The Shanghai Gigafactory, which Tesla says can produce 150,000 Model 3 sedans a year, was completed in 168 working days.
from Wired https://ift.tt/32JL7aa
via
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Keron Williams: Tech And Design Entrepreneur Focuses On Accountability
BE Modern Man: Keron Williams
Tech and design entrepreneur, former pro football player (NFL, CFL); 34; CEO, KDW Designs and Technology
Instagram: @keronwilliams9
As the founder of a tech and design business, I have a passion for collaborating with innovative people to identify solutions at both a strategic and functional level, ultimately enhancing companies and products for front-facing consumers. I make it my priority to create beautiful user-centered applications that deliver an intuitive, organic experience. My efforts have made an impact in the community, as I recently won the Texas Black Expo Millennial on the Move Award presented by the mayor of Houston.
As a tech and design entrepreneur, my appreciation for branding and flair for uniquely aesthetic design stem from a sharp and simple focus on what truly matters: people! This is why volunteerism is so vital to my success, because it allows me to understand people at a cellular level, where I can discover new ways of communication to create change.
HOW HAVE YOU TURNED STRUGGLE INTO SUCCESS?
A stranger to responsibilities, I closed out the end of my freshman semester in college with a 0.75 GPA. These three numbers will never leave my memory because of what followed after: the realization of the importance of accountability and responsibility. I worked rigorously for the next four years to avoid academic probation, stay eligible, and not lose my athletic scholarship.
I never took time off for summers, winters, or spring breaks, to make up for the deficit I placed on myself. Though it was one of the most difficult times in my life, I gained a mindset that carried me throughout the course of my life. The effort that I exerted in the classroom transitioned onto the football field. It was that lesson that opened the door for me to fulfill my dreams of playing professional football and achieving my current success as a tech entrepreneur.
It has been a few years since I’ve left the game, and I have now migrated to Houston, a city that’s not short on opportunity and is quickly becoming one of the biggest tech hubs in America. My journey has placed my tech and design company here, where I can continue to grow and build solid relationships with businesses and people who share a passion for solving problems and setting the tone for creating a better tomorrow. I’m extremely humbled every chance I get to reflect on the transitions of my journey, the ups, the downs, the shortcomings, and the success.
WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST MALE ROLE MODEL AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HIM?
My greatest male role model is Dr. Dana Carson, overseer of the R.O.C.K. Church. I’ve learned the importance of having a personal relationship with God and what it means to imitate your leader. Dr. Carson is a juggernaut in the arena of academia; he is the only African American clergy to hold an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Duke University. He has written over 200 books and is passionate about equipping leaders to carrying out their calling.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE MANHOOD?
I define manhood in three categories: as a protector, a provider, and a priest. Protector is one who has integrity and honesty, and values the union of family, knowing that their legacy is dependent on his devotion to his sense of responsibility. The provider sees to it that those relying on him are taken care of above himself, but understands that in order for him to take care of others he must first know how to take care of himself. The priest is the government that handles the identity of the minds he is shaping based on his success and failures; knowing that his journey will change the lives of those who choose to follow him.
WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
The best advice I’ve ever received came from Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, on innovation: Be stubborn on your vision but flexible on the details.
HOW ARE YOU PAYING IT FORWARD TO SUPPORT OTHER BLACK MALES?
Growing up in a single-parent household, with two younger brothers looking up to me for guidance, I faced a lot of disadvantages on our path to adulthood. In our society, I’ve grown to see a pattern of lessons we as black men tend to be deprived of. From being financially undereducated to relationships in broken homes, we tend to be at the back end of a lot of pertinent information. This is why I offer up my time to teach from my own life lessons. I also help other black males who are looking to break into the tech and design industry. I believe it’s important for us to know that knowledge is power, but knowledge coupled with exposure and experience creates the power we need for change.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A BLACK MAN?
