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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDeath in Valdosta:A 17 year old Af-American was found in a rolled up gym mat. Murder or Accident?
A long and informative read. If Kendrick Johnson's death was an accident, why were there so many unexplained departures from procedure? The DOJ needs to do a thorough investigation to either uphold the original findings, agree with the second autopsy, issue their own conclusion or decalre there is not enough evidence to make a determination.
A Death in Valdosta
Multisport athlete Kendrick Johnson was found dead in his Georgia high school's gymnasium in January. Authorities ruled it an accident, but Johnson's family believed something very different and a second autopsy appears to support their suspicions.
Part I
At Sunset Hill Cemetery, dawn breaks with headlights.
It's just after 6 a.m. on a muggy June morning in Valdosta, Georgia, when two Altimas and an F-150 roll up the hill and past the headstones. Other cars follow, heading west and then north, past Nicholas George (1904-1938) and Nancy V. (1943-2008) as they turn back east and brake to stop. The passengers exit and gather around the grave of Kendrick Johnson. The police chief had been clear: Only immediate family would be allowed, but here stand cousins and grandparents alongside adopted aunts and football teammates.
"I'm gonna let y'all say a little prayer," the police chief announces. "Then we'll get going."
Heads look toward Grandma Barbara, then bow. The headlights have been shut off, the sky has turned orange, and for a moment all is silent but the screeching rattle of cicadas.
"Lord Jesus, we lift this child to heaven," Barbara begins, and all around her the others nod. There is no tent, no hearse. There are no pallbearers, no black suits. There are two backhoes an orange Kubota and a yellow Deere and there are empty faces and swollen eyes and T-shirts that call for justice.
"You seen him," Barbara calls out, her voice stretching thinner with every word. "You seen how he looked. You seen his face."
<snip>
Much more: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9626413/the-mysterious-death-17-year-old-football-player-valdosta-georgia
Something ain't right!
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)DebJ
(7,699 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)This is the point where the governor's office or state attorney general are supposed to step in....Assuming of course that they ever gave less than a shit about black folks living in their state...
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)If the family hadn't been willing and able to pay for a second autopsy, this wouldn't be news.