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n han ooper. an-American q ruple death rowuad The allegeddcuffs and ha New inmate incident wa Cooper’s 1som’s decision could F lo ri making ouda Today reports t Hills famil 985 conviction in lead to the overtu t. y th rning of and their 1 e killing of Enough Of Authorities say t has the 1-y a ru Your Love” Californiapnotential, some polieatir-old house guest. ral Chino and a s. Th cal watcher s say, to de case Both the C ivide aliforn and more an a dozenia and United States past appeath lower court su p re ls. s have reject me courts “I take no p ed Cooper’s osition regar nocence at about the h this time,” Newsodming Mr. Cooper’s g uilt igh-profile said in his terest. N ca executive oor inse free 2. When you see a photo or ad with the Observer 1. Get for downloading that hby Yothe as rk Tapp d rder ra Sen. Kamew im w n inte es’Play colum rn al at Interactive logo scan over the whole photo with your it from Google or The Apple App a io n is H n al t ar N in ri ic have all ca lled for res -tand reality TV starholas Kristof, U.S.tablet or smartphone. forensic Store es K ting using im technology. SUL current, m Kardashian The ACLU gorilla suitPHUR, La. (AP) – P o re sensitive and other h groups hav mattress befbroke into a Louisiaol o n a deeper in e also urged Califuoman rights and soci News ouretl officers arrested ha ves gation rnia state o al et into Cooper fficials to lajustice s Gov. Newtiso sp quote Sulp okesm M unch ’s con m’s hu tion issu el Estes in officers saan Thursday by formerorder Friday expandviction. w Je test four ed re m s G ie p co o M re v. st v o p u io Je ra me. ey h n walkin lowed an ieces of crime scen rry Brown in D us direcad received son lookinTh ember to calls a g into hom an orangealysts to perform DNe evidence. Brownec es. Estes says prosecutorstowel; and the hanA re-testing on a t’sanorder al- bo M ora proached b dle and sh dies in the say Cooper T-shirt; ut was disncoran into a eath Ry In th new u charges incl vered investigatseiod in the murders. of a hatchet Joshua Ryen, theen’s home with a total u d of hair frois try, meth p ing resisting an hidin v n w o ic m , f o ti an 1 u th m 4 n al 3 e s’ d y v st o st o 8 offic ictims’ han ss sion an ab n his throat -y r-old so button Co ds, blood ssawill look at strands tack. d In Louisiaes oper’s atto . He was ea n, sufferedwounds. ing in the San Bern tigators pla na, a persowearing a m the only su mples and rney Norm th ar a e d in sl in al as p le o h u g C b n at n li o te a io s Cooper rvivor of th unty are n c an Hile m After Coop d at the sc green nvicte Angeles most. Excecan be sentencedco ain ins in e at- D.A.’s officen t surprised en to thre . Many of’s attorneys are moak ptions are al ves- legally stayed in eras’s jail break, inves about vestigatioCnounty Superior Coeuof the crime. A ta ra ci h al o in li ti th b lo re al days like H gators foun house next g out th iases and d em . so y they wed for li tire rt judge wil ei d, e il- complaints iscriminatio frequently compab d fo g l oversee thd Los familsa Coo er, 61 It’s unclearalloween and Marre lain aboutr y’s station uwnd evidence in thoeor to the victims. hTh are handle n e in, has main in years. Hispla di G th if g e an w M m d R g ay . o ag en y ta ey Ju p ra en o th ro t. in n st n ’s w ei se ed h la th h r y cu For some, G as a lawy o e and in st ers hope th at tied Coo ca by Gov. N e results ohfis innocence over th ov. Newsom per to themm the under pressuretor Michael Selyem,month, a San Bernarses or ewsom, w the case Newspapers the re-testin for making w d help37 ’s e oinf g in Group u Volume 34 Number Observer of Southern California Thursday, July 25, 2019 in h o h rd o o o rd ic n er pro is h is er s. so W b co to ci ei v u h e al m ng met wit b aden D g ordered cr ld ke sev ite, their client’ the murder him. h ismay. ro er A test- chelle Obamedia. His insults taurgde and racist and co resigned s innocenta The lone N ce and final months, will porters of the sRJoshua Ryen anddfa mments et a, ed U ,S fo su B . rm R la In 1985, a rv ep. Maxine ck shooting ally exoner er First Lad ivor yens and H mily, friend they are dis San Diego at W v on four cou s u e ic at g ap an ti h er m es pointed wit d s and an un y Mi“Unfortun h the goverall across the statesup- Los AThomas R. Parker., named 26 and an nts of murder. ACt ounty jury convicte at el sa n a n o y, fo y fo g r’ eles office, rmer deputy cord - incluescaped prison inmthe time of his arre d Cooper n r justice in this caseover time it seems s decision. b el h ie ea Th v es