The Greene County Democrat

Category: Newswire

  • 325 people died in custody of Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) in 2023

    There have now been more than 1,000 deaths in Alabama prisons since a 2019 DOJ investigation found Alabama’s prisons unconstitutional.

    By: Patrick Darrington, Alabama Political Reporter
    Published on February 2, 2024

    At least 325 individuals died while incarcerated in the Alabama Department of Corrections in 2023, marking the highest number of deaths recorded, according to data obtained by Alabama Appleseed.
    “In the weeks after we started tracking prison deaths starting January 1 of last year, we quickly realized we’d very likely see another record year of deaths, and we were correct,” Eddie Burkhalter, a researcher with Alabama Appleseed, said.
    According to a report by Burkhalter, since 2019, there have now been over 1,000 deaths in Alabama prisons following an investigation by the Department of Justice that found Alabama’s prisons unconstitutional. The DOJ also filed a lawsuit against Alabama in 2020 because of the alleged unconstitutionality of its prisons, and that case is set to begin in November 2024.
    The deaths of hundreds of individuals in ADOC facilities underscore a multitude of issues ranging from unchecked violence to the proliferation of drugs, both often a result of the correctional officers supposedly tasked with maintaining the peace.
    Multiple times, APR has reported instances of correctional officers being involved in assaults, getting caught possessing drugs, or former officers being sentenced for assaults.
    Another issue is the problem of overcrowding and lack of parole for older individuals or those who are in minimum custody, meaning they pose little threat to the public and work in communities in the free world.
    ADOC’s statistics often indicate that many individuals die from “natural” causes, which may be true for older individuals. This then raises the question of why many of them are not released.

    However, these statistics should also be viewed skeptically because ADOC has a history of misclassifying deaths to mask how many individuals died from violence, as Burkhalter also indicates.
    APR has heard from sources that both overcrowding and lack of parole increase the violence within the prisons. The lack of parole, in particular, enables individuals to adopt an attitude of believing they have nothing to lose, resulting in acts of violence because there is no longer a fear of consequence.
    “Until the Alabama Department of Corrections takes the steps necessary to rid our prisons of the drugs that drive the violence and death, and hold those who prey on the weaker inside our prisons accountable, we’ll continue to see records like this broken every year. State lawmakers and the public need to press ADOC to act so that we don’t continue to see more MaKayla Mounts, who at the age of 17 feel they must stand in front of a room full of strangers and speak about losing their father at such a young age.”
    In December, Mount was one of over a dozen individuals who spoke during a public hearing at a Joint Prison Oversight Committee Meeting. Mount detailed how her father, Christopher Mount, was strangled in prison and expressed what it was like to have to wait 10 years to see her dad.
    “You know, when you see your dad for the first time in 10 years and half of his face is gone because he was beaten, it does something to you,” Mount said. “… The [correctional officers] are corrupt, the prisons are corrupt. It’s in the name; it’s a correctional facility. It’s meant for correction. It’s not a death sentence; it’s not supposed to be a death sentence, and yet, it is. So many people are dying for no reason.”
    Despite Mount and other families begging for change, the violence has only escalated according to the final death total.
    Patrick Darrington is a reporter at the Alabama Political Reporter. You can reach him at pdarrington@alreporter.com.

  • Newswire: U. S. provides millions in aid for Angola but not so much for famine in Ethopia

    Doctor measures arm of child in Ethopia


    Feb. 5, 2024 (GIN) – Winding up his four nation tour of Africa, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced a super generous gift of close to a billion dollars for our new ally, Angola, to fund a solar energy project and upgrade a rail corridor.
     
    These major new U.S. investments were seen as sweeteners to help counter China’s influence on the continent.
     
    U.S.-Angola relations are at their strongest point in history said Blinken as he and Angolan foreign minister Tete Antonio posed for pictures before their country’s flags.
     
    New American investments include more than $900 million for solar energy projects and $250 million to upgrade a rail corridor that carries critical minerals, including cobalt and copper, from central Africa to Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito.
     
    The $900 million Sun Africa solar energy project will get financing from the U.S. Export Import Bank (EXIM) and was approved in October. With the money, Sun Africa is expected to construct two utility-scale solar photovoltaic parks that will provide more than 500 MW of renewable power.  
     
    U.S. funding will also cover $363 million financing of Acrow Bridge’s 186 prefabricated bridges. This promises to support critical infrastructure and thousands of Angolan and American jobs.
     
    EXIM declared the Sun Africa program its “Deal of the Year” for 2023.
     
