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I NATIONAL BRIEFS^/ Ministers asked tp endorse reopening of Williams case ATLANTA - A lawyer for the only man convicted in a string of slay ings of young blacks that terrorized Atlanta two decades ago asked black ministers last Thursday to support a call to reopen the case. Lynn Whatley, attorney for Wayne B. Williams, asked the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta to endorse a petition to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard asking for a new investigation into the murders of 29 young blacks between 1979 and 1981. Whatley also asked the ministers' group, which represents about 100 churches in the Atlanta area, to convene a town meeting for a discussion of unresolved issues in the slayings and the way they were investigated and prosecuted. Williams was convicted in 1982 of two counts of murder and is serv ing a life sentence at a state prison in Valdosta,- ' Two days after the trial, authorities closed the books on 21 other mur ders of young blacks, many of them children, blaming Williams for those deaths. A 24th case was closed and blamed on Williams several months later. L.A. officer shoots homeless woman - "f" LOS ANGELES - Questions are being raised in the shooting death of Margaret Mitchell. The 54-year-old homeless and mentally ill woman was shot to death by bicycle policeman Edward Larrigan, 27. Larrigan, a five year veteran said he felt his life was threatened when the 5-foot-1 woman thrust a screwdriver at him. ' , He jumped to avoid her. fell to one knee and fired one shot into her chest, police said. She died at a nearby hospital. ? The FBI. the Police Commission and the LAPD are separately investi gating the incident which has taken on racial overtones. Mrs. Mitchell was black: Larrigan is Hispanic. Her son, Richard Mitchell has said that his mother was a college-edu cated former bank employee whose mental health began deteriorating over the past few years. She heard voices, her son said, but refused help. Lenny Kravitz collapses at NJ show HOLMDEL, N.J. - Lenny Kravitz collapsed from heat exhaustion during a weekend concert, a spokesman for the arena said today. Kravitz, wearing bell bottoms and a long sleeve coat, played for 40 min utes Sunday night, then walked off and collapsed backstage, said Jim Steen, director of marketing for the PNC Bank Arts Center. His band played for another 15 minutes without him before the show was stopped. Kravitz was treated by the house doctor and left on his own, Steen said. Kravitz, who has been touring with the Black Crowes and Everlast, was the final act in the first concert held at the arts center this season. - The Associated Press Spike Lee: Heston comment was joke NEW YORK - Spike Lee says he was joking when he suggested Charl ton Heston should be shot. The director was quoted in last Saturday's New York Post as telling reporters at the Cannes Film Festival that the National Rifle Association should be disbanded and, of Heston, "Shopt him with a .44 Bulldog." "I intended it as ironic, as a joke to show how violence begets more vio lence," Lee said last week. "I told everyone there it was a joke. I said I did not want to read in the papers. I 'Shoot Charlton Heston.'" He said his remarks were in response to a ques- I tion about whether Hollywood was to blame for the I recent rash of school shootings.. . v A Lee said he had no reason to apologize. Heston, the NRA president, had earlier said the remarks amused him. "He gave me a big laugh," Heston said last Thursday on the Los Angeles talk radio station KABC-AM. "The statement is a foolish one and it's 1m not worth arguing about. If he wants to come and take tyshot at me, go let him try it." utticer accused ol beating Louima pleads guilty NEW YORK - The police officer accused of brutally assaulting Abner Louima. a Haitian immigrant, in the bathroom of Brooklyn, New York's 70th precinct station in August 1997 pleaded guilty on May 25 to six charges of civil rights violations. Justin A. Volpe, 27, could face life in prison and a fine of up to $1.5 mil lion when sentenced in federaPcourt at a later date. The officer admitted to the court that he shoved a stick into Louima's rectum, causing severe internal injuries, and then thrust it into his face and threatened to kill him if he reported the attack. He did not apologize to Louima. His lawyer called the guilty plea a "sufficient apology." Volpe s guilty plea cut his trial short in its fourth week, but the trial of three other police officers and a sergeant will continue to proceed. The charges against the four include covering up the attack and participating in the beating of Louima. - Katherine Stapp for IPSIGIN See Iricfl on A9 Greensboro ministers talk prison reform By DAMON FORD The chronicle GREENSBORO - Greens boro ministers are fighting to reform the state's criminal justice system and, more specifically, push for the release of blacks they claim are serving harsher sentences for crimes than others. The Pulpit Forum, a group of mostly African American clergy from around Greensboro, spon sored the Jubilee 2000 Confer ence last Saturday. The day-long conference focused on issues facing North .