I like the fact the everyone wants to be the new black! Black is strong, it’s powerful, it’s decisive, it’s overwhelming, it’s infectious, it’s the mother of all things, and being a black man carries a different level of confidence that comes in the form of an unspoken language.
WHAT PRACTICES, TOOLS, BOOKS, ETC. DO YOU RELY ON FOR YOUR SUCCESS?
One of my go-to books to get back to the fundamentals of tech and design is a Steve Krug book titled Don’t Make Me Think. This book introduces the methods creating of good software program or web site that let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible. Another book that I rely on is Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. This book illustrates the art of negotiating and how to put yourself in position to persuade your audience.
BE Modern Man is an online and social media campaign designed to celebrate black men making valuable contributions in every profession, industry, community, and area of endeavor. Each year, we solicit nominations in order to select men of color for inclusion in the 100 Black Enterprise Modern Men of Distinction. Our goal is to recognize men who epitomize the BEMM credo “Extraordinary is our normal” in their day-to-day lives, presenting authentic examples of the typical black man rarely seen in mainstream media. The BE Modern Men of Distinction are celebrated annually at Black Men XCEL (www.blackenterprise.com/blackmenxcel/). Click this link to submit a nomination for BE Modern Man: https://www.blackenterprise.com/nominate/. Follow BE Modern Man on Twitter: @bemodernman and Instagram: @be_modernman.
from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2MGZ8A1
via
DaBaby Helps a Homeless Mother and her Small Business
Twenty-three-year-old Amanda Rose, who has been living in her 1999 Nissan Maxima with her son, got a boost for her small business when Jonathan “DaBaby” Kirk gave her cash and a shout-out. Rose is a struggling small business owner who sells knit hats. The single mother waited for three hours to see DaBaby after his performance at Clark Atlanta University in Georgia. The new rapper showed the encounter on his Instagram account, “GODs WORK. No recognition needed,” as he gives her $1,000 and even promotes her website in the post. Based on that, she received 4,000 new orders for her merchandise, TMZ reported.
In turn, the struggling woman thanked the rapper on her Instagram account.
According to Bossip, his generosity is a regular occurrence. In Washington, D.C., just last week, the rapper approached a group of children who were selling boxes of cookies. After doing some calculations and figuring out it would cost about $230 to buy everything, DaBaby gave the kids more than $300 and he let them keep the cookies.
After releasing his first single “Suge” earlier this year, DaBaby’s debut studio album, Baby on Baby, peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. He then released a second studio album, Kirk, months later and it debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his first album to top the chart. DaBaby has recently been given the BET Hip Hop Award for Best New Hip Hop Artist and will start the Kirk Tour in Minneapolis on Nov. 16.
from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/32HBSHz
via
Ballistics database helps bring Houston gang war into focus
By JUAN A. LOZANO and JOHN L. MONE Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) — Kenneth Roberson’s lyrics chronicled the gang violence he saw in his hometown of Houston.
“Momma’s crying, son is dying on this crime scene,” he rapped. Those words became prophetic as the aspiring artist was killed during a September 2018 drive-by shooting that left his mother, Yvonne Ferguson-Smith, heartbroken.
“I don’t know how to move on,” said Ferguson-Smith, who has started a nonprofit group called TEARS to help grieving mothers. “It’s like he was speaking (in his songs) on his own death.”
Roberson’s killing, which had no witnesses, might have gone unsolved if not for a federal ballistics database that linked the 24-year-old’s death to a series of fatal shootings that seem unconnected but that authorities say are part of an ongoing gang war in Houston that’s claimed more than 60 lives the past six years.
The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, is a database of scanned bullet casings that has been around for two decades but in recent years has evolved from a purely forensic tool to one that generates leads for investigators. While it has been successful in cities like Houston, the network still faces challenges, including questions about the accuracy of the science behind it and whether it’s being fully utilized by local agencies.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the database is invaluable.
“NIBIN is how many of the (Houston) shootings were connected. Once it was brought to me, it was pretty clear this is a gang war,” Ogg said.
