Tears flow for 'another Nixzmary Brown' as 11-year-old laid to rest
BY ERICA PEARSON and LEO STANDORA DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
A sad and steady procession of mourners came to a Brooklyn funeral home Thursday to bid farewell to Alejandra Vazquez, the 11-year-old schoolgirl cops say was beaten to death with a mop handle by her mom.
Many of the relatives, friends, neighbors - and more than a few strangers touched by her tragic story - arrived at the Ponce Funeral Home on Fourth Ave. with their arms full of flowers.
One small child went in clutching a single red rose to her heart.
Almost all had tears in their eyes, prayers on their lips - or both.
"This is so sad, so horrible," said one mourner who only gave the name Maria, gesturing at the open casket where Alejandra's body lay in a glistening white dress, her face heavily made up to mask her injuries.
"This should happen to nobody, but it seems worse when it happens to such a little girl."
Nearby, Barbara Medina, who helped collect money for Alejandra's dress through a nonprofit organization, nodded agreement.
"This didn't have to happen. This is like another Nixzmary Brown," she said. "This child died by herself and is leaving us by herself."
Alejandra's uncle, Celerino Vazquez, 30, said the family was struggling to cope with the tragedy. "We're all praying. It's something we just have to get through."
Florencia Vazquez, 36, confessed to beating her daughter to death with a mop handle and leaving her to die in her own bed, but later claimed the girl suffered her fatal injuries in a fall.
Alejandra was found dead Sunday morning. The case is going to a grand jury.
Meanwhile, the concerns of close family friend Sophia Morales, 23, are for Alejandra's three siblings - ages 6, 3 and 1.
"They are wondering what happened," she said. "I just don't know how to answer them."
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Michelle Obama
Why white America perhaps fears Michelle more than Barack.
Excerpts from a 'Jack & Jill politics' newsletter:
...as hard as it is to accept a black president, it's even harder to accept a black first lady. First Lady has always held a beloved sentimental mother/wife of the nation symbolism.
Conservatives are not ready to have to look at this very BLACK woman with her degrees and her fierceness and see her as the epitome of the American mother/wife.This will be a first for white people. They do not want this black woman in the Whitehouse as their first lady. That New Yorker cartoon was [actually] about Michelle - she was its focal point…..look closely... she is the leader, the one starting the "revolution" theywant you to imagine…………MSNBC's Chris Matthews said, in the course of covering the Obama candidacy, 'He (Barack Obama) brings none of the20' bad stuff, you know?" By 'Bad Stuff', he meant the legacy of [whites] enslaving Africans in this country, keeping them as second-class citizens until 1965, a mere 11 years before this country celebrated its 200th anniversary. You know, 'the original sin', or ' the birth d efect', as Condi Rice called it. Barack escapes this 'bad stuff' only because his mother was white and may have had ancestors involved in the slave trade; and also because Barack's father was not African American. He was full blooded African and therefore Barack had no ancestors enslaved byAmerica - and so the white guilt factor is missing when they think ofhim. HOWEVER, NO SUCH LUCK WITH MICHELLE!Michelle Obama is a direct threat and lightening bolt against White Superiority. Because, she's Black… VISIBLY BLACK… But it's important to note, she does not, in any way,shape, or form, contour to the acceptable Black Pathologies that enable White Supremacy to sigh with relief. [welfare mother, fatherless child, druggie, etc.] Michelle was raised in a neighborhood. In a home. With TWO parents. No child revolving in and out of jail.
Raised by a Black man who not only provided for his family, but did so, WITH A DISABILITY. Her mother had a working class job - secretary- but it was taken ONLYafter she had seen her youngest child settle into HIGH SCHOOL.Michelle Obama's poise, her confidence, her aura - that was created by that humble Black man, who by all accounts, adored her. He told her that she is worthy, and so, when you have that told to you by the first man who loves and protects you, you seek that validation of that in your choice of mate, you'll settle for nothing less, and Michelle hasn't.
