in the back of a squad car without handcuffs as the officer checked on active war-
rants for him, authorities said. Officer Connor Schilling returned to the squad car to arrest and handcuff Stewart after a warrant was verified, and Stewart kicked the door and attacked the officer, beating Schilling with the handcuffs, police said. Schilling shot Stewart with his duty weapon during the struggle, police said. Stewart died at a hospital. Weirich said she has spoken to Stewart’s relatives but declined to discuss details of the conversation. She said she did not know the racial makeup of the grand jury. “I understand how upsetting and alarming this news is and will continue to be during the next weeks and months,” she said. Weirich asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the shooting. The state police
agency gave a 600-page report to her on Aug. 20, and she asked community members that day to be patient as she studied it. Stewart’s death, like other high-profile cases nationwide in which unarmed black men were killed by police officers, prompted rallies and vigils across Memphis. Pastors and other community leaders have pushed for answers as they waited for word of possible charges against the officer. Outside the courthouse Tuesday, a group of Memphis pastors asked the community to stay calm as the news spreads. They said they would push for criminal justice reform and possible civil action against the officer. “Yes, we should remain calm, but that does not mean we will remain silent,” said pastor Noel Hutchinson of First Bap-
tist Church. Schilling had been relieved of duty — a routine procedure — pending the outcome of the investigation. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, has said he would like to see the case handled by an independent prosecutor who is not from Shelby County. Cohen said he has reached out to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to ask for help from the Department of Justice to determine whether any civil rights have been violated. The shooting also led Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. to ask for a review of police policy regarding how it deals with car passengers during traffic stops. He has requested information from the police department on when it is permissible to question, detain and search a passenger in a car that has been stopped by police.
High court stays execution amid appeal The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday put on hold the execution of a Missouri man convicted beating three people to death with a claw hammer while a lower court considers an appeal. Ernest Lee Johnson claims the execution drug could cause painful seizures because he still has part of a benign tumor in his brain, and surgery to remove the rest of the tumor in 2008 forced removal of up to 20 percent of his brain tissue. The Supreme Court granted a stay while the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers whether his complaint was properly dismissed. It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly the appeals court might rule. Johnson, 55, had been scheduled to die at 6 p.m. at the Missouri state prison in Bonne Terre. A second appeal, to the
Missouri Supreme Court, claims Johnson’s life should be spared because he is mentally disabled. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office says both claims are without merit. Johnson was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for killing 46-year-old Mary Bratcher, 57-yearold Mable Scruggs and 58-year-old Fred Jones during a closing-time robbery of a Casey’s General Store in Columbia on Feb. 12, 1994. Johnson wanted money to buy drugs, authorities said. All three workers were beaten to death with a claw hammer, but Bratcher was also stabbed at least 10 times with a screwdriver and Jones was shot in the face. Johnson was arrested after police found a bank bag, stolen money and store receipts at Johnson’s home.
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS 2015 Saturday, November 7 Mark Chesnutt
Johnson grew up in a troubled home and his attorney, Jeremy Weis, said his IQ was measured at 63 while still in elementary school. Testing after his conviction measured the IQ at 67, still a level considered mentally disabled. He was already on death row in 2001 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing the mentally disabled was unconstitutionally cruel and a new sentencing hearing was ordered. Johnson was again sentenced to death in 2003. The Missouri Supreme Court tossed that sentence, too, forcing another sentencing hearing. In 2006, Johnson was sentenced to death for a third time. The brain tumor was removed in an operation in 2008. While benign, doctors could not remove the entire tumor. Weis said the combination of the remaining tumor and the fact that Johnson lost about one-fifth of his brain has left him prone to seizures and with difficulty walking. Missouri’s execution drug is a form of pentobarbital believed to be manufactured by a compounding pharmacy — the state won’t say where it gets it. Weis
cites a medical review by Dr. Joel Zivot, who examined MRI images of Johnson’s brain and found “significant brain damage and defects that resulted from the tumor and the surgical procedure,” according to court filings. “Mr. Johnson faces a significant medical risk for a serious seizure as the direct result of the combination of the Missouri lethal injection protocol and Mr. Johnson’s permanent and disabling neurologic disease,” Zivot wrote. Court filings by the Attorney General’s office note that Missouri has carried out 18 “rapid and painless” executions since it went to the onedrug method in November 2013. Other death row inmates have had mixed success in pursuing claims that medical conditions should preclude them from execution. In May 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the execution of Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew, who claimed the execution drug could cause suffering due to a rare congenital condition that causes weakened and malformed blood vessels as well as tumors in his nose and throat.
