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USA TODAY - L awrence J ournal -W orld THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015
NATION/WORLD SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE SHOOTING
Video of killing spurs protesters Officer charged with murder and fired
CHARLESTON COUNTY
Michael Slager
Tony Santaella WLTX-TV
NORTH CHARLESTON, S . C.
Angry protesters chanted “Black lives matter” and “All lives matter” in front of City Hall on Wednesday, a day after a white police officer was charged with shooting and killing a black man after a confrontation caught on video. North Charleston Officer Michael Slager, 33, was charged with the murder of Walter Scott, 50, after a passerby sent a cellphone video of Saturday’s shooting to authorities and Scott’s family. Mayor Keith Summey said Wednesday that Slager has been
fired but his wife, who is eight months pregnant, will receive city health benefits. Summey also said the city has obtained a grant to equip every police officer with a body camera. Police Chief Eddie Driggers said, “I have watched the video and I was sickened by what I saw.” The emergence of the video shocked this city of 100,000 with a population split almost evenly between blacks and whites. The tragedy follows months of national discourse about race and policing after law enforcement confrontations with unarmed, black citizens in Ferguson, Mo., New York City and elsewhere. The video shows Slager drop-
“I have watched the video and I was sickened by what I saw.” Eddie Driggers, North Charleston, S.C., police chief
A protest takes place Wednesday at City Hall in North Charleston.
STEPHEN B. MORTON, EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
ping what appears to be a stun gun, drawing his gun and shooting at Scott at least eight times as Scott runs away. Scott falls facedown to the ground. Slager walks
BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIAL
up and puts handcuffs on Scott. Slager told investigators that Scott struggled for his stun gun and that he shot Scott because he feared for his life, authorities said. State Law Enforcement Division agents, after viewing the recording and examining other the video and evidence, filed the charges. Scott’s family said they intend to file a civil lawsuit against Slager. WASHINGTON
Top court gives new life to death debate Some states signal an end to U.S. executions Richard Wolf USA TODAY
Kent Sprouse is set to die Thursday by lethal injection, a method of execution botched so often lately that the Supreme Court will weigh in on its constitutionality this month. Sprouse, however, isn’t likely to get a reprieve because he’s imprisoned in Texas — by far the nation’s leader in lethal injections and a state that has managed to carry out a regular schedule of executions without mishap. The state recently snared a new supply of pentobarbital, the drug of choice for executioners in a country fast running out of humane ways to kill death row inmates. That should give Texas enough of the barbiturate to execute four men at its Huntsville state penitentiary this month, bringing its total to 526 lethal injections since it spearheaded the practice in 1982. But other states can’t find WASHINGTON
Liz Norden walks with Massport Fire Lt. Michael Ward after a news conference Wednesday outside John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse following a verdict in the Boston Marathon bombing case.