Michelle Obama, doesn't fit any of the acceptable Black pathologies. And when you don't fit the acceptable Black pathologies, then you must be destroyed. Michelle Obama has become the face of the Black America whose existence is routinely denied by this country. Think about it.In ONE generation, the face of this 'Invisible America' has gone from living on the top floor of a bungalow, to the possibility of living in The White House. And yet, Michelle Obama, refuses to say " I' m special", in order to give white America its usual security blanket [that she is one of the exceptions rather than the rule], So what should be done?Beat her down into submission.
Michelle Obama represents everything we black women want our daughters to be. When we stand up for her we stand up for ourselves. No other women in the world are more neglected and abused as African women period. Michelle looks like [our] daughters, her daughters look like us. We love the way Barack looks at her we adore the way he looks at his daughters. The Obamas represent the hope that we can be loved by our men and they will support us in whatever we do.
Little African American girls need a vision anddream of what it is like to be loved by a man who looks just like them. Is America ready for a First Lady who looks like her? A regular black woman? Not a passable biracial curly haired girl that they call black, but a regular black woman from the south side of Chicago ? With dark skin?Is she going to be the face of The Woman on the largest pedestal in the country? A self-confessed "loud-mouth" black woman? If the Obamas succeed, it turns white supremacy upside down. And not because a black man is in the White House; but, because a blackwoman will be there who didn't have to come in the back door to lie in bed with the president.
Excerpts from a 'Jack & Jill politics' newsletter:
...as hard as it is to accept a black president, it's even harder to accept a black first lady. First Lady has always held a beloved sentimental mother/wife of the nation symbolism.
Conservatives are not ready to have to look at this very BLACK woman with her degrees and her fierceness and see her as the epitome of the American mother/wife.This will be a first for white people. They do not want this black woman in the Whitehouse as their first lady. That New Yorker cartoon was [actually] about Michelle - she was its focal point…..look closely... she is the leader, the one starting the "revolution" theywant you to imagine…………MSNBC's Chris Matthews said, in the course of covering the Obama candidacy, 'He (Barack Obama) brings none of the20' bad stuff, you know?" By 'Bad Stuff', he meant the legacy of [whites] enslaving Africans in this country, keeping them as second-class citizens until 1965, a mere 11 years before this country celebrated its 200th anniversary. You know, 'the original sin', or ' the birth d efect', as Condi Rice called it. Barack escapes this 'bad stuff' only because his mother was white and may have had ancestors involved in the slave trade; and also because Barack's father was not African American. He was full blooded African and therefore Barack had no ancestors enslaved byAmerica - and so the white guilt factor is missing when they think ofhim. HOWEVER, NO SUCH LUCK WITH MICHELLE!Michelle Obama is a direct threat and lightening bolt against White Superiority. Because, she's Black… VISIBLY BLACK… But it's important to note, she does not, in any way,shape, or form, contour to the acceptable Black Pathologies that enable White Supremacy to sigh with relief. [welfare mother, fatherless child, druggie, etc.] Michelle was raised in a neighborhood. In a home. With TWO parents. No child revolving in and out of jail.
Raised by a Black man who not only provided for his family, but did so, WITH A DISABILITY. Her mother had a working class job - secretary- but it was taken ONLYafter she had seen her youngest child settle into HIGH SCHOOL.Michelle Obama's poise, her confidence, her aura - that was created by that humble Black man, who by all accounts, adored her. He told her that she is worthy, and so, when you have that told to you by the first man who loves and protects you, you seek that validation of that in your choice of mate, you'll settle for nothing less, and Michelle hasn't.
Michelle Obama, doesn't fit any of the acceptable Black pathologies. And when you don't fit the acceptable Black pathologies, then you must be destroyed. Michelle Obama has become the face of the Black America whose existence is routinely denied by this country. Think about it.In ONE generation, the face of this 'Invisible America' has gone from living on the top floor of a bungalow, to the possibility of living in The White House. And yet, Michelle Obama, refuses to say " I' m special", in order to give white America its usual security blanket [that she is one of the exceptions rather than the rule], So what should be done?Beat her down into submission.
