A bad idea in the minds of some; but, in my opinion it’s a good move. I mean let’s be honest: there’s nothing that Zimmerman can say that will change the minds of the many people who would probably stand in line for tickets to watch him get strapped to a bed and put to death in a Florida prison. After all, as Zimmerman says, should that happen, it would be all part of God’s plan — yeah, who is he to question it, right?

But I digress…

Zimmerman gave an exclusive interview to Sean Hannity on Fox News Channel recently. Hannity isn’t exactly the go-to guy when you’re trying to convince the world that you’re not racist. Yet, the decision to do so was strategic genius, in my opinion. I mean think about this: the vast majority of the people who have donated, or will potentially donate to his defense fund, are the exact demographic Fox News targets. After all, unlike the left-wing media machine, Fox News and pundits the likes of Sean Hannity aren’t biased in their reporting and expression of views.

Yep, nothing like those MSNBC racists:

At the end of the day, how in the world can any self-respecting person ever say that George Zimmerman is racist? How can it be said when thanks to Sean Hannity and the folks over at the house Rupert built, we now know that Zimmerman mentored black kids, voted for Obama and wasn’t upset by his “if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon” comment when he weighed in, and that he wears hoodies like he says in the following web exclusive video?

The post How Can Zimmerman Be Racist When He Mentored Black Kids, Voted for Obama, & Wears Hoodies? appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

I have to be honest, the fact that the evidence included video footage of the entire confrontation, it was my opinion after watching it, that Rodriguez would be acquitted. But, I was wrong; he was found guilty, and is now awaiting a possible life sentence. However, with Rodriguez being Hispanic and the victim being white, one has to wonder where are all the racial justice activists, and why aren’t they speaking out on his behalf. No really, where are the cries of “injustice,” much like we’ve heard and continue to hear from supporters of Marissa Alexander.

Marissa as you know, is currently serving as twenty year sentence, for as she put it, firing a warning shot to ward off the advances of her abusive husband who attempted to kill her. As I’ve showed recently, her defense failed as, and a jury was convinced by prosecutors that she did not fire a warning shot out of fear for her life; but instead, she acted irresponsibly and out of anger. Like Alexander, I suppose the same could be said of Rodriguez given testimony in court last week by one of his neighbors. As much as I believed he was within his rights to defend himself, I must say the following was pretty damning, and was obviously the nail in the coffin for Rodriguez:

HOUSTON (KHOU/CBS) – A jury has found a retired Baytown firefighter guilty of murder in the killing of his neighbor in a dispute over loud music.

Closing arguments were delivered Wednesday in the murder trial of 47-year-old Raul Rodriguez.

The slaying happened in May 2010 outside New Caney P.E. teacher Kelly Danaher’s home in rural northeast Harris County. Danaher was holding a party that Rodriguez, who lives nearby, said was too loud.

Rodriguez, his attorneys claimed, called police several times before confronting the party-goers with a flashlight, gun and video camera. They said he was within his rights when he opened fire on Danaher and his two friends.

[...] But prosecutors said Wednesday that Rodriguez had a very good understanding of the law, and he tried to use that as a license to intimidate neighbors.

“This is about the neighborhood bully armed with a CHL, with an arsenal of weapons and a knowledge of the law,” prosecutor Donna Logan said. “He felt like he had ultimate control – the control to determine who lives and who dies.”

[...] The defense didn’t call any witnesses, but prosecutors called multiple to the stand, including a neighbor who poked holes in those self-defense claims and portrayed Rodriguez as trigger-happy.

Terri Hackathorn testified how Rodriguez often bragged about his arsenal of weapons, and she recalled an “unusual conversation” she and Rodriguez had a couple of months before the shooting.

Hackathorn testified Rodriguez came to her home excited about a new gun he bought and coached her about Texas’ “stand your ground” laws.

