Briefly
• JURY SAYS “DRIVING WHILE
BLACK” IS NO EXCUSE, EVEN FOR A
JUDGE
• THE DEVIL, YOU SAY
JURY SAYS “DRIVING WHILE BLACK”
IS NO EXCUSE,
EVEN FOR A
JUDGE
A federal jury decided that the
LAPD did the right thing when they rousted three Black motorists in Venice,
including a judge visiting from
Virginia.
On Aug. 26, the jury
dismissed the civil suit which said the LAPD was guilty of racial profiling,
applied excessive force and conducted an illegal
search.
Judge Alotha Willis, her
husband and a Carson assistant school principal were pulled over on Pacific
Avenue on July 3, 1999. Each of them was ordered at gunpoint to get out of the
car and lie face down on the asphalt, where the officers handcuffed
them.
Venice lawyer Stephen Yagman, who
represented the trio, said they were stopped solely because they were Black.
During the trial, Yagman, who has been
a thorn in the side of the LAPD, called former police chiefs Daryl Gates,
Bernard Parks, and 12 current and past police commissioners to the
stand.
LAPD Sgt. Tom Burris, who was a
defendant, was quoted in the L.A. Times as saying, “It was no fun sitting
in court and hearing someone call you a bunch of Nazi storm
troopers.”
***********
THE
DEVIL, YOU SAY
In spite of the
Constitution right to freedom of worship, Kentucky prison officials have banned
Satanic religious services at Green River, a medium-security
prison.
“We honestly didn't know
it was on the religious calendar,” said one prison spokesperson. However,
the warden, Patti Webb, admitted authorizing the services.
The prison officials revoked
permission after the Lexington Herald-Leader printed a story about
it.
The hell with that in Texas where
the practice is not allowed: "We've looked at the satanic bible and are
convinced that what it advocates would put our prisons at risk, safety-wise,"
said Donald Kaspar, chaplain for the Texas system. "One of their tenets is
revenge -- if somebody hurts you, hurt them back."
Meanwhile, back in Kentucky, Wicca and
other religious services continue to be allowed.
Posted: Sun - September 1, 2002 at 07:00 PM