ooper. d of the FB is guy is in o District st, he was e victims’ d in Pennsylv ding several burglaate. His lengthy crim I’s Attorney Jamatters less and leth nocent,” C esire “The evidence “Prior DN ries and the ania – did ss,” San Ber he told the in so al n re A w n as A d o n te er p n o n Cooper, form rape of a m st la so N t help his ca ar th in n ew n d te e g icl sa d st th ai Y , id an o at m h rk d.” e was fram in ed ould ex Mr. Cooper inor se. erly named in 1958 ed, the copTimes. What has k onerate him sought, agarestatement. per’s guilw s lied t.” months onldear Pittsburgh, PenRichard Goodman, ep h ed av t a to th e fe al e d an er l ca d confirmed al appellate se going nsylvania. was born Yet persuas During his , he was adopted an M an W ec co r. d u h u C iv ti en C rt ooon and re ie e argumen ’s o he was six monies and LAKE FOR and he spenchildhood, his par d renamed Kevin ts ased on w the casedecision in 2004 tooper alive - is Gov. Newvso EST ents physica is recoverin w stay his exCooper. reasonable qualeslegations of evidenbce t a good p co it h n fl m ic juvenile det o ti m re n D ’s g sc g after bei,nCalif. (AP) – Offici ar N ll d te ti ie t ta y ec A o n st o m n ab ti is if g te s p fi io at ad u ab st er yon road inVa. evidence. g strumem(AP) a mental h ention centers. In olescence living sed him at ors used to nail Co out the methods ing, keep raising Californ ing comes early n to allow anoth cCHARLOTTESVILLE, ck by a poli Souther–n Three c Californon Laggroup berserofroauwhite face sentencing nd ofsupremacist California. ealth facility in Pen1982, Cooper esca in several thtack, and in sworn oper. Three weapo and stories investi- have hig ia Governor whose in the term of th u n a ia. a B ea ch e n ped from h ree attacker su nsylvania b th s te P p ex o w ro p e st li p er p O im g ce o ec federal riot charge in connection with a white nationre e rt ra o u ta ss O er n n se iv ti ffi g y, s d o e e o s ce efore movin n Jo During his C in n w r Th shua Ryen ounty Rin ho were W thalist e polirally NA test g s. so and ticalinLef egis eonpolitical g to could have been H murder tria Virginia California. said he sathwe solve “D ter he initiaomas gued that e’s pet wrallies t Febm should imm the Ryen in hRise ispanic. hite. He later testified l, prosecuto en ll th F u . e ed rt 1 The men are members of the Above Moveca 9 h ia Ryen, theirCooper killed husban t ca . er te d that they Chiang sa se and final rs successfu arted in fryoth complicatin ly take pla an 1 d n 0 id am -y an ll nt ly ce g y d ea d M th ed en u ment, a militant group known for members who train to ar rw ri e cGuire says neighbor C D sure o ng re- th rosecutions’ that DNA By Candace J. Semien e mixed hristopherld daughter Jessica ifane Doug and Peggy belonging toiana Roper came foprw w is servmartial hen he got Senevidence cathe campaign. “Not justic e an claims, a w in arts street-fighting techniques. im ed al ,” b h H d w u er ar t u o as an n omon is it p ut to chec testing in th d with bloo former boy help law 11-year-old inal. She tu Jozef Syndicate reporter, The Drum Newspaperghes. Police fou Animal Cobigger than a house is vscheduled ro fr dy clothin forcementlytencing en to Friday. Even thou is case would comen ntrolsentences g ca solveProsecutors BATON ROUGE (The Drum/NNPA)—For more nd the bloodied destroyed it. rned the evidence ieond who was a viole o an ffi cr ce an have recommended range im g rs at im h es n rushed tht.e is ver to the no cost to th , trau al hospital, than three decades, Sadie Roberts-Joseph was an exceppolice, buttcrim- issubold, he is treadinNgewsom’s decision in African Am w e m h st ing from 30 months to 46 months in prison for Bena. er at e it was dia ble they ericans, His carefully on e that Calif the Cooper e.” tional force of civic and cultural life in Baton Rouge. Ofgnose D o panics and jamin Daley, Thomas Gillen and Michael Miselis. r. rn a ca K p ia se w ri o v te at st o n i ch te Krause, a v tially poThey rs across th ing. He is other mino ten called an activist, matriarch, and a ‘tireless advocate of she expec la ri say members of the California-based group et zi e k er n p ri ts ee in g o ti p th li es liv- Con arian, tells ing his focu ti e 11-pound peace,’ the 75-year-old founder of the city’s African-Amerectrucaught ack intopunching, tinued on s on fairncaesl sp m are on bcamera were kicking(5and -kilochokthe wild af gram) catth page A2 sing ican history museum was found dead in the trunk of a car andcounterprotesters te r McG to it justice before a planned “Unite re g u ai ir n e s stthe v is rength. on