SOMBER MOOD AS RESIDENTS, VICTIMS REFLECT ON VERDICTS Cries of justice spread as Tsarnaev guilty on all counts
G. Jeffrey MacDonald and Marisol Bello USA TODAY
The mother of 8-yearold Martin Richards didn’t have to say anything after a federal jury found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty of killing her son and three other people in the Boston Marathon bombings and aftermath. Denise Richards’ reaction was clear when she stood up out of respect for the jurors as they left the courtroom. She wiped tears from both eyes. Cries of justice spread quickly Wednesday when the jury found Tsarnaev, 21, guilty on all 30 counts in the 2013 bombing attack that also injured 260 people. Bostonians got what they wanted: a clean-sweep, 30-count conviction of the man whose lawyers admitted to his involvement in bombing their marathon on Patriots Day in 2013. In court and across the city, no one was jubilant. At South Station, Terry Emerson wore a “We Are Boston Strong” sweatshirt. BOSTON
“He needed to be found guilty on every count,” said Emerson, a computer programmer. “But people who lost someone aren’t going to get their family members back. You can only get so much satisfaction out of this.” The verdict came as no surprise. Tsarnaev’s lawyers said he was involved and didn’t challenge the evidence against him. Having expected the conviction, the city took it somewhat in stride. “Nothing can ever replace the lives that were lost or changed forever, but at least there is some relief in knowing that justice is served and responsibility will be taken,” Heather Abbott, who lost her lower left leg in the bombing, posted on her Facebook page. Tsarnaev’s mother, Zubeidat, who now lives in Russia, sent a note to a family friend declaring Americans are “the terrorists here,” Vocativ.com reported. As the verdict was read, Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who immigrated from Russia with his parents and brother a decade before the attack, showed no emotion, only crossing his arms and fidgeting. Frustration with his
“People who lost someone aren’t going to get their family members back. You can only get so much satisfaction out of this.” Terry Emerson, Boston resident
Diplomatic road may be bumpy for U.S., Obama at summit of the Americas Rick Jervis USA TODAY
President Obama arrives at a summit of the Americas this week in high standing as the U.S. leader who’s finally re-establishing relations with Cuba, something other leaders coming here have long sought. PANAMA CITY
A likely handshake between Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro no doubt will be the photo op of the two-day gathering Friday and Saturday. Yet that diplomatic victory lap may be a bumpy one for Obama at the 35-member Organization of American States meeting. U.S. sanctions announced last month on seven Venezuelan officials
CHIP SOMODEVILLA, GETTY IMAGES
President Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Raúl Castro at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in 2013 in South Africa.
seeming swagger entering the courtroom each day and his disengaged demeanor came to the surface once the verdict was in. “Arrogant” is how Karen Brassard of Nashua, N.H., described the apparent attitude of Tsarnaev, whose bombs caused serious lower-body injuries to her, her husband and daughter. Had he shown remorse, “I wouldn’t have bought it,” she said, because he’s been so “disinterested” all along. “Closure? I don’t think so because it will forever be part of our lives,” she said. “But we’re all going to move on with our lives and get to some sense of normalcy, hopefully, when this is all done.” Boston transit officer Dic Donohue, who was shot during the manhunt, thanked supporters in a series of tweets. “Although we cannot change the past ... justice has been served today,” he wrote. “We have again shown, as a society, that terrorism will not prevail, and we will hold those accountable for their acts against our nation.” Bello reported from McLean, Va.
have rankled some Latin American leaders. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro promised to hand Obama a petition with 10 million signatures from his citizens to lift the sanctions. In addition, Cuban opposition groups are planning rap concerts and protest meetings to highlight Cuba’s suppression of political freedom, a source of concern in Congress as Obama renews relations with the communist island. “You’re going to have these two visions of the United States as the president goes to Panama City,” said Carl Meacham at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The lethal injection issues are coming at a critical juncture.” Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center
pharmacies willing to supply drugs that can kill reliably, without the gasps and groans the Supreme Court has indicated may violate the Constitution’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. In three weeks, the justices will consider a challenge from three death row inmates to Oklahoma’s lethal injection method, used by several other states. A ruling against the use of midazolam, a sedative lacking the knockout punch of pentobarbital, as part of a three-drug cocktail would further crimp the country’s ability to execute prisoners. Even if the court does not rule against Oklahoma, other developments point to the fading of the death penalty in America: uSeveral states have imposed moratoriums on lethal injections because of problems, ranging from botched executions in Oklahoma and Ohio to a “cloudy” drug concoction in Georgia. u Last month, both the American Pharmacists Association and the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacies discouraged members from participating in the process. The U.S. group called it “fundamentally contrary to the role of pharmacists as providers of health care.” uThe difficulties involved in lethal injections are forcing states with capital punishment laws to rejuvenate backup methods once viewed as beyond the pale. Tennessee would allow electrocution; Utah, death by firing squad. Oklahoma lawmakers are moving to legalize the use of nitrogen gas. “The lethal injection issues are coming at a critical juncture,” says Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.