September 21, 2016
Page 3
INSIDE
The
Week in Review
This page
Sponsored by:
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L OCAL N EWS
Family Attacked
pages 6-7
O PINION
Toxic substance
used in bias crime
M ETRO
c ervaNte P oPe
t he P ortlaNd o bserver
The victims of an ugly attack
being investigated as a bias crime
are drawing support from mem-
bers of the bicycling community.
BikePortland columnist Taz
Loomans has organized A“Cy-
cling Against Hate” rally for
Sunday at 2 p.m. at the site of the
incident to show solidarity and
“extend our love to those who
were targeted.”
Police said three African Amer-
ican males, ages 12, 11 and 7, and
two adult family members were
attacked with a toxic substance by
a cyclist on the evening of Sept.
by
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13 near Northeast Killingsworth
and Ninth Avenue.
Foia Frazier, 32 and Patricia
Garner, 62, the respective moth-
er and grandmother of the boys,
said the family was getting inside
their vehicle outside of their home
when a male cyclist southbound
on Ninth Avenue double-backed
around and sprayed them with
what was originally thought to be
pepper spray, but turned out to be
a bear repellent. The suspect was
said to have yelled racial slurs at
the family before riding away.
Police and paramedics respond-
ed to the scene. One of the boys
required further treatment and was
transported to the hospital, ac-
cording to a family representative.
“In fact, it was so severe that
when he got to the emergency
room the medical professionals
were choking from the fumes em-
anating from his body. He eventu-
ally needed to be sedated,” Laurel
Carrasco told the Oregonian.
The assailant was described as
white or Hispanic in his 20s, 5
foot 9 inches in height and around
160 pounds, riding a road bike,
and wearing black spandex-styled
bicycle clothing with a black and
grey helmet.
The family also reported he had
a white box attached to the back
of his bicycle that was later found
near the scene, but police say that
there was nothing inside that could
help identify the suspect.
Due to the nature of the crime,
the Police Bureau’s Bias Crimes
division is handling the investi-
gation. Anyone with information
on the suspect or the incident is
encouraged to contact Detective
Jeff Sharp at 503-823-9773 or jeff.
sharp@portlandoregon.gov.
Confronting Death Row
Exoneree and former prison official speak out
Arts &
pages
8-12
ENTERTAINMENT
C LASSIFIEDS
C ALENDAR
page 15
F OOD
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Two men who’ve experienced
the devastating impact of the
death penalty will be sharing their
stories in Portland next week at a
public event sponsored by the Or-
egon Justice Resource Center and
the Ending the New Jim Crow So-
cial Justice Action Group of First
Unitarian Church of Portland.
Anthony Graves spent nearly
two decades on death row in Tex-
as for a crime he did not commit
while Frank Thompson oversaw
the last two state executions to
take place in Oregon. They will
speak Thursday, Sept. 29 at First
Unitarian Church and explain why
they believe the death penalty
should have no place in Oregon’s
justice system.
Graves was wrongly convicted
of the murders of six members of
a family due to a false accusation
by another defendant in the case
and the deliberate concealment of
mitigating evidence by the prose-
cutor. Throughout his many years
on the row, he fought for his life,
eventually proving his innocence
with the help of attorneys and vol-
unteers who pieced together the
evidence needed to free him. Now
he speaks out for criminal justice
reform and an end to the death
penalty.
Anthony Graves
Frank Thompson
Thompson is the retired super-
intendent of Oregon State Peniten-
tiary. He oversaw the only execu-
tions that have taken place in the
state since the 1960s. In 1996 and
1997, he was responsible for plan-
ning, organizing, and leading the
executions by lethal injection of
two men. The experience changed
his mind about the death penalty
and today he is a prominent voice
in Oregon and elsewhere against
capital punishment.
“We’re delighted to be able to
bring together two such powerful
voices on the death penalty as An-
thony Graves and Frank Thomp-
son,” said Bobbin Singh, exec-
utive director of Oregon Justice
Resource Center. “Their authority
to speak about why capital punish-
ment is a failed policy is unques-
tionable. They know all too well
that it risks killing innocent people
and it places an intolerable burden
on the prison staff who must carry
out executions.”
Tickets for “Death Row from
Both Sides” are on sale online at
eventbrite.com.