Michelle Obama represents everything we black women want our daughters to be. When we stand up for her we stand up for ourselves. No other women in the world are more neglected and abused as African women period. Michelle looks like [our] daughters, her daughters look like us. We love the way Barack looks at her we adore the way he looks at his daughters. The Obamas represent the hope that we can be loved by our men and they will support us in whatever we do.
Little African American girls need a vision anddream of what it is like to be loved by a man who looks just like them. Is America ready for a First Lady who looks like her? A regular black woman? Not a passable biracial curly haired girl that they call black, but a regular black woman from the south side of Chicago ? With dark skin?Is she going to be the face of The Woman on the largest pedestal in the country? A self-confessed "loud-mouth" black woman? If the Obamas succeed, it turns white supremacy upside down. And not because a black man is in the White House; but, because a blackwoman will be there who didn't have to come in the back door to lie in bed with the president.
Do white men assimilate, or with cultural preference? by La from Tribute for Your Thoughts
Do white men assimilate, or with cultural preference? by La
While living in a largely black populated community and region, I have made some personal observations about Caucasian relations in these areas. I’ve also made some comparisons regarding white men and their preference in cultural assimilation. All of what I’m stating is based on my own observations and perspectives. I am not trying to be negative or “project” any type of negativity unto other black females. I just have to explore and present my theories on these issues. I also want to welcome any opinions or opposing views.
Most importantly as a black female today, I fully support and promote black women to explore their options in dating interracially. I always knew non-black men, particularly white men found black women attractive and desirable. In fact, I grew up knowing this all my life. However, I feel there are still profoundly noticeable signals coming from the white male population that would challenge that belief in the eyes of many black females. We all know some say black women are less receptive or indulge in the “fear” of white men through “myths”, mammism, misconceptions, lack of exposure etc… But still, black women didn’t manifest these ideas out of thin air. Apart from the usual complaints, even the “white male” controlled media seems to welcome so much anti black female isms, as well as promoting more black male/white female coupling as the black and white IR tokens. Movies, sitcoms, picture ads, magazines, online banners, and even your everyday clip-art seems to be getting infected by this visible preference.
Seeing this over the years, has made me wonder at times who really controls the media regarding interracial groupings. Anyone could easily assume it’s either black males or white females using it for their own beneficial agendas, and visual recruitment. I know it might be the 1% of the white male population that actually partake in the direct media productions. But, It’s still obvious white males collectively know how to use the media to their overall advantage, affirmative self image, financial, political etc. So why not promote or encourage more white male and black female unions in the media, if so many are so inclined? I’m not trying to put an unrealistic burden on white males. In general, most women like to feel wanted and desired, or respectively pursued by men.. Black women are no different.
Which brings me back to my main curiosity. I always wondered if white men assimilate and do so romantically in non-white societies. At least in the way many black men, and Asian men etc. do when trying to acquire white female companionship in white dominated societies. I think they do, but perhaps in selective cultures? I know it’s based on individualism, but even generally when being the minority, there still seems to be some sort of arrogant superiority resistance among many white men. Furthermore, yes there is evidence of white men going to racially and culturally different places to assimilate, and even seek out the native women… Asia, Hawaii, India, South America etc.. Even in the media, these unions are presented “exotic” and they’re romatically inevitable. What about Africa? Be it movies, or real life, you rarely hear a love story coming from the fact that a white male took a trip to Africa. If anything, he seeks out white females that are there already. I often wonder how many white European/American military soldiers would readily take home African war brides the way they do with Asian and South American women.
