Underground Journal of Initiation

200 Citizens march down the streets of Augusta, GA after an assault on Augusta Policemen ends in the assailant's death. Did you say that people in Augusta, Ga are protesting because a criminal died? Pumping fists and chanting "no justice, no peace," about 200 people marched through Cherry Tree Crossing housing development Monday in a demonstration against police brutality, led by shotgun-toting members of the New Black Panthers Party's Augusta chapter. Check this out...a young man with a known criminal history is cornered by the Augusta police. He points his SUV at the officer and rams the police vehicle. Officers fire into the vehicle and subdue the perpetrator. Why would you take to the streets to protest the death of a man who attempts to kill a peace officer who is performing his duty? There is and never will be honor given to those who engage in criminal behavior in America. Are you out of your mind?

This is an excerpt from a post at Captain's Quarters : Yesterday, Justice and Mrs. Clarence Thomas presented us with signed copies of his new memoir, My Grandfather's Son . I looked forward to reading it, and took the opportunity to read the book in its entirety today on two flights and a weather-delayed layover in Charlotte. Thanks to bad weather on the last leg of my flight, the turbulence of the flight hit just as I began reading about the turbulence of Clarence Thomas' confirmation to the Supreme Court. The book provides a fascinating and at times touching portrait of a man who had to fight against anger most of his life, and most of that within himself. He talks frequently about having to have his anger on a leash that occasionally slipped. His drinking found its source in his anger and insecurities, the frustration of segregation and racial hatred and the effect it had on his family, and anger at the man who raised him as his son. T...

Denied a restraining order by Clayton County Judge Richard Brown on May 30, 2007, Ani H. Rose was murdered in her home yesterday by Demetrio Patricio Rose, her husband. *Update(9/18)* Demetrio Patricio Rose is currently held in the Clayton County Jail on Charges of Murder without bond . AJC: Clayton man stabbed wife to death, police say AP: Clayton County man accused of stabbing estranged wife to death Related blog: Daniel Silliman gives a moving account of the events that led to Mrs. Rose's death. *and yes, I reported this story a whole day before the mighty AP did!*

Wendy Koch of USA Today details the growing political movement around the criminalization of playing doctor by our young people.

The trying of teenagers as adults was born out a surge in youth crime in the 1990s and the promotion of the 'superpredator theory' by overzealous politicians and media hypesters. Once again it would seem that we have gotten it wrong in our haste to curb crime amongst our young people. A report just released by the Campaign for Youth Justice , a nonprofit group advocating system reform, supports a long held suspicion of mine. We are incarcerating more non-violent offenders than violent offenders and we are doing it at an alarming rate! And wouldn't you know it.. .the 'superpredator' theory , upon which these laws rested, has been since discredited. Even the author of the theory DiIulio has distanced himself from the errant theory and is now saying, he favors a "small government" approach with church intervention. It high time we scrap the trying of our young ones in the adult Justice System all together. To donate to the Campaign for Youth Justice, click ...

Read the actual indictment : One count of sponsoring a dog in an animal fighting venture and conspiracy to transport the animal. Updates: (7/18): Falcons issue statement concerning the Vick indictment (7/19): AJC: The NFL to let Vick play Meet the Judge who will preside at Michael Vick's trial Meet the Federal Prosecutor (7/20): Meet Vick's Defense attorney, Lawrence H. Woodward Jr. (7/24): Vick ordered by NFL to not attend Falcons Training camp Arthur Blank, Rich Mckay and Bobby Petrino hold press conference about the Michael Vick Federal investigation; to have a 'wait and see' attitude about his future with the Falcons. (7/25): Michael Vick arraigned in Richmond, VA federal courthouse. Bail was given and charges were read and acknowledged by the defendents. Trial date is November 26, 2007. Vick hires Attorney Billy Martin (7/30): Tony Taylor , 34, pleads guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges. He will be sentenced Dec. 14. Vick speaks out on Atlanta rad...

