murder

Jun 27 2011

The two-night conversation airs this Thursday and Friday

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Tavis Smiley sits down with four wrongfully-convicted men who, despite their innocence, spent more than a combined 50 years in prison. The conversation airs nationwide on the award-winning PBS program Tavis Smiley this Thursday and Friday.

Recorded during Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s 40th anniversary conference, Smiley is also joined by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.

Jun 17 2011

Stacey Marie Barker

LANCASTER, Calif.—A Quartz Hill woman was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison for the March 2009 death of her 18-month-old daughter, whom she initially claimed was taken from her in a violent kidnapping.

Superior Court Judge Hayden Zacky imposed the term on Stacey Marie Barker, 26, who was convicted May 24 of first-degree murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse for the March 18, 2009, slaying of her daughter, Emma.

Jun 15 2011

Jabaar Vincent Thomas charged with murder

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A second defendant was charged today with murder in the May 8 killing of an MTV music coordinator in the Mid-Wilshire area, along with the slaying of another man about a week earlier.

Jabaar Vincent Thomas, 26, pleaded not guilty during an appearance before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Upinder S. Kalra, who ordered Thomas and co-defendant Destiny Young, 30, to remain jailed without bail.

They are charged with the slaying of Gabriel Aron Ben-Meir, along with the April 30 killing of a 35-year-old man in the Pico-Union area.

May 25 2011

City Council approves $50,000 reward

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles City Council today approved a $50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the murder of nightclub owner Alonzo "Dicky'' Ester in front of his Baldwin Hills home.

Ester, 67, was fatally shot May 13 in his white Rolls-Royce Phantom as he arrived home in the 4300 block of Hillcrest Drive about 2:30 a.m. that Friday.

Initial reports suggested the gunman may have fled in a silver-colored BMW.

May 25 2011

25-year-to-life prison term

LANCASTER, Calif.—A Quartz Hill woman convicted of murder and other charges in the death of her 18-month-old daughter, whom she initially claimed was taken from her in a violent kidnapping, is facing a 25-year-to-life prison term.

Stacey Marie Barker, now 26, is set to be sentenced June 17 by Superior Court Judge Hayden Zacky for the March 18, 2009, slaying of her daughter, Emma.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.