White men don’t assimilate in the Caribbean as people seem to think either. Even so, the Caribbean is so diverse in background and culture, and it depends on the area. In my particular parts, you rarely see white men with black females, but much more increasingly in the reverse. I live on the US islands, and white men seem to still seek out the white women that are also living on these US islands. It’s almost mind boggling :) I always see young and old white men in arms with white women, especially on the weekends. Many of these men come alone, but upon arrival they still hunt for the minute white female population. Now, you might see more white men trying to befriend the native black women on non-US islands. Do non-US black Caribbean women have something special over US Caribbean black women? No. While thinking about this oddness over the few years, the harsh reality behind it darned on me. Due to some of their local island laws (british/french), some of those white males try to marry or make arrangements with those native black women in order to purchase the protected land and their island resources. So, you should think twice when if you see some white people in general with native blacks in certain parts of the Caribbean.
I know many would disagree with my less-than-positive observations. And yes, we already know all about the disloyal hearts of so many black men, this has clearly been established. So why pick on white men or put such a critical emphasis on them? If we’re going to promote or encourage white male options, then we should also be able to openly tackle some of these blatant non-affirming signals and prejudices many of them still have towards black women. This is the only way for all cards to be placed fairly on the table. Again, I’m not projecting, or talking about all white males. I just wanted to share some of my personal observations, (even in my area) and thoughts for exploring and understanding things that were on my mind. Perhaps other black women share similar concerns and sentiments.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A Visit to Erica Green (Precious Doe)
Watch some stills and video clips of my visit in 2006 to see Erica's gravesite -- May she rest in peace !!! K.C. residents, please visit her at the cemetery. Her marker is BEAUTIFUL, just like ERICA. - KWH
Jennifer Hudson's Family Murdered
Jennifer Hudson: Family Members Killed In Chicago
By Karu F. Daniels, BlackVoices.com
Family members of Academy Award winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson have been shot in Chicago.According to CBS affiliate WBBM-TV, Hudson's mother was found fatally shot in a South Side home on Friday. The Chicago Fire Department confirmed that two adults were found dead in a home at 70th Street and Yale Avenue.Willie Davis, pastor of the family's church, Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist, confirmed that 57-year-old Darnell Hudson Donerson was one of the victims.
A brief statement released by Jennifer Hudson's publicist acknowledged her mother's death, and confirmed that the other body was that of Jennifer Hudson's brother, 29-year-old Jason Hudson. A cousin, who lived nearby, reportedly discovered the bodies.More details have surfaced."This is a very sad day to get that kind of news," Davis said. "This is really going to be a major, major blow to such a wonderful person ... But we know through our faith in God she'll get through it." He also to the CBS station that the J Records recording artist's relationship with her mother was "very close." The 'Spotlight' singer was expected to arrive in Chicago from Florida.The shooting is believed to be domestic. Read Popeater's account for more details.
Meanwhile, an Amber Alert has been issued for a boy, believed to be Hudson's 7-year-old nephew Julian King (pictured right) who may have been taken from the scene. Police are looking for 1994 white Suburban with the license plate X584859.
By Karu F. Daniels, BlackVoices.com
Family members of Academy Award winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson have been shot in Chicago.According to CBS affiliate WBBM-TV, Hudson's mother was found fatally shot in a South Side home on Friday. The Chicago Fire Department confirmed that two adults were found dead in a home at 70th Street and Yale Avenue.Willie Davis, pastor of the family's church, Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist, confirmed that 57-year-old Darnell Hudson Donerson was one of the victims.
A brief statement released by Jennifer Hudson's publicist acknowledged her mother's death, and confirmed that the other body was that of Jennifer Hudson's brother, 29-year-old Jason Hudson. A cousin, who lived nearby, reportedly discovered the bodies.More details have surfaced."This is a very sad day to get that kind of news," Davis said. "This is really going to be a major, major blow to such a wonderful person ... But we know through our faith in God she'll get through it." He also to the CBS station that the J Records recording artist's relationship with her mother was "very close." The 'Spotlight' singer was expected to arrive in Chicago from Florida.The shooting is believed to be domestic. Read Popeater's account for more details.