    The transportation project is expected to further President Biden’s goal of diversifying American supply chains – in part to reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese control of the vital ingredients for a modern economy. It stretches from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Atlantic Ocean.
     
    Not long ago, Angola concluded a civil war in which as many as one million people died. During that war, the Soviet Union provided military training and equipment to the Marxist MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) which ousted the U.S. supported rebels  with help from the Soviets and Cuba.
     
    While Angola reaps monetary and other benefits, as many as 20.4 million people across Ethiopia require food support, according to the World Food Program. It is one of four countries in East Africa where Oxfam is responding to extreme hunger.
    According to the British Red Cross, soaring food prices, conflict and climate change are plunging parts of Africa into a severe and enduring food crisis, with millions of people in Africa facing extreme hunger.
    Nearly 400 people have died of starvation in Ethiopia’s Tigray and Amhara regions in recent months, according to the national ombudsman. It’s a rare admission of hunger-related deaths by a federal body – the government normally dismisses famine warnings as “politicking”.
     

  • Newswire : Dexter Scott King, champion of civil rights and son of MLK Jr., succumbs to prostate cancer at 62

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died at 62. The King Center, along with statements from the family, confirmed Dexter’s death on Monday, January 22, just one week after the nation observed his father’s holiday. King’s family said he died after a valiant battle against prostate cancer.
    Family members claimed that King, a tenacious civil rights activist in his own right, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his Malibu home while spending time with his loved ones. Leah Weber King, Dexter’s wife since 2013, shared the news through a statement from the King Center. “He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu,” she said. “He gave it everything and battled this terrible disease until the end. As with all the challenges in his life, he faced this hurdle with bravery and might.”
    Martin Luther King III, Dexter’s older brother, also expressed deep sorrow, urging everyone to keep the entire King family, especially Dexter’s wife, Leah Weber, in their thoughts and prayers.
    Reverend Al Sharpton, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, later shared his condolences. “I am heartbroken to hear that Dexter King left us this morning, but I was comforted by the knowledge that he is reunited with his parents and sister,” Sharpton stated.
    Dexter’s mother, Coretta Scott King, died in 2006, and his sister, Yolanda Denise King, died in 2007. Dexter, born on January 30, 1961, carried his father’s legacy forward. According to a King Center bio, he attended Morehouse College, majoring in business administration, and in 2005, he took on the roles of chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the King Center.
    Dexter’s vision for his father’s legacy was clear: to educate the public about and perpetuate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of nonviolence globally. Beyond his activism, Dexter made significant contributions to media and entertainment. He starred in and produced films, records, and television specials focused on the civil rights movement. His animated movie, “Our Friend Martin,” received an Emmy Award nomination, and he authored the intimate memoir “Growing Up King” in 2003.
    Recognized as one of Ebony magazine’s “100 Most Influential Black Americans,” Dexter Scott King worked along with his family to keep his parents’ legacy alive.
    “On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, we pause to mourn and to celebrate the life of Dexter King, who in his own way strived to exemplify the outstanding legacy of his father, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., a civil rights legend who worked under Dr. King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “We express our sympathy to the King family, and we rededicate the Black Press to keep Dr. King’s dream alive, not only for all Americans but for people throughout the world

  • Newswire: Poor People’s Campaign vows to ‘wake the sleeping giant’ of low-income voters