Authorities say the shootings are part of a battle between two gangs: the 100 Percent Third Ward or 103, and the Young Scott Block, or YSB. The conflict has claimed the lives of gang members and others, including an 8-year-old boy.
Bullet casings recovered at crime scenes or test-fired from confiscated weapons are scanned at computer stations and images are uploaded to the database, managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF. The database looks for possible matches with other bullet casings that have similar marks indicating they were fired from the same weapon.
Authorities can use potential matches to pursue leads from other cases not previously known to them. These leads can be investigated much more quickly than confirmed hits — information that must be verified by a firearms examiner and can take longer to complete.
“It takes cases that otherwise have gone unsolved … and it breathes new life into them,” said Fred Milanowski, special agent in charge of the ATF’s Houston office.
Authorities say the database helped Houston police connect casings from Roberson’s shooting, along with casings from two fatal shootings in November 2018, to one individual who remains jailed and is a suspect in four other killings.
Police say Roberson appeared to have been affiliated with the YSB gang. Ferguson-Smith said she doesn’t believe her son was in a gang, but that he knew gang members and might have been killed because of that.
Ogg said gang-related cases can be difficult to prosecute because witness testimony can be an issue. She said some witnesses may have their credibility questioned because of their gang affiliations, while others might be afraid to testify for fear of retaliation.
“So objective evidence that doesn’t require personal testimony … it’s a benefit to us as prosecutors, it’s a benefit to the community,” Ogg said.
NIBIN has helped Houston authorities make arrests in other crimes as well.
Levi Byrd said he was riding his horse, Freedom, in November 2016 through a partly rural neighborhood in south Houston when someone in a truck shot five times at him and his horse. Freedom was hit twice, dying instantly.
A 9 mm handgun seized two months later at a drug house was matched with shell casings found next to Freedom. A suspect was arrested and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
“Freedom was family,” Byrd said. “For them to catch the killer, I felt justice was served.”
In fiscal year 2019, NIBIN helped solve 68 shootings and lead to 36 arrests in the Houston area, while also resulting in 122 solved shootings and 95 arrests in San Antonio, according to the ATF.
The agency said that since March 2018, the database has played a critical role in an arrest or prosecution in 754 cases nationwide.
There are 215 NIBIN sites in 42 states around the country that have worked with more than 5,700 law enforcement agencies.
A 2017 report by the Police Executive Research Forum highlighted ATF-led task forces in Chicago, Denver and Milwaukee that use NIBIN. It found that while those cities continue to face “serious challenges with gun violence,” the task forces “are an innovative and promising approach for enhancing the investigation of gun crimes and identifying offenders.”
Laurie Woods, a lecturer at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a former law enforcement officer, said the database should best be used as a generator of investigative leads, adding that while there can be a lot of commonalities between two bullet casings, “there’s no absolute match.”
Some studies in recent years have questioned the reliability of such firearms analysis or called for additional research into the subject.
Ogg said technology like NIBIN always should be partnered with “good old-fashioned gumshoe detective work.”
A February report from the Department of Justice’s Inspector General found budget and personnel shortages and lack of technical expertise might hinder the ability of law enforcement agencies to “effectively participate in the program.”
For the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols parts of suburban Houston, NIBIN is worth the extra work it takes to scan bullet casings into the database while also responding to calls and processing other evidence.
“Finding a casing for us, I look at it as better than finding a fingerprint,” said Dominic Sodolak, a crime scene investigator with the sheriff’s office.
___
Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
___
Follow John Mone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnMone
The post Ballistics database helps bring Houston gang war into focus appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2o7iJQe
via
Scaling up a cleaner-burning alternative for cookstoves
For millions of people globally, cooking in their own homes can be detrimental to their health, and sometimes deadly. The World Health Organization estimates that 3.8 million people a year die as a result of the soot and smoke generated in traditional wood-burning cookstoves. Women and children in particular are at risk of pneumonia, stroke, lung cancer, or low birth weight.