“As long as you tell authorities you fear for your life, then you can shoot (any) son of a (expletive),” Hackathorn said Rodriguez told her. (source)

To the countless individuals who subscribe to the notion that “stand your ground” laws gives license to assholes to become vigilante killers, Raul Rodriguez will now serve as evidence to support their agenda, which is to repeal said law. Which is really sad when you think about it, because these very people refuse to hold Marissa Alexander to the same standard, as they continue to see her as a victim of yet an already racially biased judicial system. That aside, I still have a hard time believing that Rodriguez provoked the confrontation as sold by prosecutors.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Kelli Johnson said Rodriguez started the confrontation when instead of calmly asking Danaher to turn down the music he armed himself with a handgun and a camera and proceeded to harass people at the party.

Johnson said Rodriguez lured and provoked Danaher and two other men to come out onto the street and threatened them by brandishing his gun. Rodriguez did have a concealed handgun license. She said Danaher and the two other men were unarmed and that Rodriguez’s life was never in any danger. Danaher’s widow had told jurors her husband was not a confrontational person.

“This is not what stand your ground is,” Johnson said. “Stand your ground is something the law takes very seriously. The law makes it very clear” when the law can be used.

Texas’ version of the law, which is known as the Castle Doctrine, was revised in 2007 to expand the right to use deadly force. It allows people to defend themselves not only in their homes but also in their workplaces or vehicles. Legal experts say the expansion also gave people wider latitude on the use of deadly force.

The law also says a person using force can’t provoke the attacker or be involved in criminal activity at the time.

Johnson said Rodriguez can’t hide behind the stand-your-ground law because he provoked the confrontation and then brandished his weapon against an unarmed individual, which is a crime.

But defense attorney Neal Davis said he doesn’t believe Rodriguez did anything illegal. He said Rodriguez went to complain and was confronted by Danaher and the two other partygoers, and that he didn’t pull out his gun until he was standing in the street and Danaher approached him in a threatening manner. (source)

I’ve posted and explained recently how race plays a factor in “stand your ground” cases nationally and more specifically in Florida.  And as I said then, I’ll say now: it’s easy to overlook the facts and circumstances surrounding a case and arrive at the conclusion that race pays (or played) a factor in it’s outcome. But to do so, isn’t acting in the interest of justice when one fails to take into account the facts of the case. However, at the end of the day, it’s important to send the message that being in possession of a weapon comes with great responsibility, and accountability.

The post Raul Rodriguez Found Guilty, Jury Rejects “Stand Your Ground” Defense appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

But now this afternoon, the Zimmerman family is hit with an left hook just as damaging as one delivered by a disgruntled Manny Pacquiao, with the arrest of Shellie Zimmerman, the wife of the infamous George Zimmerman for perjury – no word on whether they’ll be sharing a cell.

This from the Orlando Sentinel:

On Tuesday, his wife, Shellie Zimmerman, was booked into the same facility on a perjury charge.

According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were alerted by prosecutors Tuesday that a warrant had been issued for Shellie Zimmerman, 25. She was arrested about 3:30 p.m. “at the location she was residing in Seminole County,” deputies said in a statement.

She was booked on a perjury charge, with bond set at $1,000. She is currently “in the process of posting bond,” deputies said.

The arrest comes after prosecutors in George Zimmerman’s case told Judge Kenneth Lester that Shellie Zimmerman lied about her husband’s finances, in order to conceal about $135,000 from the court.

Shellie Zimmerman

[...] prosecutors say Shellie Zimmerman spent the days before that April hearing shifting tens of thousands of dollars out of her husband’s account, then deliberately lied to the judge.

On Tuesday, she was arrested on a perjury charge and booked into John E. Polk Correctional Facility. It’s the same jail her husband has called home since the deception was revealed earlier this month, leading the judge to revoke his bond.

[...] In an affidavit, prosecutors revealed new details about Shellie Zimmerman’s alleged efforts to hide money from the court.

Four days before she testified to having no knowledge of the funds, the affidavit says, Shellie Zimmerman began a series of transfers into her account — totaling $74,000 from April 16 to April 19.