    By Brett Wilkens, Common Dreams


    The Poor People’s Campaign on Monday launched a 42-week nationwide mobilization of poor and low-income Americans to “wake the sleeping giant” of a voting bloc with the potential to determine the outcome of the 2024 elections. 
    “It is time for a resurrection and not an insurrection,” Poor People’s Campaign co-chair Rev. Dr. William Barber II said during a press conference in Washington, D.C. “We must engage poor and low-wealth people to change the political landscape.”
    “For far too long extremists have blamed poor people and low-wage people for their plight, while moderates too often have ignored poor people, appealing instead to the so-called middle class,” he continued. “Meanwhile, poor and low-income people have become nearly half of this country and we are here today to make one thing clear: Poor and low-wage brothers and sisters have the power to determine and decide the 2024 elections and elections beyond.”
    Poor People’s Campaign co-Chair Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis stressed that “economic justice and saving this democracy are deeply connected.”
    “In this rich nation that has the wherewithal to end poverty tomorrow where there’s the political will, we must not overlook the voices and votes of poor and low-income people,” she added. “We are mobilizing and organizing, registering and educating people for a movement that votes… for healthcare and debt cancellation. Votes for living wages and strong anti-poverty programs. Votes for fair taxes and demilitarization of our communities and our world. Votes for immigrant rights and more.”
    Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said at the press conference: “In 2024, the election is going to be about mobilization… Democrats have an enthusiasm gap today and the progressive alliance and Democrats have fissures within their constituencies that make getting out the vote even more important.”
    “The biggest bloc of potential voters by far is low-income, low-wage voters,” Lake noted. “Where the margin of victory is projected to be less than 3% in 2024, 30-45% of the voters are low-wage voters or low-income families… The turnout among low-wage voters and low-income voters today is… 20-22% below the average turnout. This is a huge bloc of voters, and it is a bloc of voters that votes 58-60%—at minimum—progressive, no matter how conservative the state.”
    “You’re talking about a huge number—a game-changing number—of voters,” she added. 
    The campaign’s main scheduled events are a Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Moral March to State House Assemblies on March 2 and a rally and march in Washington, D.C. on June 15.
    “I have been struggling to pay my bills since I’ve been working at 16 years old. I work full time, 64 hours a week, seven days a week,” said Beth Schafer of Raise Up for $15 during a video promoting the new campaign. “I am exhausted.”
    Crow Roberts, an organizer with the Indiana Poor People’s Campaign, said in the video that “our government finds it necessary to ban abortion to say that they are saving our children, but more children die as a result of poverty in this country.”
    Guadalupe de la Cruz of the Florida Poor People’s Campaign asserted that “we should not be cornered and forced to choose between one necessity or another.”
    Speaking at the press conference, Alabama activist Linda Burns said that “for three years I worked the assembly line at Amazon in Bessemer, Alabama. The work was grueling. We were expected to work like robots, moving like 1,000 pieces per hour.”
    “I got badly injured. My left arm,” she continued. “I had two surgeries. I had to get a third surgery, but I didn’t have no more insurance. Amazon, they cut my insurance off a year after. They let me go last October.”
    “Amazon let me go because I was helping organize the union,” said Burns. “We didn’t get the union in Alabama but I’m gonna do everything in my power to stand in solidarity. Organizing the union showed me just how many people were in the same situation I was. Not just in Alabama, but all over the world.”
    “Forty-seven percent of the voters are poor or low-wage. Getting that vote in is very important,” she added. “We cannot settle for less, we’ve got to stand up for our rights. We are forward together—not one step back.” 

  • Newswire : ‘Citizen Trump’: Appeals Court says No Immunity in Jan. 6 case

    By Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams

    A three-judge panel from the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday unanimously ruled against former U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of immunity in a criminal case stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss.
    “For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against this prosecution,” states the 57-page opinion.
    The panel included one judge appointed by former GOP President George H.W. Bush and two appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection this year. Trump is the Republican front-runner despite four ongoing criminal cases and arguments he is constitutionally disqualified from holding office again after engaging in insurrection on January 6, 2021.
    Welcoming the development, the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington declared: “Donald Trump is not above prosecution. The law and the Constitution apply to him just like they apply to every other American. This is a major victory for our democracy and the rule of law.”
    The ruling aligns with the panel’s skepticism during arguments last month. When one judge had challenged the limits of immunity by asking Trump’s attorney whether a president could “order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival,” the lawyer responded that “he would have to be and would speedily be impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution.”
    The panel’s decision comes after Judge Tayna Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia—who rejected Trump’s immunity claim in December—last week postponed his election interference trial, which had been scheduled for March. Trump is expected to appeal Tuesday’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, whose right-wing supermajority includes three justices he appointed.
    The mandate from the appellate court opinion denying Trump immunity “issues in six days on February 12,” noted Los Angeles Times senior legal affairs columnist Harry Litman. “That’s very quick and puts him in a box having to find a stay before then,” from the full D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court, or Chutkan can proceed with the trial.
    The high court in December rejected a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith—who is overseeing Trump’s two federal cases rather than the U.S. Justice Department because of the November election—that the justices skip over the appeals court to swiftly settle the immunity debate.

  • Newswire : Ahead of the 84th anniversary of the first-ever Social Security check, Rep. Sewell vows to protect and expand Social Security benefits

    Washington D.C. — Ahead of the 84th anniversary of the first-ever Social Security check, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) released the following statement vowing to protect and expand Social Security benefits for the over 153,000 beneficiaries in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. Rep. Sewell is an original cosponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act which would enhance benefits for the first time in more than 50 years.

    “Every American deserves to retire with dignity after a lifetime of work,” said Rep. Sewell. “While some in Washington are attempting to cut and ultimately privatize benefits, I am working to protect and expand Social Security so that seniors and others get the benefits they’ve rightly earned.”