-Carolina's justice system and addressed a number of others, including the growth of the prison industry in North Caroli na and around the nation, and ways of creating resources to bet ter acclimate prisoners to society after being released. ' In conjunction with the host of speakers and workshops, par ticipants were also able to submit names of loved ones they felt were being railroaded by the sys tem and were serving extreme sentences. "Why can't we drive out the spirit of imprisonment that is possessing our children," said the Rev. Jerry Taylor during a rivet ing sermon in the morning ses sion. "We're going to have to pray up a storm around here ... (and) the prison doors are going to swing open." .< Pulpit Forum leaders hope blacks who are serving harsh sen tences will be freed like Greens boro's *Kwame Cannon when these doors are opened. They say inequities in the judicial system have black men serving longer terms than whites even though the offenders committed the same crimes. "Everybody ought to do the same time," said the Rev. Mazie Ferguson. Cannon was given two life sentences for six charges of bur glary in 1986. On March 16, the 30-year-old was released after thousands of people, ranging from blue collar workers to state officials, wrote letters to the governor and par- . ticipated in marches aimed at drawing attention to Cannon's plight. Photo by Damon Ford Kwame Cannon ww on* of mvbtoJ speakers during a conference on prison iwfomi and equity in setOonchig Satur day. Cannon, 30, eras given fwo fife mifciKW for six charges of buglary in the 80s. Hunt finally pardoned Can non, and on March 31 he walked out of Asheboro Correctional Facility a free man. Cannon, who spoke during the conference, thanked the peo ple who worked to gain his free dom. "For me it's been beautiful," he said. Though the transition to getting used to the new world around him is difficult, he said, his most difficult task lies within himself; to stay grounded. He also spoke about the dreams of those incarcerated. "A lot of people hope for dif ferent things.... The inmate hopes for the little things - that he can talk to his family without being guarded, that he can choose his own clothes," Cannon said. He also pleaded to those in the audience to continue to fight the imbalance in the judicial sys tem that has black men serving longer sentences for crimes. "If you don't choose to use these rights, you are, in fact, con doning what is going on/' he said. N.C. Sen. William Martin said that since the first hurdle has been crossed with Cannon's release, people all around the state must continue to push for ward with the efioft to get others freed. ' One of the methods he men tioned in getting this done was the use of law students from uni versities across the state to exam ine cases and present arguments for releasing th. se who have been levied harsh sentences or others who shouldn't even be behind bars. Martin has talked with Gov. Hunt about the program and sev eral others, but Martin adds that everyone one must work together. "1 think there is hope," he . said. "It's going to be important we pull together our best resources." Pulpit Forum members also said they would like to see gov ernment-sponsored programs set up'to help prisoners make the transitioh back ihto society. While the work is still being done to get government officials to move on legislation, Ferguson believes churches can begin doing something by opening their doors and not judging former prisoners for their past deeds. "When a guy finishes his time he shouldn't be stigmatized," she said. "He should be helped to get a decent house, a job...." But she believes most of this help should begin before they get out. "We must visit the prisoners," Ferguson said. "It means more than carrying a Bible and hymn book over there and beating it over their heads." Instead, she says, church members should establish lasting friendships with the prisoners so that once their time is up they have someone to look to for help and guidance. That same care and concern have made Cannon's transition, though hard, a lot easier com pared to others who come back into mainstream society, Fergu son said. "What is being done for Kwame I want to see done for everyone coming out of prison," she said. INDEX OPINION A6 SPORTS B1 RELIGION B6 CLASSIFIEDS BP HEALTH C2 ENTER. CS CALENDAR C7 This Week In Black History... June S, 1946 - In Morgan v. Commonwealth of Vir ginia, the U.8. Supreme Court bar* segregation in interstate bus travel. June 8,1988 - Legendary Negro League pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige (lies. The first African American to pitch in the American League, Paige is heralded as one of the greatest black baseball players. s jhe Bird IsTheW^rd. ^ ' . , 99* Chicken Sandwich ? Right now, the juicy, one-of-a-kind Chicken Sandwich from Burger King? is just 99c. But this price is for a limited time only. So don't just walk to Burger King?. Fly. (Price & participation may vary.) ? . ' ' c , bSSR mmg , .. . ... ? i ? - _ ? . . ? - ? ? - ? - . It just tastes better." * *
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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