The affidavit says about $47,000 more was transferred from George Zimmerman’s account to his sister’s. Shellie Zimmerman withdrew about $18,000 more in cash, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors say the Zimmermans used a rudimentary “code” to discuss the money in recorded jailhouse phone calls — referring to $100,000, for example, as “$100.” At least two of the calls, the state alleges, were made while Shellie Zimmerman and her husband’s sister were at a local credit union making the transactions.

Zimmerman told his wife to “pay off all the bills” with the money, prosecutors said, including an American Express card and a Sam’s Club card. He also instructed her on how to pay his bail.

According to the affidavit, after her husband was released on bond days after the hearing, she transferred more than $85,000 back into his account. A branch manager at their credit union told prosecutors he knew the couple and saw Shellie Zimmerman talking to her husband on the phone April 16.

The manager said he had helped Shellie Zimmerman transfer control of George Zimmerman’s account, at one point speaking directly to George Zimmerman by phone.

Of course this is a breaking story, and by the time you get to the end of this post, Mrs. Zimmerman would have more than likely posted a bond. I know one thing for sure, don’t ever let it be said that George Zimmerman doesn’t have a “ride or die chick” for a wife – no word on conjugal arrangements.

The post George Zimmerman’s Wife, Shellie Zimmerman Arrested for Allegedly Committing Perjury appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

One of the women in the group smashed a glass in CeCe’s face, cutting and injuring her. As a matter of fact, the glass sliced all the way through her cheek, lacerating a salivary gland. A fight ensued. One of the attackers, a 47-year-old male, died. CeCe was arrested and charged, and self-defense was not considered. By some counts, CeCe was denied proper medical care and was kept in solitary confinement for a month. The woman who initiated the incident and smashed the glass in CeCe’s face was charged nearly a year later; as far as I am aware there is no acknowledgment of a hate crime, despite the guy who was killed having a prior criminal history and swastika tattoo on his chest.

Also, the woman was charged after CeCe pled guilty to manslaughter.

CeCe was sentenced on June 4, 2012 to 41 months in prison. Whether or not she was given due process and justice, she is to spend 3 years and five months in prison. Some of you may be thinking, ‘she plead guilty, now she has to face the consequences.’ What might be the problem with this line of thinking?

CeCe McDonald is a male-to-female transgender woman, and while she identifies as a woman, she will be housed in a facility with male inmates.

The obvious issue popping into the minds of most people invested in CeCe’s case and hopeful for her wellbeing is the issue of physical and sexual violence by the other inmates in the facility. It is a concern an has been reported to the Transgender Law Center from previous inmates that this is a very real fear and concern for both male-to-female transgender inmates and also female-to-male transgender inmates. Rape and sexual violence in prisons are heavy concerns, especially for trans* inmates. There may be coerced sex by another inmate or inmates, or also prison staff. Coercion is rape. There may be gang rapes and violence. And there another main form of sexual violation on trans* inmates according to reports to TLC is unnecessary strip searches and forced nudity:

a frequent substitute for, or precursor to, sexual violence or coercion is the use of strip searches or forced nudity by deputies, guards, officers, or medical personnel. Because of the severe reduction in privacy that occurs in jails and prisons, transgender people have very little control over who sees their bodies. Bodies that often times do not conform to the identity they know to be true or at least society’s expectations about that identity. Therefore, strip searches and public nudity can be especially humiliating to transgender prisoners.

Transgender men in particular report being subjected to unnecessary strip searches. Two men who have been held in San Francisco County jail have told me about frequent strip searches conducted by deputies and medical personnel for no reason other than to seemingly satisfy curiosity. These searches were not related to visits or interactions in which these guys could have been passed contraband. Instead, they seemed to come randomly from many quarters and occasionally involve two or more people doing the search.