    Tomorrow marks the 84th anniversary of the first Social Security check which was issued to Ms. Ida May Fuller on January 31, 1940. Social Security benefits were last enhanced more than 50 years ago. Alongside nearly 200 House Democrats, Rep. Sewell is an original cosponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act to enhance benefits for the first time in over 50 years and extend the program’s solvency for generations to come.

    Conversely, in September, nearly every House Republican voted to cut Social Security Administration funding by 30%. Earlier this month, Republicans on the House Budget Committee advanced legislation that would create a fast-track commission designed to cut Social Security.

    Alabama’s 7th Congressional District is home to more than 153,000 Social Security recipients—including 9,175 widows, 15,416 children, 93,831 retirees, and 32,661 disabled workers—who collectively receive over $224 million in monthly benefits.

  • Newswire : U.N. Court will explore claims of Israeli genocide

    International Court of Justice ,at the Hague in the Netherlands, surrounded by Palestinian protestors

     

    Jan. 29, 2024 (GIN) –  The U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) has agreed to take up an application submitted by South Africa seeking an immediate suspension of Israeli military operations in and against the Palestinian people of Gaza.
     
    In its 84 page petition to the court, South Africa cited military operations that have devastated hundreds of schools, including those run by the U.N., destroyed educational infrastructure, and left thousands of beleaguered students suffering from mental trauma.
     
    Close to 45 percent of residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or ruined beyond repair, according to a recent report by the World Bank. These alleged damages and the deaths of some 25,000 Palestinians are violations by Israel of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, South Africa claims.
     
    In its response on Friday, Jan. 26, the panel of 17 judges agreed that South Africa had jurisdiction to bring the case against Israel and that there was plausible risk that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The finding, read out by Joan Donoghue, president of the court, was applauded by the South African delegation.
     
    South Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the decision a “significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestine people. The decision is momentous… “
     
    In the court’s ruling, Israel is ordered to take steps to limit harm to Palestinians, preserve evidence of genocide, and submit a report within a month on all measures in response to the court’s order. The judges rejected Israel’s request to throw out the case and ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians.”
     
    “At least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the (genocide) convention,” Judge Donaghue said.
     
    While the court failed to order a ceasefire, Columbia University Professor Mahmood Mamdani in an interview with the news show DemocracyNow, opined that the court had indeed called for a ceasefire.  “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it just may be a duck,” he said humorously.
     
    In a serious note, Mamdani continued: “The South African case has a strong side and a weak side. The strong side is its content, its substance, and that is based almost entirely, from what I can see, on U.N. documents. So the court is not going to question the authenticity or the veracity of those documents. Almost everybody agrees that the intellectual case is very strong.
     
    “It’s interesting that the lawyers for Israel did not claim that a genocide was unfolding,” he added. “They questioned whether South Africa was the appropriate party to bring this question to the court. And they said that South Africa had not taken into consideration Jewish holidays, belittling the substantial question, which is genocide.”
     
    Still, the preliminary court ruling offers only a glimmer of hope for the more than 2 million Palestinian civilians suffering in Gaza, as the ruling alone cannot put an end to the atrocities and devastation Gazans are experiencing.
     
    For its part, Israel has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and said South Africa was acting as an emissary of the Hamas terror group, which seeks to eliminate the Jewish state. The Israel Defense Forces is targeting Hamas terrorists, not Palestinian civilians, they said, but that civilian casualties in the fighting are unavoidable as terrorists operate from within the population.
     
    In a worrying development, it was reported in the Times of Israel that thousands of right-wing activists are getting ready to resettle Gaza after the war. ‘Gaza City will be Jewish’  one leader was quoted to say; adding that core groups of potential residents are being assembled. 
     
    Mamdani continued: “Israel has had a record of sheltering under American power, both hard power and soft power. This time, whether it will be able to do so is also questionable.
     
    “The Israeli stance has been that the international community has no moral standing when it comes to Israel, because: Where were they when the Holocaust took place? There’s some truth in this, except that it doesn’t apply to most of the Third World which wasn’t part of the U.N. when the Holocaust took place. It also doesn’t apply to South Africa, which had an apartheid government. And that government was in cahoots with Israel, and Israel was one of the major foreign parties strengthening that government. 
     
    “South Africa has the moral standing to bring the claim of genocide, which others lack. So who else but South Africa can stand up for victims in Israel?”

