Finally Justice

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/12/45_days_after_killing_trayvon_martin

Forty-five days after George Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, he has been charged with second-degree murder. Special prosecutor Angela Corey says the charges are based on the merits of the case, and were not influenced by the several weeks of nationwide protests and a massive social media campaign. We speak with NAACP President Benjamin Jealous who disagrees. "The reality is that [Corey] would not be the prosecutor but for [Trayvon’s] family standing up, and millions of people with them, and saying 'We need justice.'" We’re also joined by attorney Jasmine Rand, head of the civil rights division at Parks and Crump law firm, which is representing Martin’s family. "I think that the federal government needs to look very closely at all of the facts and investigate whether or not there was a hate crime," Rand says. [Transcript to come.

Connecticut Poised to Repeal Death Penalty as Momentum Grows for Supreme Court Challenge

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/12/connecticut_poised_to_repeal_death_penalty

Lawmakers in Connecticut have given final approval to a measure that would repeal the state’s death penalty for future convictions. The bill now goes to Gov. Dannel Malloy, who’s pledged to sign it into law. Connecticut would become the fifth state in five years to abolish the death penalty and the 17th state overall, moving activists closer to the 26 states needed to bring a challenge to the Supreme Court. “This is our first victory since Troy [Davis] was executed,” says NAACP President Ben Jealous. “This is a hard-won bit of progress on the issue of human rights for our country.”

Grand Jury Hears Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. Case As Autopsy Casts Further Doubt on Police Claims

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/12/grand_jury_hears_kenneth_chamberlain_sr

A grand jury met Wednesday to consider whether charges should be filed in the police shooting of retired Marine Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., who was killed when police — responding to a false alarm from his LifeAid medical-alert pendant — burst into his White Plains apartment, tasered him and shot him dead on November 19, 2011. Lawyers for Chamberlain’s family say newly revealed documents show the White Plains police violated their own taser policy by using the weapon on an elderly person and failing to give verbal warnings. In addition, the lawyers have raised questions about the police account of Chamberlain’s death based on the findings of his autopsy. On what would have been Chamberlain’s 69th birthday, we’re joined by two attorneys for his family, Mayo Bartlett and Abdulwali Muhammad.