Back in Sacramento County Jail, one of the two women described above and two of her fellow transgender prisoners related stories of being forced to walk topless through a gauntlet of male cells in order to get new clothes each week. Along the way, the women were subjected to taunts and catcalls. The very act of walking the line made them objects of both harassment and ridicule.

There are also a whole host of other concerns that include:

- Lack of competent medical care

- Access to programs, jobs, and recreational activities

- Ability to dress properly

- Respecting one’s gender identity and referring to them by the proper name and/or pronoun

- Segregation from the rest of the prison population. This is a huge deal because it has already happened in CeCe’s case. She was kept in solitary confinement for nearly a month by most accounts. Prison staff may determine to place trans* inmates in confinement as a way to, possibly, keep them safe or keep the incidences from occurring. This makes less likely and nearly impossible for the inmate to receive jobs or proper treatment programs.

Also, according to TLC:

The stated purpose of administrative segregation is that people being confined within it are a proven danger to themselves, staff, or other inmates. By using this classification for transgender prisoners, the message is being sent that a person’s gender identity itself is threatening to the institution and that person must be locked away in a prison within the prison.

The Transgender, Gender Variant and Intersex (TGI) Justice Project has a prison survival guide for trans* and intersex inmates. According to the survival guide, written by transgender women, “prison politics outweigh prison policy.” Sadly, this comes after the explanation that if you are any race other than Black and housed with the general population, you will be removed or leave the yard because the gang violence geared toward you, as the transgender inmate, will be so harsh.

And sadly, I don’t think that this post adequately describes the horror that trans* inmates have faced, nor the injustice that CeCe and others are facing and will continue to face. According to an article that includes a survey of trans* people of color by Advocate.com:

38% of African-American respondents experienced police harassment, 15% reported being physically assaulted by the police, and 7% reported being sexually assaulted by the police; 38% of African American MTF (male-to-female) respondents reported being sexually assaulted by either another inmate or a staff member in jail/prison; 41% of African-American respondents reported being imprisoned because of their race and gender identity alone; a whopping 47% reported having been in jail or prison for any reason.

According to this article, transgender people are 10-15 times more likely to be incarcerated at some point in their life, and have to face the horrifying circumstances outlined above. Additionally, prior to their incarceration, they often feel unable to rely on the police for protection because the police are often perpetrators of crimes against them. Over 50% of trans* people, notwithstanding incarceration, have been victim to some sort of violence; self-report surveys vary but a significant number of these attacks are sexual violence. 43% of trans* rape victims (both FTM and MTF) who participated in self-report surveys believed their perpetrators homophobia to be the motivation for the assault while 35% suggested transphobia to be the motivation.

[imagebrowser id=3]I applaud President Obama for concluding recently that PREA will apply to all Federal confinement facilities. President Obama has included language that acknowledges the concerns that I have for CeCe and all LGBTQQI people that may be incarcerated at some point. I do have wonders for the general public though; and the main one would be exactly how effective the Prison Rape Elimination Act would be henceforth. A few of the guidelines that detention centers must follow in order to be in compliance with the new guidelines under PREA is that they must:

• Staff should be trained on effective and professional communication with our communities.

• Housing assignments should take into consideration individual vulnerabilities but do not, in most circumstances, place [LGTBQQI] in inferior wings or pods.

• An analysis is required of whether an abuser was motivated by bias against [LGBTQQI], if abuse does occur.

• Transgender detainees cannot be searched solely to determine their genitalia, and determinations must be made on a case-by-case basis about whether [LGBTQQI] should be held in a men’s or women’s facility and cannot be based solely on genital status.

President Obama and company have included many great provisions for trans* inmates, including that they must be given the opportunity to shower separately from other inmates. And while one would hope that these provisions would provide some safety for transgender men and women prisoners, I wonder how effectively it is enforced and how much protection they are really being provided. CeCe will still be housed in a prison of men.

Also, if prison staff are part of the problem, how effective will PREA be? And if trans* people are afraid (with very good reason) to come forward and make staff aware of their rights and request their protections, what can be done? And if, by the counts of transwomen who wrote a prison survival guide for transwomen, prison politics outweigh prison policies, what good is PREA exactly?