“All their life they’re exposed to this smoke,” says Betty Ikalany, founder and chief executive director of Appropriate Energy Saving Technologies (AEST). “Ten thousand women die annually in Uganda because of inhaling smoke from cookstoves.”
Ikalany is working to eliminate the health risks associated with cookstoves in Uganda. In 2012 she met Amy Smith, founding director of MIT D-Lab, who introduced her to D-Lab’s method of manufacturing briquettes that produce no soot and very little smoke. Ikalany saw an opportunity to use this technology in Uganda, and founded AEST that same year. She started assembling a team to produce and distribute the briquettes.
Made of charcoal dust, carbonized agricultural waste such as peanut shells and corn husks, and a cassava-water porridge, which acts as a binding agent, the briquettes are wet initially. To be usable in a cookstove, they must be completely dried. Ikalany’s team dries the briquettes on open-air racks.
In ideal sunny conditions, it takes three days for the briquettes to dry. Inclement weather or humidity can substantially slow down the evaporation needed to dry the briquettes. When it rains, the briquettes are covered with tarps, completely halting the drying process.
“The drying of the briquettes is the bottleneck of the whole process,” says Danielle Gleason, a senior studying mechanical engineering. “In order to scale up production and keep growing as a business, Betty and her team realized that they needed to improve the drying process.”
Gleason was one of several students who were connected to Ikalany through MIT D-Lab courses. While taking the cross-listed MIT D-Lab class 2.651/EC.711 (Introduction to Energy in Global Development) as a sophomore, she worked on a project that sought to optimize the drying process in charcoal briquettes. That summer, she traveled to Uganda to meet with Ikalany’s team along with Daniel Sweeney, a research scientist at MIT D-Lab.
“Drawing upon their strong theoretical foundation and experiences in the lab and the classroom, we want our students to go out into the field and make real things that have a lasting impact,” explains Maria Yang, professor of mechanical engineering and faculty academic director at MIT D-Lab.
During her first trip to Uganda, Gleason focused on information gathering and identifying where there were pain points in the production process of the briquettes.
“I went to Uganda not to present an incredibly complex solution, but simply to learn from our community partners, to share some ideas our team has been working on, and to work directly with those who will be impacted by our designs,” adds Gleason.
Armed with a better understanding of AEST’s production process, Gleason continued to develop ideas for improving the drying process when she returned to MIT last fall. In MIT D-Lab 2.652/EC.712 (Applications of Energy in Global Development), she worked with a team of students on various designs for a new drying system.
“We spent a whole semester figuring out how to improve this airflow and naturally convect the air,” Gleason explains. With sponges acting as stand-ins for the charcoal briquettes, Gleason and her team used heat lamps to replicate the heat and humidity in Uganda. They developed three different designs for tent-like structures that could facilitate drying at all times — even when raining. At the end of the semester, it was time to put these designs to the test.
“You can prototype and test all you want, but until you visit the field and experience the real-world conditions and work with the people who will be using your designs, you never fully understand the problem,” adds Gleason.
Last January, during MIT’s Independent Activity Period, Gleason returned to Uganda to test designs. She and her team found out that their original idea of having a slanted dryer didn’t work in real-world conditions. Outside of the controlled conditions in the lab, their dryers didn’t have enough air flow to speed up the drying process.
They spent several weeks troubleshooting dryer designs with Ikalany and her team. The team ended up designing covered dryers that allowed the briquettes to dry in both sun and rain, increasing the overall throughput.
“We believe that once we are able to scale up what we have learned from Danielle and her team we should be able to produce five times more a day,” says Ikalany. “Our production capacity will increase and the demand for customers will be met.”
In addition to helping Ikalany scale up the production of the potentially life-saving briquettes, Gleason and her fellow students left Uganda with a broadened world view.