Meanwhile, an Amber Alert has been issued for a boy, believed to be Hudson's 7-year-old nephew Julian King (pictured right) who may have been taken from the scene. Police are looking for 1994 white Suburban with the license plate X584859.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Another Hate Crime In Texas: Brandon McClelland
Hat Tip to Ann. Thank you Ann for posting the article the media overlooked.
To my fellow bloggers:
Please post this article on the hate crime in Texas town of Paris. It's outrageous and it goes to show how little Black lives are valued in America. All this summer I hear was Caylee. What about Mr. McClelland? He's just as valuable as any other American citizen.
Killing in a small town raises hate crime fears
By Howard Witt
October 5, 2008
PARIS, Texas - When the mutilated and partially dismembered body of Brandon McClelland, a 24-year-old black man, turned up lying in the middle of a rural east Texas road one morning last month, the police immediately pronounced the case a hit-and-run by an unknown driver.Within a few days, however, suspicions turned toward two white friends who had picked up McClelland in their truck a few hours before he was found dead early on Sept. 16. Despite signs that the truck had been washed, authorities discovered blood and other physical evidence on the undercarriage and arrested the two men, both with long criminal histories, for murder.Now this small, racially divided town--already seared with a racist label by civil rights groups last year over differences in how blacks and whites were treated by the local justice system--is on edge yet again, wondering if it's got a horrific new hate crime on its hands.The district attorney insists race had nothing to do with McClelland's death and police investigators are portraying the case as an apparent falling-out among friends.
But McClelland's relatives and Paris civil rights leaders are less certain. Citing the violence done to McClelland's body and reports that one of the alleged assailants, Shannon Finley, had white supremacist ties, they are demanding that Paris authorities investigate the case as a possible hate crime akin to the infamous 1998 lynching of James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, Texas, 250 miles south of here.Byrd was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck by three white supremacists who were later convicted of murder. McClelland was walking in front of the pickup when Finley, 27, and a friend, Charles Ryan Crostley, 27, who was also arrested, allegedly ran him down and then dragged him 40 feet along the road until his mutilated body popped out from beneath the chassis, according to a police affidavit accompanying the warrant for Finley's arrest."If you take somebody out to the country like that in the middle of the night and do that to him in that way, that's how they do black people around here," said Brenda Cherry, a local activist working with McClelland's family. "To me, it smells like Jasper."
Paris' race relations came under withering national scrutiny last year after the Tribune reported the case of Shaquanda Cotton, a 14-year-old African-American youth who was sentenced by a local judge to up to seven years in a youth prison for shoving a hall monitor at her high school. Just three months earlier, the same judge had sentenced a 14-year-old white girl to probation after convicting her of the more serious crime of arson for burning down her family's house.The discrepancy in the treatment of the two teenagers provoked protests from national civil rights groups and led to Cotton's early release from prison. Now McClelland's family fears that Paris officials, eager to protect their city of 26,000 from another round of negative publicity over race relations, are purposefully downplaying potential racial overtones in McClelland's murder."At the crime scene, it looked like these boys went back and poured beer on my son's body," said Jacqueline McClelland, Brandon's mother. "Two beer cans were lying out there, but the police didn't even pick them up, they just left evidence out there. They won't even consider the racial issues. That's the way it is in Paris.
"Even the editor of the local newspaper, normally an impassioned defender of Paris' reputation, has cautioned law enforcement officials to be thorough and "leave no stone unturned" in their investigation."Hopefully, this community has learned from its past," Mary Madewell wrote in the Paris News. "... Even if our worst fears prove to be true, let us realize that the actions of single individuals should in no way bring condemnation to an entire community."Family members and other critics are also concerned about the impartiality of Lamar County District Atty. Gary Young, who five years ago, before he was elected prosecutor, served as Finley's court-appointed defense attorney when Finley pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting a friend to death.Young has declined to state whether he will recuse himself and other prosecutors in his office from handling the McClelland case.
