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December 6. 2006
Probe o f Shooting Policies Sought
Sharpton cites nationwide
sense of police recklessness
, APi - The Rev. Al Sharpton
called for a congressional probe of
police shooting policies as he joined
activists Sunday outside the At­
lanta. ( ia. honteol an elderly woman
killed by narcotics police officers
who burst into her home unan­
nounced.
The New York civil rights leader
said the death of Kathryn Johnston
along w ith the death o f 23-year-
old groom-to-be Sean Bell, who was
shot by police on his wedding day
outside a New York City strip club
— is an example of "a new sense of
police recklessness" sweeping the
country.
False
Arrest
Nets $2
Million
Sharpton called for the incoming
Congress to address the issue.
" There seems to be a new spirit
in law enforcement that they can
become the judge, jury and execu­
tioner of the law on the scene,"
Sharpton said.
"Police apprehend suspects;
they don’t kill them." Sharpton said.
"This cannot be tolerated in a civi­
lized society."
Johnston
described as 92 by
her family but 88 by the medical
examiner lived in fearinthecrime-
ridden Vine City neighborhood of
northwest Atlanta.
On the night of Nov. 2 1. a group
ing an informant bought drugs at
the house.
Johnston opened fire with a pis­
tol, wounding three officers before
she was shot to death.
The informant later denied buy­
ing drugs at Johnston's home and
said police told him to lie about the
incident. Police C hief Richard
Pennington said. Pennington said
the informant is in protective cus­
tody and is a key part of the FBI-led
investigation into the shootout.
In the New York case. Bell and his
friends were leaving his bachelor
party on Nov. 25 when a group of
undercover police fired 50 shots at
their car. Police have said that Bell's
Rev. Al Sharpton
vehicle hit one officer and an un­
of plainclothes officers burst in, marked police car, and that officers
searching for drugs. They had ob­ apparently thought a companions
tained a "no-knock" warrant, say­ of Bell's was about to get a gun.
(AP) -The federal government has a bag of detonators in Madrid that was
agreed to pay a Portland lawyer $2 mistakenly matched to him after the
million to settle part of a lawsuit he filed March 1 1 ,2004, train bombings that
afterthe FBI misidentified a fingerprint killed 191 people and wounded more
and wrongly arrested him in the 2004 than 1,500.
Madrid terrorist bombings.
Mayfield was jailed on a material
"The pain and torture and humilia­ witness warrant but was released after
tion that this (case) has caused my the FBI acknowledged the fingerprint
family is hard to put into words." Bran­ was not his.
don Mayfield said afterthe settlement
Mayfield, who was detained fortwo
was announced last week.
w eeks, and his wife, Mona, maintained
Mayfield was arrested in May 2004 that he was arrested because of his
on the basis of a fingerprint found on Muslim faith.
Brandon Mayfield
A cell at the state prison in
Warren, Maine. (AP photo)
U.S. Jails Millions
Millions more on
probation, parole
, AP) — A record seven million
people — or one in every 32
American adults — were behind
bars, on probation or on parole
by the end of last year, according
to the Justice Department. O f
those, 2.2 million were in prison
orjail, an increase of 2.7 percent
over the previous year.
M en still far o u tn u m b e r
women in prisons and jails, but
the female population is growing
faster. Over the past year, the
female population in state or fed­
eral prison increased 2.6 percent
while the number of male inmates
rose 1.9 percent. By year's end, 7
percent o f all inm ates were
women. The gender figures do
not include inmates in local jails.
"Today's figures fail to cap­
Dear Deanna!
unleash unlimited
I've been in relationships during
the holiday season for the past 6
years. Every year, w hatever man
I've dated, lie's dumped me right
at Christm as. Il has alw ays been
someone different and I c a n 't fig­
ure out what I've done wrong. I
love the holidays andenjoy deco­
rating, buying gifts and going all
out for the celebration. A fter the
fact, each o f them says it isn 't me.
but they prefer not to spend much
money during the holiday. How
do I avoid being dum ped this
year? —Holiday Blues: C harles­
ton. S.C.
Ask Deanna'.
Real People,
Real Advice
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ture incarceration's impact on the
thousands of children left behind
by m others in prison," Marc
Mauer, the executive director of
the Sentencing Project, a Wash­
ington-based group supporting
criminal justice reform, said in a
statement. "Misguided policies
that create hai . her sentences for
nonviolent drug offenses are dis­
proportionately responsible for
the increasing rates of women in
prisons and jails."
From 1995 to 2003, inmates in
federal prison for drug offenses
have accounted for 49 percent of
total prison population growth.
Racial disparities among pris­
oners persist. In the 25-29 age
group, 8.1 percent of black men
are incarcerated, compared with
2.6 percent of Hispanic men and
1.1 percent of white men. And the
numbers are si mi lar for female mi­
norities.
know I'm there. How do I regain
control of my relationship? —Fed
Up Boyfriend; O n-line Reader
Dear Fed Up:
The solution is getting your girl­
friend to stay home. Encourage
her to spend quality time with
you by offering new reasons to
stay home. You can buy her fa­
vorite movies, cater a nice dinner
and hire a housekeeper. Since her
friends w o n 't interrupt w hile
sh e 's at the house, take this time
to let her know you miss her and
share your concerns about her
activities. Ignore her friends,
avoid negativity and focus on
your relationship as you head in
a positive direction.
Dear Deanna!
My girlfriend has been volunteer­
ing to baby sit. run errands and
An advice
really help me out. I started getting
column
suspicious when she began stay­
known fur
reality based
ing later when my husband came
subjects!
home. I didn't give it much thought
until she washed his laundry. I hit
the roof when she bought him some
Dear Holiday Blues:
Jesus is the reason for the C hrist­ cologne. I kicked her out and gave
mas holiday and perhaps you my husband a few choice words.
should rem em ber that. It appears He accused me of overreacting. I
the men you’ve dated may be decided to put my foot down and
offended because you place so end this mess before it started. Am
much em phasis on the com m er­ I wrong? -M ona; Portland. Ore.
cial aspect o f the holiday. With Dear Mona:
your next relationship, have dia­ You acted properly before your
logue with your mate and find out girlfriend decided to help herself
his feelings on Christm as, his to your husband. He is innocent
approach to faith and how he but like most men, he enjoyed the
celebrates. You can plan to cel­ attention and d id n 't realize he
ebrate together and this should was being set up. You need to
prevent you from waking up alone give the cologne back to her and
on Christm as Day.
let her know that you no longer
Dear Deanna!
I gave my girlfriend an ultimatum
to choose her girlfriends or me.
I'm patient but enough is enough.
I’ve been sitting home with our
kids on the w eekends while she
hangs out. Her cell phone always
interrupts our quality time. We
c a n 't go to a restaurant without
her pals showing up. Movies are
out of the question because they
get invitedalso. H erfriends w on't
come to the house because they
need her services. If you choose
to rem ain friends, issue new
boundaries that d o n 't include
your husband. In the meanwhile,
continue to run your household,
regulate your marriage and keep
it moving.
Ask Deanna is written by Deanna
M. Write Ask Deanna! Email:
askdeannal @yahoo, com or 264
S. LaCienega Blvd. Suite 1283
Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Website:
niviv. askdeanna. com
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