Friday, July 12, about 3 miles from her home. Police at if he sees inited the b2017. Right’’ rally in th Charlottesville August The o b ca t it agto ainriot. did not explain what led them to the car where they found , he’ll issue on Friday. men pleaded guilty to conspiring a ticket for her body. ja Their attorneys are seeking more lenient sentencInvestigators believe she was suffocated before her es. body was found. Within days, Baton Rouge Police arrested A fourth member of the group will be sentenced and charged a male tenant from one of Roberts-Joseph’s separately. rent houses with her murder. He was allegedly $1,200 be- While leaning from the historic bus, archivist Sadie Roberts-Joseph delivers a presentation on the 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott to tourist visiting the museum. Photo by James Terry III. (Courtesy Photo) hind in his rent. “You stole light,” said her son Jason Roberts. “You stole a warm, loving, giving and caring woman and it wasn’t just education and speech pathology. She consistently called for North Baton Rouge. The community shares their memories and tributes: for her family. She cared for the city. She cared for you. Her unity and togetherness, often explaining how the city and Gov. John bel Edwards: I am heartbroken and sicklife should not have ended that way. She did not deserve nation needed to heal from the legacy of slavery. “What my mother wanted in life came to fruition — ironically — in ened by the disturbing death of Sadie Roberts-Joseph. @ that, but she would want forgiveness for you.” In 2001, Roberts-Joseph founded the Odell S. Wil- death,” said Angela R. Machen, Ph.D., “and that was inclu- FirstLadyOfLA and I are praying for her family and the members of the Baton Rouge community who, like us, are liams Now & Then African American Museum, which fea- siveness, togetherness and diversity.” Machen challenged the community to keep her moth- struggling to understand this senseless act of violence. tures exhibits of African art and tells the stories of minority Many knew Sadie as the founder of Baton Rouge’s inventors. It also includes displays of historical artifacts er’s legacy by living “a better life. Give a little more effort to from the civil rights era, including a 1963 bus used during make the whole better.” She said her mother was commit- African-American History Museum and for her annual ted to community service and excellence, “Whatever you Juneteenth celebrations, but she was equally known for her the Baton Rouge boycotts. kindness, vibrant spirit, and passion for promoting peace. Leading up to this year’s Juneteenth Celebration, she’d believe in, work hard in it. Give your dead-level best.” MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexican officials said The family has created The Sadie Roberts-Joseph Me- Sadie was a storyteller, and I believe we have the responsibegun rebranding the museum as the Baton Rouge AfriMonday they have uncovered an industrial-scale mican American History Museum, which some recognized morial Fund at Hancock Whitney Bank and is hoping to bility of keeping those stories alive and working to, as she grant smuggling ring using tractor-trailer rigs disonce said, “build a better state and a better nation.” as an astute move to market it as the city’s museum and to raise funds that will go toward museum operations. guised as freight deliveries for major companies. Mayor Sharon Weston Broome: In the midst of manThe Southern University System Board of Superviconnect it to other Black museums in Southeast Louisiana. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said au“She was one of the standout matriarchs of Baton sors presented a resolution to the family. The resolution aging a major weather event in our parish, I was hit with thorities found a tractor-trailer disguised with the logo Rouge,” said Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, outlined the commitment of Roberts Joseph to both her some devastating news — the murder of a dear friend and a of Soriana, a major grocery store chain. But instead of who knew and worked with Roberts-Joseph for 30 years. family and the city of Baton Rouge. These commitments mother of the community, Sadie Roberts Joseph. I’ve delibgroceries, it was carrying about 150 migrants. erately waited to comment because of the level of love and “We will make her legacy a priority because of what she included founding the museum. She was an alumna of In a statement Monday, Soriana wrote that “the respect I had for Sadie and because it was such shocking Southern University. gave to so many here.” truck detained Saturday in Veracruz state does not be“Our love for Sadie Roberts-Joseph will continue. We news. Roberts-Joseph was also the founder of the nonproflong to our delivery fleet, nor is it owned by the SoriShe loved this city and its people. Her commitment it organization Community Against Drugs and Violence, will demonstrate it in very tangible ways,” said Broome. ana Organization.’’ to the cultural and educational fabric of our community is and she organized the state’s recognition of Juneteenth in For starts, the Mayor’s Youth Workforce Experience par“The company has filed a complaint, because it ticipants, led by The Walls Project and Build Baton Rouge, beyond description. The development of The Odell S. Baton Rouge. was fake, it was camouflage to transport migrants,’’ Roberts-Joseph grew up in Woodville, Mississippi. will paint a mural of the revered activist at 2065 Plank Lopez Obrador said. Her family later moved to Baton Rouge, where she studied Road — the corner of Plank Road and Pawnee Street, in In June, Mexico detected five freight trucks carContinued on page A3 rying 925 migrants, almost all from Central America. Some of those trucks bore the logos of well-known firms, though it was not clear if those trucks were also fakes or had been used illegally by drivers without the companies’ knowledge. Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said that four or five of the freight trucks found in June belonged to the same independent trucking company, based in central Mexico. Ebrard said the company operated trucks equipped with air conditioning units, but those weren’t turned on when carrying migrants. “The risk they are putting people in, half of them are minors,’’ Ebrard said. “They are locking them in trailers to cross the entire country. They leave them there for hours, they could die of asphyxia.’’ It led officials to believe it was just a matter of time before migrants would die aboard the overcrowdHollywood, Fla. ed vehicles. “I believe the more appropriate action is to implement “The biggest concern is that there is going to be a programs and services that are free or offer a person to do tragedy, that is what we don’t want,’’ said Lopez Obcommunity service in lieu of paying fines or fees,” Davis rador. said. “Our system is perpetuating a money-based system, which in turn systematically affects minorities and people of color,” she said. Matt C. Pinsker, an adjunct professor of Homeland Security and Criminal Justice in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the problem runs deeper than in Missouri. “The American people would be horrified if they knew of just how many laws still exist which send poor people to prison over their inability to pay fines, court costs, and related expenses,” Pinsker said. “It is a tragedy and absurdity that we will essentially By JULIE WATSON have debtors’ prisons here in the United States of America,” Associated Press he said. SAN DIEGO (AP) – Officials on Monday liftIn DeBerry’s case, Pro Publica reported that after the ed the suspension of a Bulgarian boxer who kissed a Michael Brown killing, “the city slowly stopped jailing reporter without her consent during a post-fight inpeople for not being able to pay fines as the news media terview after he completed a sexual harassment course showed the victims were primarily black and the Justice Department made clear that what Ferguson had been doand paid a $2,500 fine. ing was wrong.” The California State Athletic Commission voted Still, the lawsuit remains unresolved with the city unanimously to allow Kubrat Pulev to reapply for his seeking dismissal. license with the caveat that future offenses would reIn 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union detailed sult in a lifetime ban from fighting in North America. more than 1,000 cases in 26 states in which judges, acting Pulev was suspended in March after he grabbed on the request of a collection company, issued warrants for Jenny Ravalo’s head in his hands and planted a kiss on people they claimed owed money for “ordinary debts, such her lips following his knockout of Bogdan Dinu. as student loans, medical expenses, unpaid rent and utility He apologized to Ravalo before the commission bills.” The ACLU said it’s a system that breeds coercion and voted. He said it was not sexual but an emotional reabuse. action to his victory. The report concluded that, “with little government Ravalo said that’s not OK. She said she has been oversight, debt collectors, backed by arrest warrants and bullied online by thousands for speaking