[petedeamon]

....and he was just about ready to turn his life around.

[DiamondSmiles]

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
of Associated Press

September 3, 2014

CLAYTON, MO (AP) — Lingering questions about Michael Brown could be answered Wednesday as two news organizations seek the release of any possible juvenile records for the unarmed 18 year old who was killed by a Missouri police officer last month.

Juvenile records are confidential in Missouri, so it's not definitively known if Brown was arrested before he legally became an adult. Police have said Brown had no adult criminal record. The family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, has refused to discuss whether Brown had a juvenile record.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a California online journalist have filed separate petitions in St. Louis County Family Court to determine whether Brown had past legal trouble. Both cite an overriding public right to know Brown's background after his shooting death by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson sparked more than a week of sometimes violent protests and drew international scrutiny.

The more basic argument boils down to the question of whether Brown's privacy rights extend beyond the grave.

The lawsuit by Charles C. Johnson of Fresno, California, cites a 1984 Missouri Court of Appeals ruling in which the juvenile records of an 18 year old who was killed while shoplifting at a supermarket were released as part of a wrongful death lawsuit.

In that case, the mother of the young man killed after he was beaten by a store security guard in the 1979 robbery challenged a trial court's decision to release the records. They were sought by the defendants to help determine the value of the 18 year old's lost earning capacity.

"It's a really interesting issue," said Jean Maneke, a Kansas City lawyer who is counsel to the Missouri Press Association. "It certainly is not much of a stretch to go from the case law that exists right now to that theory."

But, Washington University law professor, Mae Quinn, director of the school's juvenile law clinic, called the case cited by Johnson, editor-in-chief of the website GotNews.com, "completely irrelevant," since he does not have a vested legal interest in the Brown case.

"The biggest distinction is they were real parties to a real suit," she said, referring to the grocery store owners' successful challenge for the juvenile records. "There was a real dispute. That's a major distinction."

"The cited case in no way deals with release of records, much less release to a member of the general public," she added.

The efforts to obtain Brown's juvenile records — if there are any — have been criticized by some who say his past conduct is irrelevant to the question of whether Wilson responded with excessive force.

That issue is being considered in another Clayton courtroom by a grand jury that is also scheduled to meet Wednesday, for its third session since Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch referred the Brown shooting to the secret panel.

Meanwhile, the county Family Court remains under investigation by the federal Justice Department for potential violations of juveniles' constitutional rights.

The inquiry began in November, several months after a report by the advocacy group National Juvenile Defender Center found that youths in the state's juvenile court system were, "discouraged from and systematically denied," access to lawyers.

The federal probe is being led by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The same unit is also investigating Wilson's fatal shooting of Brown.

LOVE this pic of sharpton! He looks like that old politician from India who dropped of a heart attack during a press conference on live tv!

In this August 12, 2014, file photo, civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, center, stands with the parents of Michael Brown, Lesley McSpadden, right, and Michael Brown Sr., left, during a news conference outside the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. AP Photo: Jeff Roberson

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

As a history person, it makes me so sad that the Black community (and for that matter the White community) seem to have gone collectively out of their way to forget the historical significance of the many many great American Black men and women and the important contributions they've made. The American educational system has done a crap ass job in telling the stories of the Black community and their huge contributions to our country. It seems today that it's more important for young Black children to
look up to some lame assed athlete or questionable civil rights rebel rouser than to look at the significance of Black men or women who have significantly contributed something tangible to our society. It's such a shame that children (both Black and White) aren't exposed to the rich history that the Black community has had in America. All we seem to universally know is that they were slaves...what a narrow narrow focus. Thousands of years of culture and it all boils down to 200 years of slavery.

Our local news and I think the Biography Channel, have an entire month featuring famous blacks during Black History Month.