Although the victim in Finley's 2003 manslaughter case was white, race played a role in the incident. Finley told police he was sitting in a pickup with his friend in a park when two gun-wielding black men supposedly walked up alongside and tried to rob them. Finley said he grabbed his friend's handgun and fired at the robbers, but instead shot his friend.An autopsy determined that the victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, but the district attorney at the time accepted Finley's contention that the shooting was an accident and offered him a plea bargain on a reduced manslaughter charge. Finley served three years of a 4-year prison sentence. The alleged robbers were never found.That manslaughter case also tied Finley and McClelland closely together. McClelland furnished a false alibi for Finley, testifying before a grand jury that Finley was with him at the time the shooting occurred. That lie under oath earned McClelland a conviction for aggravated perjury, for which he served two years in prison.Largely because of that connection between McClelland and Finley, police discount the possibility that race played a part in McClelland's death. "I don't see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends," said Stacy McNeal, the Texas Ranger who is the lead investigator on the case.But McClelland's relatives say they have heard that Finley fell in with white supremacists while in prison and that he had grown upset over Brandon's overtures to a white girl--factors they say the police ought to investigate."I always told Brandon that Finley was bad news and he should stay away from him," said Ervin Barry, a friend of McClelland's. "But Brandon thought they were good friends."
Race relations in Paris, Texas : An update
SHAQUANDA COTTON: The black high school freshman whose sentence of up to seven years in prison for shoving a school hall monitor drew national scrutiny to the town's justice system was released from prison in March 2007. Now 17, she is studying for her GED certificate and hopes to attend junior college.TASK FORCE: Citizens concerned about racial fissures in town exposed by the Cotton case convened a local Diversity Task Force, which has held several meetings and last month hosted a community-wide block party attended by several hundred residents.INVESTIGATION: The U.S. Department of Education last month concluded a two-year investigation of allegedly discriminatory disciplinary policies in the Paris public schools. The agency said it found "insufficient evidence to support a conclusion" that black students were being disciplined more harshly than whites.
To my fellow bloggers:
Please post this article on the hate crime in Texas town of Paris. It's outrageous and it goes to show how little Black lives are valued in America. All this summer I hear was Caylee. What about Mr. McClelland? He's just as valuable as any other American citizen.
Killing in a small town raises hate crime fears
By Howard Witt
October 5, 2008
PARIS, Texas - When the mutilated and partially dismembered body of Brandon McClelland, a 24-year-old black man, turned up lying in the middle of a rural east Texas road one morning last month, the police immediately pronounced the case a hit-and-run by an unknown driver.Within a few days, however, suspicions turned toward two white friends who had picked up McClelland in their truck a few hours before he was found dead early on Sept. 16. Despite signs that the truck had been washed, authorities discovered blood and other physical evidence on the undercarriage and arrested the two men, both with long criminal histories, for murder.Now this small, racially divided town--already seared with a racist label by civil rights groups last year over differences in how blacks and whites were treated by the local justice system--is on edge yet again, wondering if it's got a horrific new hate crime on its hands.The district attorney insists race had nothing to do with McClelland's death and police investigators are portraying the case as an apparent falling-out among friends.
But McClelland's relatives and Paris civil rights leaders are less certain. Citing the violence done to McClelland's body and reports that one of the alleged assailants, Shannon Finley, had white supremacist ties, they are demanding that Paris authorities investigate the case as a possible hate crime akin to the infamous 1998 lynching of James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, Texas, 250 miles south of here.Byrd was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck by three white supremacists who were later convicted of murder. McClelland was walking in front of the pickup when Finley, 27, and a friend, Charles Ryan Crostley, 27, who was also arrested, allegedly ran him down and then dragged him 40 feet along the road until his mutilated body popped out from beneath the chassis, according to a police affidavit accompanying the warrant for Finley's arrest."If you take somebody out to the country like that in the middle of the night and do that to him in that way, that's how they do black people around here," said Brenda Cherry, a local activist working with McClelland's family. "To me, it smells like Jasper."