up and been wielding bounced check demand letters, can frighten peoslandered by Pulev’s agent, Bob Arum of Top Rank. ple into paying money that may not even be owed.” “Mr. Arum cares little about sexual harassment Few tools are as coercive or as effective as the threat of at all,’’ Ravalo told the commission before the vote, incarceration, ACLU report authors said. Few tools are as coercive or as effective as the threat of incarceration, ACLU report authors said. (Photo: noting that he recently said he did not believe “that As an example, one 75-year-old woman subsisting on iStockphoto / NNPA) a 6-foot-4, 250-pound boxer grabbing the face of a $800 monthly Social Security checks, went without her By Stacy M. Brown medications in order to pay the fees she believed were re5-foot-2 reporter and forcibly kissing her with his NNPA Newswire Correspondent quired to avoid jail time for bouncing a check. bloody mouth was sexual harassment. I would like to Despite a centuries-old Supreme Court ruling that And as one lawyer in Texas, who has sought arrests of “After discovering that DeBerry, 51, had several outsee if he would think differently if a large, bloody man outlawed the practice, debtor’s prison remains very much standing traffic tickets from three jurisdictions, the officer student loan borrowers who are in arrears, said, “It’s easier did the same to him without his consent.’’ alive in America, experts told NNPA Newswire. Being handcuffed her and took her to jail,” according to Pro Pu- to settle when the debtor is under arrest,” the report’s auHer lawyer, Gloria Allred, asked the commission poor is challenging enough, but some states, like Missouri, blica. thors found. to sanction Pulev and Arum. have continued to punish those of lesser means. The people who are jailed or threatened with jail of“To be released, she was told, she would have to pay In response, the commission said Arum also parA federal class-action suit claims thousands of those hundreds of dollars in fines she owed the county, according ten are the most vulnerable Americans living paycheck to ticipated in a sexual harassment remediation class with living in Missouri were jailed because they couldn’t pay off to her account in a federal lawsuit. However, even after her paycheck, one emergency away from financial catastrophe, Pulev and appeared to have learned something. fines – essentially, a debtor’s prison and conundrum for the family came up with the money, DeBerry wasn’t released the report said. poor. Many were struggling to recover after the loss of a job, from custody. Pulev agreed to participate in a video campaign Pro Publica reported that four years after the suit was Because DeBerry still owed fines and fees to the cities mounting medical bills, the death of a family member, a about sexual harassment that the commission is confiled, the plaintiffs are still waiting, and wondering if the in Ferguson and Jennings, she remained jailed and her at- divorce, or an illness. sidering doing. He said it would be important for peodeck is stacked against them. “They included retirees or people with disabilities who torney likened it to “being held for ransom.” ple to know that such behavior is not correct “because The report details the plight of Tonya DeBerry, who, “The crisis that is going on in Missouri is taking place are unable to work. Some were subsisting solely on Social a lot of people like me don’t know.’’ in January 2014, was driving through an unincorporated all around the country. It is a rising issue amongst people Security, unemployment insurance, disability benefits, or area of St. Louis County, Missouri, when a police officer who cannot afford to pay court fees and, or fines,” said veterans’ benefits – income that is legally protected from pulled her over for having expired license plates. Attorney Dameka L. Davis of the Davis Legal Center in outstanding debt judgments,” the report’s authors wrote.
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Baton Rouge Community Honors Sadie Roberts-Joseph
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Bobcat Re cove Nationalist AfteRally r Being Hi Case Riot Charge Police Car Sentencing
Mexico Uncovers Massive Migrant Smuggling Ring Using Trucks
If You’re Poor in America,
Debtor’s Prison is Real The people who are jailed or threatened with jail often are the most vulnerable Americans living paycheck to paycheck, one emergency away from financial catastrophe, according to a 2018 report from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Suspension Lifted on Boxer Who Planted Kiss on Reporter