“For most students, this is the first time they will visit these countries,” adds Yang. “Not only do we want to benefit our collaborators, we want our students to gain formative and enriching experiences.”
Gleason left Uganda with a deeper appreciation of community. “Seeing how close the community Betty and her team are a part of really made me value the idea of community more,” she recalls.
While other students will pick up where Gleason and her team left off in their work with Ikalany in the coming months, Gleason hopes to continue working on solutions in the developing world as she explores future career paths. “I really love looking at how people interact with the things they use, and I think there’s so much room for growth in user-interfacing in the developing world,” she says.
from MIT News https://ift.tt/2pakWuG
via
Man mistaken as a burglar and shot by police settles case for $750K
Bryant Heyward has some semblance of justice after settling a lawsuit against the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office as a result of getting shot in his home by a cop who confused him for a robber.
READ MORE: Cop that killed Atatiana Jefferson responded as if there was a burglary
In 2015, Heyward called the police after armed burglars broke into his home. But in the mix-up, Heyward was shot by a cop and ended up paralyzed from the neck down. He initially filed a $25 million lawsuit but settled for $750,000, his attorney told ABC News on Sunday.
“This case was very complicated. Bryant was a completely innocent guy and everything that could have went wrong did go wrong,” his attorney, Justin Bamberg, said.
“With no footage of the shooting, certain factual disputes created a proverbial he-said, he-said situation. However, nothing changes the fact that Bryant was an innocent homeowner shot in a tragic turn of events.”
“His life changed forever, but he’s one of the fortunate ones who survived one of these bad encounters with law enforcement,” he added.
Heyward who lives in Hollywood, South Carolina, reportedly was holding a gun when Charleston County Sheriff’s saw him, which was the catalyst that caused confusion. Heyward reported to 911 dispatchers that two robbers had guns and were “banging at the window” trying to break in.
But by the time the Sheriff’s deputies arrived, the burglars were long gone, and Heyward was the one reportedly holding a weapon.
Heyward was shot and his injuries not only left him paralyzed but in need of medical care for life. His attorney explained that his client is unable to wash his own body or feed himself without assistance. He is also emotionally spent, his attorney said.
READ MORE: 5 things to know about police shooting victim Atatiana Jefferson
“I’ve had a few cases in my career that emotionally put me through the wringer and this is one of them,” Bamberg said. “It hurts to have a young man who is in his late 20s tell you they would rather be dead because he can’t move anything below his neck.”
“Over time, his spirit revitalized and his spirit was rebuilt. Now he says, ‘I’m a survivor, I can beat this.’ He learned how to use this chair and he realized that he’s blessed because he still gets to talk to his loved ones and visit his friends,” he said.
The settlement agreement reportedly happened back in May but Heyward told his attorney to keep details private to protect his him. He wants his story now to encourage others.
“We didn’t say anything; we were mindful that what kick-started this whole thing was foolish people trying to break in to steal from him,” Bamberg said. “We didn’t want to put out how much money he got just in case someone tried to target his house again.”
The post Man mistaken as a burglar and shot by police settles case for $750K appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2W7DdVD
via
Phoenix cop fired after video of him manhandling Black family went viral
The Phoenix Police Department will fire a white police officer in the city who harassed a Black family by pulling guns on them, and accusing them of stealing from a Family Dollar Store.
The decision came after following the release of three surveillance videos that featured a Black father Dravon Ames, and his family being held at gunpoint and a month-long internal investigation was conducted.
Ames’ 4-year-old child was accused of stealing from a dollar store on May 27.
The videos that went viral showed the father, his pregnant fiancée, Iesha Harper, their two daughters and another woman, Renita Lynn Biscoe in the store. Police said the 4-year-old was walking out of the dollar store with a $1 Baby Alive doll, and accused the father for stealing a pack of underwear.
On Tuesday, Chief Jeri Williams said two officers involved in the confrontation with the family were sent to the Disciplinary Review Board. The board made recommendations to reprimand the first officer with a write up, and the second officer was handed a six-week unpaid suspension.
