Family Feud Causes Riot

Members of the Sawyer and Moore families squared off in Marion, Alabama, a city of 3,300 about 85 miles west of Montgomery, in what has been described as a full-scale riot. The two feuding families and their friends lined opposite sides of the small-town Alabama street and hurled rocks, tools and pieces of wood at each other, striking the police chief with a crowbar, in a dispute rooted in a disagreement that began years ago with schoolchildren. The melee swelled to around 150 people.

''They came with guns, sticks, bricks, golf clubs. It was a bad situation,'' said police chief Tony Bufford.

''Part of it was families that didn't get along with each other. It's big families with a lot of friends,'' District Attorney for Perry County, Michael Jackson said, adding that gang members also were involved.

The current problems began on Sunday night (8/23/09) when at least one shot was fired after a basketball game.

''They shot my truck up with my 1-year-old baby inside,'' said Littenger Moore, 30.

The next day, Monday, a fight broke out at the Francis Marion High School resulting in the arrest of two people. Relatives of those arrested followed officers to police headquarters, where a crowd gathered. Authorities said six more people were arrested there after the argument turned violent.

For nearly an hour, people involved wielded knives, clubs, pieces of cement and even a cantaloupe and a plate of food. The police chief, Tony Buford, was struck in the head with a tire iron.

Compared to the four police on duty, Chief Tony Buford said the police were stuck in the middle of the riot – outnumber. “We called in outside resources right away because there was no way the four police officers… and the deputy sheriff here on the scene could control 110 people.” The mob grew to about 175 people, according to police. Law officers from throughout west Alabama were called in to the area to help.

In a small office building across the street from City Hall, attorney Jeff Nail and law office employee Debi Foster watched from behind locked doors as the angry crowd gathered between the buildings.

“I saw a lady with a baseball bat,” Foster said. “There’s still a broken mop in the driveway.”

Nail said the families and their supporters lined the streets, facing off.

“There was a lot of loud talk and one person would go up to the other side and then run back and then they started throwing stuff back and forth,” Nail said.

Jackson said bond was set at $250,000 for a suspect charged with having a gun at the high school, and he and others remained in custody. Charged with assault, Littenger Moore spent the night in jail but was freed on bond Tuesday.

Jackson said his office will take "a tough stand" against those charged in Monday's melee in Marion, Alabama. "That kind of behavior can't be tolerated," Michael Jackson said. "Both the adults and minors should be ashamed of themselves."

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First Date Leads to Robbery

Terrance Dejuan McCoy, 23, of Detroit, Mi. could not be called smart by any stretch of the imagination. In fact it would be a real challenge to call him anything but dumb. He is currently sitting in jail on a $25,000 bond awaiting trial on charges that he stole the car (a 2000 Chevy Impala) of a 27-year-old woman that he had taken out on a date - for the first time.

The couple had met at a casino the week before. They talked via cell phone a few times and things seemed to be going quite well. McCoy even sent a picture of himself to her cell phone. Finally the woman agreed to meet him for a dinner date.

On that night she picked up McCoy at his apartment and they went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings on Nine Mile road. During the course of the dinner McCoy asked her for the car keys because he had forgotten his wallet in her car. The woman thought nothing of it and handed him the keys. As she sat waiting for him to return, she looked through a window and saw him speeding off in her car.

The woman called the police. She told them that she had a backpack in the car containing $300 in cash, a laptop, iPod and camera. She also provided the police with the picture McCoy had sent to her cell phone - and of course she knew exactly where he lived.

McCoy was picked up and was ordered to stand trial in Oakland County Circuit Court on charges he unlawfully drove away in the woman's 2000 Chevy Impala, a felony that could land him up to five years in prison.

"It sounds like a bad date to me," Ferndale police Detective Sgt. Patrick Jones told the Tribune. "She picked him up that night at his apartment, then he stole her car and didn't even settle up the bill for dinner."

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Valynne Bowers Goes To Trial

40-year-old Valynne Asay Bowers, accused of having sex with a 14-year-old boy, who was a student at the same high school where she taught math - Bountiful Junior High - will go to trial. She faces 8 felony charges: five counts of rape and three counts of forcible sodomy. The charges carry a possible life sentence if she is found guilty.

Bowers is the second teacher to face charges of having sex with the same boy. Linda Richins Nef has already pleaded guilty to having sex with the boy when he was 13 years old. She has been sentenced to 3 years to life in prison.

For complete background details on this story check the following:

1. Boy Has Sex with 2 Teachers


2. Teachers worry about child victim


3. Linda Nef Takes Plea Deal

Video Clip

Bowers was ordered to stand trial by Second District Judge Jon M. Memmott after a preliminary hearing determined that there was enough evidence to warrant one.

During the preliminary hearing, a police officer read aloud a confession and letter of apology that Bowers wrote with detectives. Investigators had apparently encouraged her to write the letter, telling her that it might help her case.

"He came to me as a responsible adult," Bowers allegedly wrote in the letter. "I violated so much trust."

"He was dealing with more than an adult can handle," she wrote. "I just tried to be a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on."

Bowers said she "tried to be a strong shoulder he could lean on."

Bowers lamented, however, "I began to lean on him. I didn't realize how lonely and depressed I was . . . "

She added: "I had no right to treat him as an adult. I'm sorry for all the damage I caused."

The boy also gave testimony at the hearing. He said he was the one who initiated sexual contact with his teacher. He went to her classroom after school, even though Bowers no longer was his teacher, and rummaged through her desk. He also sent her text messages and taught her guitar lessons at her home.

Yes, he said, he looked at pornography. Yes, members of his music band — some 17 or 18 years old — talked with him about sex. Yes, his family, in particular his stepfather, talked openly about intercourse because "he just likes to joke about it," the boy said. And yes, before he and Bowers had sex for the first time, he told her that he thought she was a "pushover."

