Updates on Trials and More

John Hernandez

Hello good people.  I’ve been unable to follow trials and news daily to write blog posts about them.  As it stands now, I’m unsure if and when I’ll return to writing blog posts on a regular basis.  My last chemo treatment is scheduled for February, and then I’ll be on targeted immunotherapy for a year, so we’ll see how I’ll feel come March of next year.

There is much happeningand I wanted to bullet point some things. As and if time allows, I’ll post updates in the comment section below.   Feel free to do the same.

Terry Thompson and his wife Chauna were charged with murder for the May 28, 2017, choke-hold death of John Hernandez in Crosby, Texas.  Terry was put on trial in July 2018 and the jury hung.  His retrial began in October 2018.  The jury found Terry guilty and sentenced him to 25 years.  Chauna’s trial is scheduled to begin on March 26, 2019.  For background on this case, see this link.

 

Brennan Walker

Jeffrey Zeigler, who fired a shotgun at 14-year old Brennan Walker, has been sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison.  A jury found Zeigler guilty of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.  For background info on this case, click here.

 

Dr. Martin Luther King’s Forgotten Message – The Other America

“least racist” means “racist” but not as racist as others you know.

Just a moment ago, I heard the news play Donald Trump’s statement where he said he’s the “least racist person …”   Mr. Trump, “least racist” means you are “racist” but by your own comparisons, you think others are more racist than yourself.  Other than the Supreme Court of the United States, you hold the highest power in the land.  Racism is defined as person who shows or feels bigotry or prejudice against people of other races, because they believe their particular race is superior to others.

Give such people power and authority over the lives of others, and we have systemic, institutionalized racism.

Mr. Trump, being “least racist” is unacceptable.  You represent a country of people of all races, all genders, all economic statuses. You represent the healthy and the sick; the educated and poorly educated; people of all ages; people in rural and urban communities.  You represent this nation, and your representation is not making America great.  In fact, it has impugned us to the world.  If you think that returning America to the days before the Civil War, or to the days of Jim Crow is making it great, then you might want to remember that it was those very things that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged.  This country made promises and wrote privileges in its constitution.  There is no room for racism. We’ve come too far to turn back now.

Officer Federally Charged For Planting Evidence. Re: Willie Bingham, Jr.

After two trials for manslaughter where juries hung, now retired deputy Walter Grant is not being tried by the state for killing Willie Bingham, Jr. but rather, by the federal government for planting evidence as an excuse for killing him.

It happened in Bolivar County, Mississippi, in 2013.

Deputy Walter Grant shot 20-year-old Willie Bingham Jr. in the back of the head.

Willie Bingham, Jr.

Willie was suspected of breaking into cars parked outside of an auto parts plant.  Grant and other officers pursued a car carrying Willie and others.  The car stopped, and Willie allegedly jumped out and ran into a cotton field.  Grant caught up with Willie and shot him in the back of the head.

Grant told investigators that he thought Willie had a gun.  No gun was found.  What was found was a baton, and allegations that Grant planted it.

In 2015, Grant was indicted on state manslaughter charges.  His first trial ended with a hung jury.  He was retried, and that jury also hung.  After the trials, Grant retired.

State court records show that in 2016, the judge remanded the case to Jim Hood, the State Attorney General.

The family has filed a civil lawsuit accusing Grant of planting the baton. A response by the Bolivar County sheriff’s office later said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the attorney general’s office, while investigating the shooting,  concluded Grant planted the baton.

Update: Second Deputy Charged In The Death of Jeremy Mardis Pleads Guilty

On November 2, 2015, 6-year old Jeremy Mardis was in the car with his dad, Christopher Few, when Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse, Jr. opened fire, seriously wounding Christopher and killing Jeremy.

Stafford and Greenhouse, Jr. were charged with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree murder.

Stafford’s trial was in March 2017, in Marksville, Louisiana.  We followed the trial here.

The officers, admitting that they did not see a weapon, alleged that Christopher backed up his vehicle and tried running them over.  A ballistic expert at trial testified that all shots were fired to the side of the vehicle, and cars do not run sideways.  Additionally, body cam footage showed that before the shooting, Christopher had both hands raised outside of his car window.

Derrick Stafford, 33, was found guilty of attempted manslaughter and manslaughter.  He was sentenced to 40 years in prison with credit for time served since 11/3/2015.  20 years of his sentence has to be served without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.