What will happen to the CeCes of our community?

The post CeCe McDonald: Self-Defense and Still Defending appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

This from the Miami Herald:

Prosecutors pointed out in their motion that Zimmerman had $135,000 available then. It had been raised from donations through a website he set up, and they suggested more has been collected since and deposited in a bank account.

Shellie Zimmerman was asked about the website at the hearing, but she said she didn’t know how much money had been raised. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $150,000. The 28-year-old was freed a few days later after posting $15,000 in cash – which is typical – and has since been in hiding.

Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda complained Friday, “This court was led to believe they didn’t have a single penny. It was misleading and I don’t know what words to use other than it was a blatant lie.” The judge agreed and ordered Zimmerman returned to jail by Sunday afternoon.

[...]  The defense countered that Zimmerman and his wife never used the money for anything, which indicated “there was no deceit.” His attorney, Mark O’Mara, said it wouldn’t be a problem to bring Zimmerman back into custody by the deadline.

The judge said he would schedule a hearing after Zimmerman is back in custody so he could explain himself.

The post George Zuimmerman’s Bond Revoked, But Why Did He Have Two Passports? appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

But, politicians want to sit around and debate the issue. They want to request a whole bunch of statistical analysis to prove what every Black person over the age of 2 years old understands: police profile racially. Why do politicians play this game? To pretend they are actually attempting to address the scourge of law enforcement bigotry without actually doing a goddamn thing about the problem.

If all these folks are going to do is sit around in a little room and say, “profiling is bad…. we should do something about it…” and then move onto the next topic, they need to get the fuck out of office, because they do not care about what happens to real people in the real world.

Who are the people compiling the statistics and where are they coming from? Most of the time, they work FOR the people in power, who are invested in maintaining the status quo. So, not only can they manipulate the facts to make them fit the narrative of the white dominators, but they rely on information given to them by the oppressive law enforcement community. Somehow, the word of a cop is seen as more reliable than that of his victim, so he can lie about absolutely anything and be seen as the “good guy” in the story. What is to stop a white police officer from incorrectly listing the race of his victims in order to “prove” that he is not engaging in racially biased behavior on the job? (In fact, it was proven that in East Haven, Connecticut, police officers did exactly this for many years)

If a victim of police oppression reports the crimes that officers commit against him, it is usually written off as unfounded, or uncorroborated. Yet the word of a single pig is enough to land a man behind bars. Why are police given more credibility than an ordinary community member, especially if that community member is Black?

There is also nothing stopping police officers from harassing and endangering anyone who reports profiling or brutish behavior. Everyone knows about the “blue wall of silence”. If a Black person walks into a police station to report to an officer that one of his fellow “boys in blue” has committed criminal acts against him, he is putting his safety in the hands of people who are invested only in defending and protecting the man carrying the badge.

Combating racial profiling is not about crunching numbers, compiling reports and making recommendations that the police look at as optional. In order to fight racist police practices, there needs to be serious consequences for officers who are caught profiling. They should be kicked off the police force and charged with a felony. They need to be held accountable. As it stands today, police officers can commit even most egregious offenses, like the murder of unarmed people, with little to no chance of repercussions. ANYTIME a police officer shoots an unarmed person, they should be charged and convicted for murder (or attempted murder if the person is lucky enough to survive.) Police officers complain that they do not want to have to stop to think before they act, that it could put their lives in danger… well… tough shit. Shouldn’t you HAVE TO take a second to think before you take the life of another human being?

Police officers also should not be foreign invaders. If there is a need for law enforcement presence in a given community, the officers should be recruited from among local residents only. No more white “good ole boys” rolling into a Black community and running roughshod over the rights of the people who actually live there. Let the white boys stay in their little suburban communities and arrest the folks with the meth labs in their garage.