However, Williams felt the punishment for the second cop didn’t fit the offense. So Williams followed up with the board. After considering the facts of the case and the second officer’s conduct, ABC News reports, she said she plans to terminate his employment.
“After meeting with the officer, Chris Meyer, personally and considering all the facts of the case, I have notified him of my intention to terminate his employment,” she said Tuesday.
“In this case, a 240-hour suspension is just not sufficient to reverse the adverse effects of his actions on our department and our community,” she explained.
Meyer has the option to appeal the decision. He is still on administrative leave.
READ MORE: Family viciously harassed by officers after 4-year-old leaves discount store with a doll
“It was difficult for both of us — for me to make the decision and for him to take the call,” Williams said.
At issue is Meyer’s treatment and manhandling of the family members.
In the video, an overzealous officer is seen screaming at Harper, who not only has a child in her hand, but also reveals to officials that she is pregnant. The officer prompts and threatens Harper to put her hands up, despite her own protest that she is carrying a child in her arms, and cannot do so. Both Ames and Harper can be seen attempting to comply with officers as best as possible, while being yelled at, threatened and physically attacked.
In one video, Meyers reportedly yelled at Ames, “I’m gonna put a f——- cap in your f——- head.”
READ MORE: Beto O’Rourke debate guests are Black men who kneeled for anthem to protest police brutality
Another video appeared to show Meyer on top of Ames, handcuffing him, pulling him off the ground and then slamming him against a patrol car. He then kicked him between and legs, which made Ames fall down.
“When I tell you to do something, you f—— do it!” Meyer is heard yelling at Ames in the video.
Ames simply replied, “I’m sorry.”
“We wear this badge as a symbol of our commitment to a higher standard,” Williams said Tuesday. “One that won’t erode the trust of those we serve or tarnish the pride that is involved with being a Phoenix police officer.”
A lawsuit the family filed against the force is pending.
The post Phoenix cop fired after video of him manhandling Black family went viral appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2MErkmS
via
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ two sons involved in car crash in LA
Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ two sons, Quincy and Christian Combs, were involved in a car crash but both reportedly emerged unscathed.
READ MORE: Diddy and Lori Harvey spotted hanging out in Italy with her family
Just one night earlier, Diddy’s rumored ex-Lori Harvey banged up her vehicle, which flipped over after she reportedly hit a parked car and crashed while texting.
According to OK Magazine, Quincy, 28, was at the wheel with his brother riding shotgun on the side when they collided with a female driver on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on Monday night.
The two were said to be leaving Diddy’s compound before the crash occurred. Christian reportedly did a Kevin Hart move and left the scene with Diddy’s bodyguards in another vehicle.
Quincy, however, stayed on site and reportedly comforted the female driver of the other vehicle. The outlet is reporting that there were no injuries.
It’s a good thing Quincy stayed put, given that Lori Harvey skedaddled, left the crash scene and was arrested a short time later.
The beauty who had recently been linked to Diddy was allegedly driving a Mercedes SUV that collided with a parked car, causing hers to flip over. She reportedly had to be pulled from the car and left the scene before the cops apprehended her.
She was arrested for a hit and run and delaying a police investigation. She was given a misdemeanor citation and didn’t actually get booked, but promised to appear in court.
READ MORE: On the sneak, looks like Diddy’s dabbling with a new boo
Sources told OK! that Lori Harvey was texting and driving at the time of the collision, and police told the outlet they did not suspect she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.
Just last week, Lori Harvey and Diddy raised eyebrows when they unfollowed each other on social media. Fans are speculating that their rumored romance may be over for good.
What in the Ciroc is happening with Diddy’s inner circle?
The post Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ two sons involved in car crash in LA appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2pa8BGS
via
Amber Guyger’s law team files intent to appeal murder conviction
Amber Guyger’s law team has started the process to overturn the former Dallas cop’s conviction for the killing of Botham Jean with the filing of an intent to appeal.