Paris' race relations came under withering national scrutiny last year after the Tribune reported the case of Shaquanda Cotton, a 14-year-old African-American youth who was sentenced by a local judge to up to seven years in a youth prison for shoving a hall monitor at her high school. Just three months earlier, the same judge had sentenced a 14-year-old white girl to probation after convicting her of the more serious crime of arson for burning down her family's house.The discrepancy in the treatment of the two teenagers provoked protests from national civil rights groups and led to Cotton's early release from prison. Now McClelland's family fears that Paris officials, eager to protect their city of 26,000 from another round of negative publicity over race relations, are purposefully downplaying potential racial overtones in McClelland's murder."At the crime scene, it looked like these boys went back and poured beer on my son's body," said Jacqueline McClelland, Brandon's mother. "Two beer cans were lying out there, but the police didn't even pick them up, they just left evidence out there. They won't even consider the racial issues. That's the way it is in Paris.
"Even the editor of the local newspaper, normally an impassioned defender of Paris' reputation, has cautioned law enforcement officials to be thorough and "leave no stone unturned" in their investigation."Hopefully, this community has learned from its past," Mary Madewell wrote in the Paris News. "... Even if our worst fears prove to be true, let us realize that the actions of single individuals should in no way bring condemnation to an entire community."Family members and other critics are also concerned about the impartiality of Lamar County District Atty. Gary Young, who five years ago, before he was elected prosecutor, served as Finley's court-appointed defense attorney when Finley pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting a friend to death.Young has declined to state whether he will recuse himself and other prosecutors in his office from handling the McClelland case.
Although the victim in Finley's 2003 manslaughter case was white, race played a role in the incident. Finley told police he was sitting in a pickup with his friend in a park when two gun-wielding black men supposedly walked up alongside and tried to rob them. Finley said he grabbed his friend's handgun and fired at the robbers, but instead shot his friend.An autopsy determined that the victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, but the district attorney at the time accepted Finley's contention that the shooting was an accident and offered him a plea bargain on a reduced manslaughter charge. Finley served three years of a 4-year prison sentence. The alleged robbers were never found.That manslaughter case also tied Finley and McClelland closely together. McClelland furnished a false alibi for Finley, testifying before a grand jury that Finley was with him at the time the shooting occurred. That lie under oath earned McClelland a conviction for aggravated perjury, for which he served two years in prison.Largely because of that connection between McClelland and Finley, police discount the possibility that race played a part in McClelland's death. "I don't see how it was racial, being as how they were good friends," said Stacy McNeal, the Texas Ranger who is the lead investigator on the case.But McClelland's relatives say they have heard that Finley fell in with white supremacists while in prison and that he had grown upset over Brandon's overtures to a white girl--factors they say the police ought to investigate."I always told Brandon that Finley was bad news and he should stay away from him," said Ervin Barry, a friend of McClelland's. "But Brandon thought they were good friends."
Race relations in Paris, Texas : An update
SHAQUANDA COTTON: The black high school freshman whose sentence of up to seven years in prison for shoving a school hall monitor drew national scrutiny to the town's justice system was released from prison in March 2007. Now 17, she is studying for her GED certificate and hopes to attend junior college.TASK FORCE: Citizens concerned about racial fissures in town exposed by the Cotton case convened a local Diversity Task Force, which has held several meetings and last month hosted a community-wide block party attended by several hundred residents.INVESTIGATION: The U.S. Department of Education last month concluded a two-year investigation of allegedly discriminatory disciplinary policies in the Paris public schools. The agency said it found "insufficient evidence to support a conclusion" that black students were being disciplined more harshly than whites.
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