  • Newswire: Jackie Robinson statue found burned and in pieces after it was cut off at the ankles and stolen

    By NBC News and AP

    Fire crews found the burned remnants Tuesday of a prized bronze statue of Jackie Robinson that was stolen last week from a public park in Kansas, an incident that sparked outrage across the city of Wichita.
    The Wichita fire department received a call around 8:40 a.m. about a trash can on fire at Garvey Park in the southern part of the city and discovered what appeared to be pieces of the statue, according to police spokesperson Andrew Ford. At a news conference Tuesday, he described it as “not salvageable.”
    The statue, which was cut at the figure’s ankles, disappeared Thursday morning. It honors the first player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947.
    “If it turns out it was racially motivated, then obviously that is a deeper societal issue and it certainly would make this a much more concerning theft,” said Bob Lutz, executive director of the Little League nonprofit that commissioned the sculpture. “We’ll wait and see what this turns out to be.”
    League 42, which is named after Robinson’s Dodgers number, paid about $50,000 for the model, which was installed in 2021 in McAdams Park, where roughly 600 children play in the youth baseball league. It also offers educational programs.
    The police spokesperson said that with assistance from arson investigators, they have conducted more than 100 interviews. Surveillance video shows two people hauling the sculpture away in the dark, to a truck that was later found abandoned.
    “Yes, it’s really disheartening to see the remnants of the statue and the disgraceful way in which it has been disrespected,” Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan said, describing the discovery of it as a “direct indication of the pressure” suspects felt from the ongoing investigation.
    He said police are conferring with the prosecutor’s office on a regular basis.
    “There will be arrests, but we’re going to make sure that when we do, we will have a solid case,” he said, adding that for anyone involved in the theft “it is only a matter of time.”
    Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, paving the way for generations of Black American ballplayers. He’s considered not only a sports legend but also a civil rights icon.
    Lutz, the nonprofit director, said there will be a new statue installed that will look exactly like the old one, which was made by his friend, the artist John Parsons, before his death. He said the mold is still viable and anticipated that
    “I’m trying to keep it together,” he said, adding: “The statue that reappears at McAdams Park will be the work of John Parsons.” He stressed that “we are ready for some joy.”
    The theft was discovered shortly before Black History Month. But Lutz said in an interview after the news conference that he was hopeful the motive wasn’t racial, but that the thieves just saw the bronze as monetarily valuable.
    Council member Brandon Johnson described the statue as a “symbol of hope” and said donations for the replacement are coming from local businesses and through an online fundraiser.
    “This now lets us know that we need a new statue,” he said of the destroyed remains. “We’re no longer looking for a complete intact statue. We know we need to raise the money to replace it, and we will do so.”

  • Newswire: Report reveals racial wealth gap widens in the United States

    By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    A new report from WalletHub, a personal finance website, has found that the racial wealth gap in the United States is alive and well. The report, titled “2024’s States with the Biggest & Smallest Wealth Gaps by Race/Ethnicity,” compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 21 key metrics, ranging from the median household income gap to the unemployment rate gap.

    The report found that the median household wealth for Black Americans is just $14,100, compared to $187,300 for non-Hispanic white households. Hispanic households also lag behind, with a median household wealth of $31,700.
    “The racial wealth gap is a persistent problem in the United States,” said Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst. “There are many factors that contribute to this gap, including unequal access to higher education and employment for minorities, as well as residential segregation.”
    The report also found that the racial wealth gap is more expansive in some states than others. For example, the District of Columbia has the broadest racial wealth gap, with a median household wealth of $281,700 for non-Hispanic white households and just $11,100 for Black households.
    “Even decades after the Civil Rights Movement, there is still a high degree of wealth inequality among racial groups in America,” WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe stated. “These gaps persist not just in held wealth but also in wages, poverty rates, homeownership rates, and unemployment rates. Part of this wealth disparity is due to unequal access to education, which can put some people on a better financial footing from the start.”
    Statistics show that the racial income gap grows larger and larger each year, said Irving L. Joyner, a law professor at North Carolina Central University’s School of Law. Joyner said the growth of the gap has grown because those with more wealth have benefitted more abundantly from their investments and ability to survive the economic downturns within the economy while poorly individuals, mainly racial minorities, were forced to consume their meager resources to survive day-to-day and did not have resources which they could invest.
    “For those individuals who have the financial capacity, knowledge, and needed resources to engage in entrepreneurial pursuits, those programs can and do benefit them,” Joyner remarked. “Those opportunities, however, are not readily available for the vast majority of African Americans because of the absence of the resources and business skills that are required to begin and sustain these efforts.
    Hawaii has the smallest racial wealth gap, with a median household wealth of $104,300 for non-Hispanic white households and $87,300 for Black families.
    “The racial wealth gap is a complex issue with no easy solutions,” said Gonzalez. “However, the findings of our report suggest that there are some states that are making progress in closing the gap. We hope that other states will learn from their example.”