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Rare robbery case brings cries of racism By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago



LAKEPORT, Calif. - Three young black men break into a white man's home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death — but it's the surviving black man who is charged with murder.

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In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed.

He is scheduled to go on trial Nov. 27.

"It was pandemonium" inside the house that night, District Attorney Jon Hopkins said. Hughes was responsible for "setting the whole thing in motion by his actions and the actions of his accomplices."

Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson. Rashad Williams, 21, and Christian Foster, 22, were shot in the back. Hughes fled.

Hughes was charged with first-degree murder under California's Provocative Act doctrine, versions of which have been on the books in many states for generations but are rarely used.

The Provocative Act doctrine does not require prosecutors to prove the accused intended to kill. Instead, "they have to show that it was reasonably foreseeable that the criminal enterprise could trigger a fatal response from the homeowner," said Brian Getz, a San Francisco defense attorney unconnected to the case.

The NAACP complained that prosecutors came down too hard on Hughes, who also faces robbery, burglary and assault charges. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

The Rev. Amos Brown, head of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP and pastor at Hughes' church, said the case demonstrates the legal system is racist in remote Lake County, aspiring wine country 100 miles north of San Francisco. The sparsely populated county of 13,000 people is 91 percent white and 2 percent black.

Brown and other NAACP officials are asking why the homeowner is walking free. Tests showed Edmonds had marijuana and prescription medication in his system the night of the shooting. Edmonds had a prescription for both the pot and the medication to treat depression.

"This man had no business killing these boys," Brown said. "They were shot in the back. They had fled."

The district attorney said that race played no part in the charges against Hughes and that the homeowner was spared prosecution because of evidence he was defending himself and his family, who were asleep when the assailants barged in at 4 a.m.

Edmonds' stepson, Dale Lafferty, suffered brain damage from the baseball bat beating he took during the melee. The 19-year-old lives in a rehabilitation center and can no longer feed himself.

"I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was defend my family and my children's lives," said Edmonds, 33. "I'm sad the kids are dead, I didn't mean to kill them."

He added: "Race has nothing to do with it other than this was a gang of black people who thought they were going to beat up this white family."

California's Provocative Act doctrine has primarily been used to charge people whose actions led to shooting deaths.

However, in one notable case in Southern California in 1999, a man who robbed a family at gunpoint in their home was convicted of murder because a police officer pursuing him in a car chase slammed into another driver in an intersection, killing her.

Hughes' mother, San Francisco schoolteacher Judy Hughes, said she believes the group didn't intend to rob the family, just buy marijuana. She called the case against her son a "legal lynching."

"Only God knows what happened in that house," she said. "But this I know: My son did not murder his childhood friends."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071115/ap_on_re_us/break_in_murder;_ylt=AvB9ZVhfRKnLU1cqpY2GJ72s0NUE

If you still love the boy, please adopt him. Dont blame him for the sins of his mother. It will be extremely traumatic for him, if you suddenly abandon him.

Check out this website, Freerice.com

Should I call out names? Jakumo, Fynewaka, almondjoy, and all the crews.

www.freerice.com

For each correct word you choose, the site will donate 10 grains of rice through the UN to end world hunger.

Nigerians in the US are sort of renowned for their academic prowess and 419. What a contrast!

It may work if both partners are willing to compromise the tenet of their religion. For me, I wont!

There is no other name on earth that can save you from your past, apart from the Name of Jesus Christ, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He is the ONLY Way to God!

All these abusive word calling someone an analphabetic aint worth it, @pilgrim.

This is what I think:
It is obvious that Bush's opponent refuses to impeach Bush not because he's unimpeachable, but simply to protect the image and future of United States.
Impeaching Bush at this point has enormous punitive damages than being advantageous to the image of America to the outsiders (who also crave for her downfall).
This is also why leadership standard in United States is untouchable. The oppositions are not only thinking about selves or today; they are more concerned about the future of the great image of the United States of America. And they clearly understand that carrying out an impeachment process for President Bush could result into a major impractical collapse of the great country.

If Bush gets impeached successfully:
It will also give a solid premise to successfully try president Bush for War crime.
American president being considered or tried for war crime will send a wrong message, which will further capacitate the stamina of the enemies.

I truly believe that this is the main reason why Bush must be left alone to finish his despicable and disreputable term.


Ndipe's comment

And Nixon was untouchable, Bigb1? Or are you just making up this unfounded stories to initiate some controversy on the board?

PS: How can I insert one's post into my comment instead of copying and pasting?

When there is life, there is hope. Commit it to God in prayers.

Oil and 419. Can you believe that CNN is still running the episode, "How to rob a bank"? I saw it on Television this morning. Talk of an overkill!

Not just sensationalists, but I think the posters of this "Bush question" are probably trying to 'feel among' those who associate international politics with intelligence. I mean, why dont you brainstorm on issues that can positively impact a Nigerian citizen and leave American politics to her citizens who, if they were fed up of the president would demand for his impeachment. Or would an American, domiciled in their home country show a keen interest on the affairs of Nigeria?