READ MORE: Judge Tammy Kemp explains actions of Black bailiff who appeared to primp Amber Guyger in court
Guyger was handed a 10-year sentence for fatally shooting Jean in his Southside Flats apartment, after mistaking his place for her own. One of her attorneys, Robert Rodgers, said that the team has already told the public that they are angling to overturn her sentence and the murder conviction.
In this process, the city is making sure that there are new personnel appointed to the case.
Given that Guyger garnered sympathy from the Judge Tammy Kemp in her case, the Dallas County District Attorney’s office filed a petition to have her recused from overseeing the upcoming hearings and replaced by another judge, NBC 5’s media partner KRLD reports.
The Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot still has to face a contempt hearing. Judge Kemp found him in contempt for taking part in an interview ahead of the trial, even after she issued a gag order.
Although Guyger’s team has filed an intent to appeal, legal analyst Ed Klein told KRLD it’s just procedure that gives them the leeway for a 90 day extension to file an appeal and doesn’t mean they will actually file one.
But we all know where this is headed, don’t we?
Former Dallas police officer Guyger was convicted of murder in the killing of Botham Jean after a controversial trial that invoked race, police misconduct and legal definitions of self-defense.
Despite expectations that it would take longer, a jury voted in less than 24 hours to convict. Prosecutors were able to convince them that the Sept. 6, 2018 shooting was not accidental, but an incident in which Guyger deliberately opened fire before properly assessing the situation. The 31-year-old ex-cop has maintained that after a tiring shift, she simply went to the wrong apartment in her residential complex, one floor above her own, believing it was hers and thought Jean, 26, was an intruder.
Guyger was sentenced to 10 years.
The post Amber Guyger’s law team files intent to appeal murder conviction appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2pNRye0
via
Warrick Dunn Delivers 173rd Home to St. Petersburg Mother
Giving back is always the right thing to do! In this case, according to Bleacher Report, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn has gifted a fully furnished house to a single mother who lives in St. Petersburg.
LaToya Reedy and her 18-year-old son, AnTrez Reedy, were the lucky recipients of Dunn’s generosity as they were the 173rd recipients of a home through Dunn’s organization Warrick Dunn Charities and their partnership with Habitat for Humanity. “Being a homeowner now, I can be at home,” she told Tampa Bay Times. “I can be at peace. I can bring sweet memories to my house and I can have my family and my friends over. I have a home now, and that’s something that I’ve always wanted for my son, and for myself.”
She volunteered with Habitat for Humanity helping to construct other homes by completing more than 350 sweat equity hours, more than the 300-hour minimum required as part of Habitat’s homeownership program before purchasing and moving into their Habitat home.
Related: DeAngelo Williams’ Foundation Has Sponsored More Than 500 Mammograms
According to its website, “During our Founder’s inaugural season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Warrick founded Homes for the Holidays (HFTH) to honor his late mother’s dream of homeownership. The program partners with local community organizations to reduce the burden on new, single-parent homeowners by fully furnishing their new house, providing downpayment assistance checks, and stocking the pantry with food. HFTH was created from the belief that a better future starts with hope. In the wake of his mother’s death back in 1993, Warrick had used his mother’s life insurance to purchase a home for their family – a lifelong dream of Betty’s. It was in that home that the Dunn family found hope.”
Warrick Dunn was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 NFL Draft, after playing college football at Florida State. He was named AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1997. Dunn played 12 years in the NFL as a running back for the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1997-2008. He made three Pro Bowls and won the 2004 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for his community work. He retired from the NFL 17th all-time in all-purpose yards with 15,306 and 22nd in rushing yards with 10,967.
Dunn also has a minority stake in the Falcons’ ownership group led by Arthur Blan. He also wrote an autobiography in 2008, Running For My Life which details his mother’s murder and his battles with depression throughout his life.
from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2BA8xTx
via
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)