I understand the desire for activist groups to enforce racial profiling laws. There is this belief that compiling statistics to “prove” that racial profiling exists will somehow force police departments to change their ways. That the threat of removing funding sources to police departments who are non-compliant will help alleviate the insidiousness of racial profiling. However, I think that until a police officer has to worry about facing VERY REAL CONSEQUENCES, like PRISON TIME for engaging in such practices, there is really no incentive for an individual officer to change his behavior.

Recently, there was an amendment passed for Connecticut’s racial profiling law, the Penn Act. A huge production was made about the “much needed changes” to the Penn Act that were added. Basically, the legislators decided that the Penn Act provisions would be enforced more stringently if they added a “traffic stop receipt” concept to the legislation, so that motorists who have been pulled over can be sure that their race was listed correctly. They also included a provision that allowed people to anonymously launch complaints about profiling, and appointed a committee to investigate the claims, as well as to examine the statistics compiled for evidence of profiling. Honestly, I do not see the efficacy of this sort of approach. Why do people need “proof” that profiling happens? We all know it does! How do statistics protect motorists from police officers? Where is the incentive for officers to stop this behavior?

And what about pedestrians? How many anti-profiling laws include people on foot? We all know that “stop and frisk” policies are steeped in racial profiling. Why not include people who are walking through the community under the umbrella of these profiling laws? One proponent of the Penn Act Amendment here in Hartford actually became angry when another activists mentioned that the Act did not go far enough because it only “protected” motorists! He said that the Penn Act was not intended to protect people on foot, therefore the amendment did not include them. Well, if you are “amending” a piss poor law, why not make the logical choice to extend the legislation to cover ALL people who are profiled, not just those in cars?

Compiling statistics is not the solution. SERIOUS consequences for INDIVIDUAL officers as well as departments who violate the rights of community members MUST BE INCLUDED in order for an anti-profiling law to offer any serious protection for the public. It is one thing to “work within the system”, it is quite another to ignore what REALLY needs to be done to address police profiling and brutality simply to get a piece of legislation passed.

The post Does Anti-Profiling Legislation Really Work? appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

This from the Bonner County Daily Bee:

SANDPOINT — It’s unlikely that any other Bonner County sheriff candidate spent their Friday night like Shaun Winkler.

At his compound just outside Priest River, Winkler and other family members of the northern Idaho Ku Klux Klan klavern held a get-together that included a nighttime cross lighting. Winkler, 33, is also tied to the Aryan Nations and Church of Jesus Christ-Christian. He has participated in racially-charged Kootenai County protests.

According to Winkler, cross lighting, more commonly known as cross burning, often provokes strong reactions from most people. That’s why the ceremony is conducted in private within the compound once a month or so.

“Generally, for a cross lighting, it’s extremely rare we’d let any media there at all,” he said.

However, after discussing the matter with his family and associates, Winkler agreed to allow photos and outside observation for the ceremony. He said the evening was meant to express both camaraderie and religious devotion.

The evening began like many a family picnic elsewhere in the country. Group members barbecued and enjoyed a congenial meal with one another. About 20 people attended the event, although not everyone wore the iconic klan robes. Three attendees specifically identified themselves as members of the klavern. Winkler mentioned that not every member of the group could make the trip.

Afterward, Winkler called everyone’s attention to speak for about a half-hour on the racial, political and social groups they opposed. Finally, once darkness fell, the evening concluded by setting a wooden cross afire.

That particular action, Winkler predicted, would be the source of much misunderstanding.

“Mainstream society looks at cross lighting as a symbol of hate, but it predates the klan by hundreds of years,” he said. “We look at it more as a religious symbol.”

According to Winkler, the religious component of the ceremony dates back to back to Scottish origins, when clan members used it as a means of communication. He also saw it as a pointedly Christian symbol, a representation of Jesus Christ’s light spreading to the rest of the world.

