All eyes are on Maryland State Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, who announced at a press conference Friday that the six officers involved in the April 19 death of Freddie Gray would face criminal charges. 35-year-old Mosby, only four months into her role as state attorney, powerfully articulated that police brutality would not be tolerated and that she would seek justice on Gray's behalf.

Mosby's November 2014 election was a turning point in the struggle to hold police officers accountable for brutality against black men. Mosby, a young, black woman, defeated white incumbent Gregg Bernstein in a Democratic primary largely on a promise to rein in police violence, the Associated Press reported.

Those familiar with Mosby's work said the Gray case would be in good hands.

"Let me tell you something, this woman does not play," Russell Barnes, father of a murdered rape victim whose case Mosby is prosecuting, told Mic. "She'll do what she says she's gonna do. I just love her."

Barnes' confidence gives added weight to a series of knockout statements Mosby made during Friday's press conference. Here are eight lines from the presser that embody Mosby's priorities and demonstrate how committed she is to bringing justice to Freddie Gray and all of Baltimore



1. Mosby will not put anybody above the law.

"I need to express, publicly, my deepest sympathies for the family of the loved ones of Mr. Freddie Gray. I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Gray's family to discuss some of the details of the case [...] I assured his family that no one is above the law and that I would pursue justice on their behalf."

2. Mosby is committed to justice.

"As the city's chief prosecutor, I have been sworn to uphold justice and to treat every individual within the jurisdiction of Baltimore city equally and fairly under the law. I take this oath seriously."

3. Mosby didn't cut any corners.

"My team worked around the clock, 12- and 14-hour days, to canvass and interview dozens of witnesses, view numerous hours of video footage, repeatedly reviewed and listen to hours of police video tape statements, surveyed the route, reviewed voluminous medical records, and we leveraged the information made available to us by the police department, the community and the family of Mr. Gray."

4. Mosby understands young people.

"To the youth of this city: I will seek justice on your behalf. This is a moment. This is your moment. Let's ensure that we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You're at the forefront of this cause. As young people, our time is now."

*snip*

http://mic.com/articles/117166/meet-marilyn-mosby-the-badass-female-state-s-attorney-bringing-justice-for-freddie-gray

Latest updates on Baltimore unrest and Freddie Gray case

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 is asking Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to appoint a special prosecutor to the Freddie Gray investigation because of her personal connection to the Gray family’s attorney, William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr., and her marriage to a City Councilman.

The letter from FOP President Gene Gyan also states that none of the six officers involved in Gray’s arrest and death were responsible for the 25-year-old West Baltimore man’s death that spurred a night of rioting, looting, protests and unrest. The letter was released just minutes before Mosby announced charges against the officers.

“Not one of the officers involved in this tragic situation left home in the morning with the anticipation that someone with whom they interacted would not go home that night,” the letter states. “As tragic as this situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray.”

Ryan requests that Mosby “appoint a Special Independent Prosecutor.”

“I have very deep concerns about the many conflicts of interest presented by your office conducting an investigation in this case,” the letter states.

“These conflicts include your personal and professional relations with Gray family attorney, William Murphy, and the lead prosecutor’s connections with members of the local media,” the letter states. “Based on several nationally televised interviews, these reporters are likely to be witnesses in any potential litigation regarding this incident.”

*snip*

http://live.baltimoresun.com/Event/Latest_updates_from_the_Freddie_Gray_case_in_Baltimore/161526165

As Hector Morejon was dying, after being shot by California Police, he cried out with final desperate words to his mother: “Mommy, Mommy, please come, please come.”

Those words now haunt Lucia Morejon, Hector’s mother. She tells us that Long Beach police thought the 19-year-old was in possession of a firearm. They were wrong. But this alone seemed cause to the Long Beach officers to open fire and kill Hector on Thursday afternoon.

Lucia Morejon’s attorney says Hector was clearly unarmed, and had nothing that resembled a firearm when police unloaded on him.

Hector’s final words to his mother came as he was being placed into an ambulance, the attorney alleges. They desperate cry was a response to police refusing to allow Lucia see her dying son before the ambulance drove away.

“He was reaching for her – reaching out to her for help,” Sonia Mercado, the lawyer for the family told The Huffington Post.

“She identified herself as his mother, expecting to ride with him to the hospital, but they refused to let her in.”

Now, Lucia says she hears these dying words of her innocent son, every day, echoing in her mind: “Mommy, Mommy, please come, please come.”

*Snip*

“The officer observed [Morejon] turn towards him, while bending his knees, and extending his arm out as if pointing an object which the officer perceived was a gun,” a press release from the Long Beach Police Department attempted to rationalize.

“At this point, an officer involved shooting occurred,” the statement continued, in noting the obvious.

All in all, Friday’s press release said nothing of any substance or value. The police have made it clear that they will protect their own, even when they gun down innocent, unarmed teenagers.

*snip*

http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/04/justice-for-hector-morejon-now/

Republican Maryland state Delegate Patrick McDonough suggested this week that parents did not deserve to continue receiving food stamps if they refused to stop their children from protesting the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

In audio obtain by First Look’s Lee Fang, a caller on a Baltimore radio program asks McDonough why the government could not “take away benefits from families, from like the parents who are collecting welfare” if the protesters were “too young.”

“That’s an idea and that could be legislation,” McDonough volunteers. “I think that you could make the case that there is a failure to do proper parenting and allowing this stuff to happen, is there an opportunity for a month to take away your food stamps?”

McDonough goes on to say that a “scientific study” is needed to understand the mindset of “thug nation.”

“These young people, they’re violent, they’re brutal, their mindset is dysfunctional to a point of being dangerous,” he says. “We have got to study, investigate, and really look at what this is all about.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/maryland-lawmaker-proposes-law-to-take-food-stamps-from-families-of-kids-who-protest/

Morgan Freeman spoke with The Daily Beast today to discuss his new movie Five Flights Up, and he ended up addressing the cable news coverage surrounding the events this week in Baltimore. And boy, did he have a lot to say.

Freeman observed that in most serious situations when the media is covering live events, all CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC do is just throw out take after take after take, and “CNN wants to be pure news, but the others are just commentary. They’re just commenting on things.”


On Baltimore specifically, Freeman brought up the argument that the city has been suffering for a long time, and it took setting something on fire for the media to finally notice.

“Police have a standard reaction to shooting somebody. I fear for my life and I fear for my safety,” he said. “Now, at least you can see, ‘Hey, his hands were up in the air! What part of your safety were you afraid of? The guy was running away, what part of your safety was in danger?’”

He ended his comments by saying “Fuck the media.”

http://www.mediaite.com/online/fck-the-media-morgan-freeman-goes-off-on-cable-news-over-baltimore/

Axosoft hires activist, debuts campaign to foster women in technology (Video)

Axosoft wants you to look differently at that generic female bathroom symbol.

While it may look like a dress, the Scottsdale-based software company wants you to think of it as a low-hanging superhero cape.

It's part of a new campaign Axosoft debuted Monday during the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference in downtown Phoenix about portraying more women involved in technology and entrepreneurship, said Axosoft CEO Lawdan Shojaee.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/techflash/2015/04/axosoft-hires-activist-debuts-campaign-to-foster.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_phoenix+%28Phoenix+Business+Journal%29


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