It amazes me that some Nigerians back home are sweating it out over American policies while, (perhaps) ignoring the domestic policies in their backyard. Even if Bush is impeached or not @the poster, how will it affect your own life?

Ironic that some muslims try to incorporate mohammed into The Holy Bible while denying the Authenticity of the Holy Scriptures. Make up your mind!

My proofs are from the Holy Bible@Jerrymania.

The Gospel, commonly called the "Good News" is about the message of Salvation that Jesus Christ brought for us with His Blood on the cross. Now, when Jesus Christ went around preaching the Gospel, He was essentially telling people that He was the Only Way to God. He preached Repentance to the people and emphasized that He was the Only Way to God.

The replies that the story was similar to a Nigerian movie was downright hillarious.

Treat them kindly, love them irrespectively and pray to God to give you the Grace to forgive them. Previously, I was quick to take revenge on past misdeeds, but now, I am thankful to God for showing me the true meaning of forgiveness. If God is so kind to Forgive us of our innumerable sins, then why take revenge over another person, whose sins (if they repent) are forgiven?

Did Jesus Christ read the Gospel?

The Gospel is about the life of Jesus Christ, remember the Holy Bible is divided into two, The Old Testament and The New Testament. So in essence, some of His Miracles and His Sayings are just confirmations of prophecies in the Old Testament.

What else do you want to know?

Hinduism does not preach that Jesus Christ is the Only Way to God! That's wrong!

Yeah@horus, but still the practise of voodoo contradicts the teachings of the Holy Bible. Those 'ancestral spirits' are just demons in disguise fooling some people to believe that it is the spirit of their loved ones. Not true.

Please dont abandon her, she needs your help and trusted you to have divulged this heart rending incident. Prayers can counter the debilitating effects of this tragedy.

He has produced his NYSC discharge certificate

http://odili.net/news/source/2007/nov/9/434.html

Read Galatians 5: 19-21, Deuteronomy 18:10-14. It admonishes all humans to desist from practising witchcraft.

Also have you ever read of the witch of Endor, whom Saul consulted at night

@Backslider, The Holy Bible contains specific passages where people practised witchcraft. What is your opinion on that?

I am not judging anybody, @enitan, I am just entitled to my opinion. God is the rightful judge, so, who am I a sinner to cast stones at another person. My views are that I wont marry outside my religion, because I believe in the Messiaship of Jesus Christ. If I have kids, then it is my prerogative to show them the only Way that Leads to God and that Way is Jesus Christ.

memory lane

No matter what, I wont marry a girl who is not a practising Christian. That's just my take on it, unless she is willing to convert to my religion. That's it. Even in the Christian denomination, there are some groups that I personally would not even consider dating any girl that is a member, unless she is willing to leave them. I am referring to white garment Churches, Jehovah's Witness, and others whose doctrine do not follow the laid down rules of the Holy Bible.

Hey, I am just a human being, not a saint. That's just my preference.

Unbelievable!

Dr. Stephanie D.Etukudo (McCliver), Ph.D.

Imeh Edna Nseabasi and Kufra James Nseabasi Etukudo

(Ikotobio Asanga, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria)

Dr. Etukudo had been married, to a Nigerian, for several years. They had two children and a marriage in ruins. Mr. Etukudo returned to Nigeria, with his two sons, as a result of his fathers failing health and eventual death. Mr. Etukudo was the son of the village chief and the head of the Etukudo clan. After several months Mr. Etukudo had not returned to the U.S. with the children.

Dr. Etukudo and several family members, from the U.S., traveled to Nigeria and the small isolated village, in the bush. After speaking to the Grandmother and extended family members from the village, they were told that the children would not be returning with them to the U.S.

Dr. Etukudo hired a prominent investigative company, from the U.K., to find the children and assist in their return. After two years, trip’s to Nigeria, the U.K. and over 50 thousand dollars in fees and expenses Dr. Etukudo was being told that the investigative company was still “working on her case”.

Zamora and Associates was retained and traveled to Nigeria. We traveled to the village, in the bush, requested and organized a tribal meeting of the entire Etukudo clan, to discuss the welfare and future of the two Etukudo children. Family members traveled, from various locations, over two days and converged on the Village chief’s home to see “the white men”, who had brought the chiefs wife there to take the children! After meeting with the entire Etukudo clan, discussing the situation and their future a negotiated deal was struck, on the second day.

With the professional assistance of the U.S. Embassy, in Lagos, the children were issued new passports. Mr. Etukudo was issued a new business visa and a guarantee, from the F.B.I., that all charges against him would be dropped, upon the return of the children to the U.S. This was accomplished within two weeks, from the start of the case.

Once the children were back in the U.S., Dr. Etukudo contacted the investigative company, in the U.K. and asked about their progress on her case! She was told that “they had their special team” in Nigeria, were monitoring the children, at school and at home. She was also told that they would require more funds for them to continue their work, as they were getting close to recovering the children!


http://www.zamora.nl/nigeria.html