[...] Despite the unpopularity of his racial views, Winkler is soldiering on with his sheriff’s candidacy. On Monday, he participated in a candidate’s forum at the Blanchard Community Center. He continued to insist his Ku Klux Klan ties would not impact his performance as sheriff or make him susceptible to racial profiling. Instead, he would focus on tough stances regarding drugs and sex offenders.

“Most people don’t know that we don’t just oppose the Jews and the negroes,” he said. “We also oppose sexual predators and drugs of any kind.”

Winkler added that if he had his way, perpetrators of sexual crimes would be hung immediately.

As for the cross lighting and his other white supremacist links, Winkler admits that those who oppose him for his viewpoints probably won’t come around. Given that likelihood, he’s not worried about alienating potential supporters.

“I think at this point, whoever is going to disagree with me will keep on disagreeing, and those who agree with me will keep on agreeing,” he said.

Personally, I think it’s good to see a Republican candidate brave and honest enough to show their true color. I wish there were more candidates like Winkler. You know, this way we don’t have to waste time with the silly arguments about whether the Republican party is made up of racist xenophobes, and bigots. I don’t know about you, but voters tend to place a premium on a candidate’s honesty. That said, with candidates like Winkler, we sure can’t go wrong, no?

“In the event I was elected sheriff, I would not act on racial profiling,” Winkler said. “Being in the white power movement, I know how it feels to be profiled by law enforcement.” (source)

Yeah, I’m sure you do know about that profiling thing, Shaun…

I’m sure you do remember Cherie Buckner-Webb, and what y’all did to her.

The post Post-Racial Update: Republican KKK Leader Running for Sheriff Invites Media to Cross Burning appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

Rapid City, South Dakota – A member and resident of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota came home from a 14-day stay in the hospital to find he had been horribly mutilated.  Three Ks can be easily seen carved or burned into his abdomen in the shocking photograph taken the day after he came home.

Vernon Traversie, who is completely blind, said his nightmare began when he had a heart attack while at the Heart Doctors office in Rapid City last August.  He said they immediately sent him a few blocks away to Rapid City Regional Hospital for emergency surgery.

Traversie is a 68-year-old Lakota elder who told Last Real Indians, “I was supposed to have emergency surgery on my heart, but they (hospital) had scheduling problems.  Every night they would prep me for surgery which went on for four or five days.  Every night they would shave my chest and stomach and wouldn’t feed me.”

Being blind, Traversie said he didn’t even know what was done to him until a RCRH employee came into his room and advised him to have pictures taken of his chest and abdomen as soon as he got home.  He says she told him that she could not testify for him, but that her conscience got the better of her and she didn’t agree with what they did to him.

Last Real Indians asked retired nurse, Joyce Anderson, to view the photograph of Traversie’s injuries.  She was a surgical nurse for nine years and worked on the heart team at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas.  She said, “It appears the area under the incision was done with a scalpel for drainage of the incision.  The other wounds seem to be necrotic, meaning the tissue is dead.  This could indicate the wounds were burned into his skin.”

[...] The tribal police, FBI, and Traversie’s pastor all have photographs of the suspicious wounds.

Traversie said nothing is being done on his behalf by law enforcement and that the doctor who saw him at the nearby health facility said she could not make any statements about his injuries.

He explained that he has waited for seven months for his Rapid City attorney to take action on his behalf.

Traversie has posted the following video to YouTube explaining his ordeal. Calling it a hate crime committed by someone during his surgery, Traversie has decided to post his video because his attorney has been slow to act, and has also advised him to be quiet about his allegations.  Recounting his post-op ordeal Traversie said, “I had a male nurse come over and tell me to shut my fucking mouth, because I asked for pain medication after my surgery.” About his treatment he also said, “I felt scared and humiliated. I couldn’t even move my arms. I felt helpless.” He also explained that he found it odd that his request for transfer to a rehabilitation hospital was denied. Unaware of the “KKK” already carved into his abdomen, Traversie said that several people kept coming to his room to look at his his stomach — he assumes that they must have known.