[30564U]

Yup...Black History Month. Held during the shortest month of the year...that's a hoot. Unfortunately, most American Blacks would rather die than watch the History Channel...what with all the White Man's propaganda, etc. This needs to be taught in the public schools. Everyone needs to learn it and understand it's value. The Black community is always bitching and moaning about their young people having little or no self esteem...well teaching them about real honest to God Black heroes couldn't hurt. But if left to their own devices, we'll have yet more generations that look up to semi-criminal rappers, halfwitted athletes, and Black apologists. We need to push the rich history of Black America in the public school system. We've tried everything else to no avail...why not?

[DiamondSmiles]

You're right. I cannot remember that far back when I went to school. Only by 2 days though. Didn't it used to be January?

Black people don't even know what color they want to be known as these days! Brown came after African American.

Here is what someone did in Trenton, NJ. No guesses from media, supposedly, but, I think it is because of this incident.

<****** width="476" height="270" src="http://6abc.com/video/embed/?pid=292741" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></******>

George Washington Statue in Trenton Found With Hands Painted Red

WPVI
By Nora Muchanic

Wednesday, September 03, 2014

TRENTON, NJ (WPVI) -- It's a bizarre case, and whether it's a prank or a political statement, police would like to catch the people responsible for the senseless vandalism.

"This is a disgrace," says John Gordon.

Gordon is with a group of artists known as the SAGE Coalition, and like a lot of people who pass by on Montgomery Street he's reacting to the marble statue of George Washington in Trenton's Mill Hill Park.

Over the Labor Day weekend, someone climbed the 25 foot marble statue and painted the likeness of our first president's hands blood red.

Gordon tells us, "If you have a stand or belief, the nice thing about the liberties we have is you can communicate them. You don't have to go around destroying people's private and public property - that's just wrong."

Neighborhood resident Vignette Fleury-Dixon says, "Well, I think it's disgusting. It's vandalism and I don't think anyone has a right to do that sort of thing."

The statue was carved in Italy in the 1870's and sat on display in Philadelphia before the city of Trenton bought it in 1896.

Years ago the neighborhood civic association raised money to restore the statue and fix Washington's broken nose - never imagining his hands would one day be vandalized to look like they are dripping in blood.

"For me it's somewhat disturbing just to see that the statue's been messed with again," says neighbor Annie Pott.

The statue is surrounded by homes and an apartment building, but apparently no one saw the vandalism happening.

Locals are speculating about the meaning of the red hands.

Leo White tells Action News, "George Washington was a general in the war and he has a lot of blood on his hands, but it depends on whose blood he has on his hands."

Because the old marble is soft and porous you can't just power wash the paint away. It has to be carefully removed.

The Old Mill Hill Society has contacted the expert who worked on the statute last time to ask for advice. In the meantime the discussion about what Washington's red hands symbolize continues.


(Credit for first photo: News 12 New Jersey)

[30564U]

How dumb...when you make a statement that might involve a fine or jail time, at the very least, make the statement is obvious enough to get the message out...geez. Red paint is a metaphor for blood, rust, sexual activity with a menstrating female, caught red handed, forgot to wash his hands, was painting a barn, or was it some kind of American Indian message? I'm so confused these days...what did poor George do to deserve his hands being painted red? Lame to the extreme.

[Oswald2001]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

I'm so confused these days...what did poor George do to deserve his hands being painted red?

I'm thinking he ran off with the money bag with the dye pack.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

How dumb...when you make a statement that might involve a fine or jail time, at the very least, make the statement is obvious enough to get the message out...geez. Red paint is a metaphor for blood, rust, sexual activity with a menstrating female, caught red handed, forgot to wash his hands, was painting a barn, or was it some kind of American Indian message? I'm so confused these days...what did poor George do to deserve his hands being painted red? Lame to the extreme.

He is known as the Father of This Country and was born white.

[30564U]

Maybe he's wearing gloves so that he doesn't leave fingerprints while he and his evil henchman are raping the Blacks and Native Americans? I like Oswald's comment about the dye pack...um, the father of our country a member of the Dead Presidents Gang?

[tbone79]

I didn't know Gabe was a gang banger...