Listen to George Cook's interview of Alan Bean of the Friends of Justice and their discussion of the circumstances surrounding the prosecution the teenagers aka the Jena Six: link

ATLANTA - District Attorney David McDade has handed out some 35 copies of a video of teenagers having sex at a party. McDade says Georgia's open-records law leaves him no choice but to release the footage because it was evidence in one of the state's most turbulent cases — that of Genarlow Wilson, a young man serving 10 years in prison for having oral sex with a girl when they were teenagers. McDade's actions have opened him up to accusations that he is vindictively misusing his authority to keep Wilson behind bars — and worse, distributing child pornography. "This has been a ferocious, vindictive prosecution of Genarlow Wilson," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat. "What is going on is a vendetta." link Helpful links: Douglasville Judge denies Genarlow Wilson Bail Genarlow Wilson Rejects 'deal' Georgia's Supreme Court to hear Genarlow Wilson's case DA: Offer to Genarlow Wilson; Get out of jail after 5 years Genarlow Wilson ...

ATLANTA (AP) - Genarlow Wilson will get a hearing before Georgia's top court earlier than expected. The state Supreme Court today said they would hear a pair of appeals from Wilson, who's serving a 10-year prison sentence for having oral sex with a fellow teenager, next week. The court reversed its earlier decision not to expedite the case. The justices had initially been scheduled to hear Wilson's appeal in October. The court gave no reason for the decision to move the case ahead on the docket. link

James Taranto debunks Ellen Goodman's claim of immunity from being a white supremacist due to her presumed moral superiority with respect to the achievements of Clarence Thomas and other progressive non-whites in his opinion article on the Wall Street Journal's editorial page: Let's focus on one of Goodman's tropes: "We know Thomas as a man who benefited from the affirmative action he scorns." Goodman implies, and others among his critics have stated directly, that because Thomas (purportedly) "benefited from affirmative action"--that is, from racial discrimination in favor of blacks--he is morally obliged to favor such discrimination, and to hold it constitutional. Ellen Goodman is a person of pallor, and her bio tells us that she finished college in 1963, the year before the Civil Rights Act became law. Thus she is old enough (sorry, Ellen) to have benefited from discrimination because she is white. Would anyone suggest that therefore she is morall...

related links: University of Louisiana students react to treatment of young boys after fight Non-white teenager convicted of aggravated second-degree battery by all-white jury District Attorney's Justice: "ending their lives with a stroke of the pen..." All-white jury selected in first Jena Six trial Charges reduced for one of Jena Six 'Jena Six' trial continued to next month

As the trial of a black student accused of beating his white classmate is underway, University students expressed contempt for the circumstances surrounding the racially-charged events. Mychal Bell is the first of six black students from Jena High School to go on trial for allegedly beating a white classmate after a semester of racial tensions stirred violence within the small community. Link Helpful link: Petition to have the Department of Justice investigate the Jena Six Case

JENA -- After deliberating for less than three hours Thursday, an all-white jury of six returned with a unanimous guilty verdict on the highest possible charges for the first member of the "Jena Six" to face trial. Mychal Bell, 17, could be as old as 40 when released from jail if given the maximum sentence for aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit that crime -- more than 22 years. He was 16 when the incident took place. read the whole story... helpful links: Non-white teen guilty in La. high school beating of white Teenager says he never saw who attacked him

B.J. Bernstein said Genarlow Wilson won't accept the deal offered by Douglas County District Attorney David McDade because it would require him to plead guilty to a felony with a 15-year sentence and serve five years in prison. The Douglas County man imprisoned for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17, has turned down a plea deal a prosecutor offered in writing this week, his attorney said Friday. Bernstein pointed out that a Monroe County judge granted her appeal this month, changed Wilson's conviction to a misdemeanor and ordered him freed from prison. Attorney General Thurbert Baker, however, is appealing that judge's ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court. Bernstein is also concerned that Wilson would be forced to register as a sex offender under the deal, despite McDade's contention that he could plead to an offense that does not normally require registration. Bernstein said she spoke to Wilson about McDade's offer during a meeting with him Thurs...