MONTHLY CLASSES Thursday, November 12 Tenth Avenue North/Sidewalk Prophets All Holy Grail Tour 2015 Crossroads Arena Box Office open Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm. All events are subject to change. Please call or check our web site to make sure: www.crossroadsarena.com or call the Arena 662-287-7779 Also, visit us on Facebook or Twitter
Gospel Singing Saturday Evening Nov. 7th 2015 At 6:00 pm At Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Farmington 4176 CR 200 Corinth, MS There will be a meal in Fellowship Hall at 5:00 pm Come join us for an evening of Fellowship and Singing Singing in The Church at 6:00 pm
The Abundant Life Trio From Moulton Alabama will be singing Everyone is Welcome
Next Class November 21 @ 8am
Tina Northcutt Shelby
SELMER, Tenn. — Funeral services for Tina Northcutt Shelby, 51, are set for 1 p.m. today at Shackelford Funeral Directors in Selmer, Tenn., with burial in the Mars Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 8 a.m. until service time at the funeral home. Mrs. Shelby died Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, in Humboldt, Tenn. She was born Dec. 31, 1963, in Hardin County, Tenn. to David and Joan Boyd Northcutt. She was a Nurse Practitioner and a member of Shelby the Assemblies Of God. Survivors include her husband, Philip Shelby of Humboldt, Tenn.; her parents, David and Joan Northcutt of Corinth; a sister, Lori Northcutt Wigginton (Shea) of Spring Hill, Tenn.; a brother, Allen Northcutt (Cheryl) of Houston, Texas; and her father, Paulus Shelby of Jackson, Tenn.
Trump book event attracts hundreds The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Donald Trump released his latest book Tuesday, a 193-page campaign manifesto titled “Crippled America” that outlines his philosophy but offers few new details on how the Republican presidential contender would implement his policy goals in the White House. While most of the presidential candidates have already come out with books as precursors or companions to their campaigns, Trump celebrated his latest with Trump-sized pageantry, hosting a press conference and book signing in the atrium of Trump Tower, where he lives, operates his business and runs his campaign. Hundreds began lining up outside the building before dawn to buy copies of the book and have it signed by the billionaire businessman and former reality TV star. By midday, a line snaked around a Midtown Manhattan city block. “My book is very hardhitting, it says it like it is,” Trump said. He boasted that he’d already been informed by his publisher that the book was selling like “hotcakes.” The book, which reads like an exhaustive version of the stump speech Trump has been delivering at rallies across the country, makes the case that he has the experience and business savvy to accomplish things that traditional politicians can’t. It comes as Trump adjusts to a new phase of the campaign in which the once undisputed frontrunner faces heightened competition from a number of his GOP rivals.
While Trump largely avoids criticizing his competition by name in the book, he said Tuesday he thinks it’s time for many to drop out. “There are too many people!” he said. “Look, if a person’s been campaigning for four or five months and they’re at zero or 1 or 2 percent, they should get out.” Almost all political books feature cover photos of the candidates looking friendly, poised, competent and, well, presidential. Trump’s cover shows him with furrowed brows and a deep scowl, in keeping with his often irascible demeanor. “It’s a terrible, horrible nasty picture,” Trump said. “But when you’re talking about crippled America and you’re talking about all of the problems we have, I can’t have a big smiley face out there.” Unlike most of his competitors, Trump has largely avoided the kind of small-scale interactions with potential voters in diners and coffee shops that are the bread-and-butter of most campaigns. But Trump, seated in a plush leather chair behind a wooden desk set up on a red carpet, appeared comfortable at the signing. He offered strong handshakes, quizzed people on how long they’d been waiting and scrawled his violent, illegible signature again and again in thick black marker. Among those who were first in line was stand-up comedian Jason Scoop, who showed off a “Trump 2016” tattoo he said he’d gotten right after Trump jumped in the race.
• TN Handgun Permit Safety Class • MS Enhanced Permit Safety Class
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Trinity Health Health Clinic Clinic Trinity “Caring for your body, mind, and spirit”
“Caring for your body, mind, and spirit” Cynthia Pearson MSN, ANP-BC, FNP-BC Cynthia Pearson MSN, ANP-BC, FNP-BC Now accepting: Magnolia Medicaid and MSCAN/UHC. 123 Alcorn Dr. Corinth. MS • 662-286-2866 123 Alcorn Dr. Corinth. MS • 662-286-2866 Monday-Thursday 8:00am-6:00pm, Closed Friday
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