Check out the video:

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The post Hate Crime: Blind Native American Man Has “KKK” Carved Into His Stomach During Hospital Stay? appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

This via The Real News Network:

We are here to say that incarceration has nothing to do with solving the problems of American society it has everything to do with putting people in their place repressing people and it’s time for this to end, we want jobs, education, health care, we do not want jails…right now the United States represents 5 percent of the world’s population but we incarcerate 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, this in a nation that’s obsessed with the idea of freedom, the question is why, why do we incarcerate so many people than other places in the world, we clearly don’t have the answers so we are here to say we have to stand up for people like Mumia Abu Jamal. - JOHANNA FERNANDEZ, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, BARUCH COLLEGE, CUNY

It is imperative that we continue to bare witness to the many injustices suffered particular by people of color and poor people in general, all across these United States of America – a country where as you know, said people are over-represented within the criminal justice system, by no accident.

The post “Occupy the Department of Justice”: Trayvon Martin, Mumia Abu Jamal, & Mass Incarceration appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

What do you do when your municipality is holding arguably the most hated and notorious killer on earth?  You grant him bail.  That’s exactly what Judge Kenneth Lester did for George Zimmerman, the man who killed Trayvon Martin.  As a condition of his bail, Zimmerman is not allowed to have possession of firearms, drink alcohol or use drugs.  He must also maintain a curfew.  How nice.

Zimmerman won’t be released on Friday, but the details of his release are going to be worked out between his attorney and law enforcement.   Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the killing of Trayvon Martin, but he claims that he shot him in self-defense.

If the city of Sanford wanted to embarrass itself any further, it just did.  The justice system that has obtained international prominence as one of the most inept, irresponsible, racist and unprofessional organizations in the country has set a new standard for judicial indecency.  The family of Trayvon Martin worked hard to get Zimmerman arrested because he was a flight risk, now he’s a flight risk all over again.

Granting bail for George Zimmerman, for the most part, is a slap in the face to those around the world who worked for his arrest.  It simply says that without regard to the will of the people, those possessing the power of the state have no obligation to answer to anyone or even share whatever information they are using to come to their illogical decisions.  Granting bail to Zimmerman renders meaningless all the rallies, petitions and hard work done around the world to bring him to justice.  It effectively communicates defiance within the Sanford judicial system to say, “We don’t care what you think.  We’re going to do whatever we choose to do.”

Now when you listen to Dr. Boyce and some of the people commenting on his thread via Facebook. You get the impression that the judge allowed George Zimmerman to be released on his own recognizance. From what I’ve seen, some are upset that bond wasn’t set at a higher amount. Heck, I’ve even heard comparisons made to Michael Vick who had a much higher bond amount for basically killing some dogs. A pretty stupid comparison if you ask me. Last time I checked and as far as the court heard today, Zimmerman is no multi-millionaire NFL athlete. Plain and simple: in the eyes of the court George Zimmerman is indigent, He doesn’t own a home; his wife is a student; and, I’m not sure if an employer would want to hire Ole’ Georgie Porgie right now, or whether him punching the clock in the face of death threats would be a good idea. I don’t know about you, but it’s kinda hard to shake $150,000 out of the couch when you’re unemployed and people are trying to kill you.

So why would Zimmerman be allowed to even have a bind hearing after killing a 17-year-old Trayvon Martin armed with Skittles and ice tea? Oh I dunno, but I think there’s this thing called the Constitution that guarantees him to such a hearing as part of the process of justice. Yeah, imagine that – George Zimmerman is entitled to the same Constitutional protections just like black folks in America. But don’t tell that to the people who ignorantly assert that, “If Zimmerman was black, there’d be no bond hearing!” You know, the typical racist claim we’ve come to expect?  Don’t get me wrong, people of color do tend to get the crappy end of the stick when it comes to justice in America. However, let’s stop it with the idea that Zimmerman just escaped death row when he was never on trial for a capital crime, folks. Damn, it was just a bond hearing and nothing more, right?

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