Genarlow Wilson, the Douglas County man imprisoned for receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl when he was 17, would be able to get out of prison sooner and avoid having to register as a sex offender under a plea deal a prosecutor offered his attorney this week. Douglas County District Attorney David McDade spelled out the deal in a letter he sent Monday to one of Wilson's attorneys, Rodney Zell. In the letter, McDade offers to let Wilson plead to a felony "that reflects his criminal actions with the victim in this case." McDade, however, does not identify possible charges. But he says Wilson could plead guilty to an offense that does not require sex offender registration, which has been one of the main sticking points in the case. Wilson's attorneys have said he fears being on the registry would hurt his chances of getting into college and starting a career. McDade also offers to let Wilson serve only five years of a 15-year sentence, with credit for time served. ...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected integration plans in two major public school districts but left the door open for the limited use of race to achieve diversity in schools. The decision in cases affecting how students are assigned to schools in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle could imperil similar plans in hundreds of districts nationwide, and it further restricted how public school systems may attain racial diversity. The court split, 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts announcing the court's judgment. The court's four liberal justices dissented. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," Roberts said. the whole story... Helpful link: Seattle parent 'vindicated' by Supreme Court school ruling

In September 2006, a group of African American high school students in Jena, Louisiana, asked the school for permission to sit beneath a "whites only" shade tree. There was an unwritten rule that blacks couldn't sit beneath the tree. The school said they didn't care where students sat. The next day, students arrived at school to see three nooses (in school colors) hanging from the tree. The boys who hung the nooses were suspended from school for a few days. The school administration chalked it up as a harmless prank, but Jena's black population didn't take it so lightly. Fights and unrest started breaking out at school. The District Attorney, Reed Walters, was called in to directly address black students at the school and told them all he could "end their life with a stroke of the pen." Black students were assaulted at white parties. A white man drew a loaded rifle on three black teens at a local convenience store. (They wrestled it from him and ran ...

A Douglas County judge ruled Wednesday Genarlow Wilson is not eligible for bond in his child molestation case, a development that could keep Wilson behind bars for at least several more months pending an appeal. Superior Court Judge David Emerson issued an order canceling a July 5 bond hearing for Wilson. He cited a state law that prohibits appeal bonds for people convicted of Wilson's crime -- aggravated child molestation -- and who have been sentenced to five years or more in prison. Wilson is now serving a 10-year prison sentence. "As the court has no authority to grant an appeal bond in this case, there is no need for an evidentiary hearing on the defendant's eligibility for a bond," Emerson wrote in his three-page order. "The motion for bond is dismissed. The hearing scheduled for July 5, 2007, is therefore cancelled." However, McDade has previously argued Wilson is not eligible for bond since his crime is one of Georgia's so-called seven deadly sin...

JENA -- An all-white jury of five women, one man and a female alternate was selected today in the trial of Mychal Bell, one of six black Jena High School students charged in a Dec. 4 fight at the school that, according to court records, left the white victim unconscious and in a hospital emergency room. The case has drawn attention worldwide following accusations of racism and unequal treatment in the handling and prosecution of the boys. Before Monday, when Bell's charges were reduced, all of the boys had been charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the same. If convicted on those charges, the boys could face as many as 100 years in prison. read the complete story... ht: elle, phd.

Genarlow Wilson, a 21-year-old man from Georgia, still sits in jail today despite the fact that earlier this month a judge declared his 10-year felony sentence a "grave miscarriage of justice" and ordered him freed. Wilson has already served two years of his sentence for receiving consensual oral sex from a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. Related Stories A bond hearing is set for July 5, but Wilson's attorney B.J. Bernstein argues on a Web site she set up for Wilson that the hearing would be unnecessary if Douglas County District Attorney David McCade would agree to set bail. Bernstein argues there is no reason why Wilson can not be freed while Georgia Attorney General Thurbet Baker appeals the decision. The Price for Freedom? $1 Million On Monday New York City investment manager Whitney Tilson announced that he and 10 other business managers would immediately wire a $1 million cash bond for Wilson's release. the story continues... Read Genarlow Wilson petition to th...