Prosecutors, however, argued that as a teacher, Bowers was in a position of special trust and should never have engaged in sexual behavior with the child. That position of trust is why she was charged with first-degree felonies as opposed to lesser charges.

"A teacher doesn't stop being a teacher when the bell rings," prosecutor Richard Larsen said. "She was a teacher in his school. By nature of that position, they have authority over you."

Bowers' defense attorney, Rich Gallegos, noting that no sexual conduct occurred at school, and that Bowers was not the boy's teacher at the time of the alleged crimes, argued there was no teacher/student (special trust) relationship.

Rich Gallegos said there is ambiguity in the law on the issue of "position of trust."

"The law's not clear. There's no appellate guidance. So, this will be an issue of first impression. But, as the court indicated, it's a factual issue that will ultimately be determined by a jury," he said.

"The question is whether she used her position as a teacher to exploit this kid and I don't think the facts support that," Gallegos said. "He was not her direct student. He went to her classroom to obtain personal information so he could pursue her after hours."

According to testimony from police and the boy, the boy initiated contact with Bowers in December 2008 by showing up at her after-school math study sessions. He got her cell phone number by using her phone to send himself a message, then began texting and talking to her about his troubled past - including being sexually molested as a younger child - and other personal problems.

Later, the communications became joking and teasing, then sexual.

They first had phone sex, according to testimony. Then, on Jan. 2, they had sexual intercourse. The boy said they had sex twice that first time; Bowers said it was three times.

A week or two later the boy began giving Bowers 30-minute guitar lessons at her home, where they had sex every Friday night until Feb. 27. Bowers told police she tried to end the relationship, but the boy threatened to harm himself.

The relationship finally ended in early March when Linda Nef, 46, another Bountiful Junior High teacher who had a sexual relationship with the same boy when he was 13 years old, went to police and told them about herself and Bowers. She received a 3-year-to-life sentence.

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Should Women Wear Pants?

Should women wear pants? Not if you are Muslim and live in the Sudan. Lubna Hussein found this out the hard way. She was arrested and faces up to 40 lashes and an unlimited fine if she is convicted of breaching Article 152 of Sudanese criminal law, which prohibits dressing indecently in public.

It all began when Lubna was among a crowd listening to an Egyptian singer in a  Khartoum area restaurant in Sudan when policemen rushed in. They ordered Lubna and other women to stand up to check what they were wearing, and arrested all those who had pants on. Lubna, who was wearing loose green slacks and a floral headscarf, was taken to the police station.

"There were 13 of us, and the only thing we had in common was that we were wearing trousers," Lubna says. "Ten of the 13 women said they were guilty, and they got 10 lashes and a fine of 250 Sudanese pounds (about $100). One girl was only 13 or 14. She was so scared she urinated on herself."

Lubna asked for a lawyer and before her first court appearance, she had 500 invitation cards printed, and sent out emails with the subject line: "Sudanese journalist Lubna invites you again to her flogging tomorrow."

As it turns out Lubna works as a public information officer with the United Nations and, because of her job, she was protected from prosecution. She nevertheless decided to make a stand for Sudanese women, regardless of the punishment she might face.

"Afraid of what? No, I am not afraid, really," she insists. "I think that flogging does not hurt, but it is an insult. Not for me, but for women, for human beings, and also for the government of Sudan. How can you tell the world that the government flogs the people? How can you do that?"

"It is not for me. It is my chance to defend the women of Sudan. Women are often arrested and flogged because of what they wear. This has been happening for 20 years. Afterwards some of them don't continue at high school or university, sometimes they don't return to their family, and sometimes if the girls have a future husband, perhaps the relationship comes to an end."

The court was flooded with women's rights activists, politicians, diplomats and journalists, as well as well-wishers. During the hearing, Lubna announced that she would resign from her job as a public information officer with the United Nations in order to fight the case. The judge agreed, and postponed the trial.

On the second attempt to hold the trial the authorities again postponed it under the pretext of attempting to determine whether Lubna Hussein, who arrived at court wearing trousers,  had truly revoked her immunity from prosecution when she resigned from her UN position. The new trial date was set for Sept. 7th.

Speaking shortly before appearing in court, Ms Hussein said:

“Flogging is not pain, flogging is an insult to humans, women and religions. If the court’s decision is that I be flogged, I want this flogging in public.”

After court had adjourned she spoke to her supporters who had gathered outside. A defiant Lubna said:

“They want to check with the UN whether I have immunity from prosecution,” she said outside the courtroom. “I don’t know why, because I have already resigned from the United Nations. I think they just want to delay the case.”

Lubna was asked what will happen if the judge decides, as is still possible, that she was indecently dressed, and sentences her to 40 lashes?

"I will take my case to the upper court, even to the constitutional court," she insists, measuring her words. "And if they find me guilty, I am ready to receive not only 40 lashes, I am ready for 40,000 lashes. If all women must be flogged for what they wear, I am ready to be flogged 40,000 times."

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Caster Semenya the Controversy

Call me naive, trusting or even gullible but I really did not think that proving one's gender was a complicated process. If in doubt check the genitalia - yes, I've heard of hermaphrodites but they don't apply in this case - boys have penises and girls have vaginas. It should not be more complicated than that.

However in the case of Caster Semenya, it appears to be very complicated, so complicated in fact that she has been required to undergo a series of tests to determine her gender. The result of these tests is important because it will determine whether she can keep the gold medals she has already won and whether she can continue to compete as a girl on the international stage.

[audio http://shadmia.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/caster-semenya.mp3]

Caster Semenya is an 18-year-old South African runner who thoroughly dominated the competition and easily won the women's 800m race at the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin on Aug. 19th, 2009. But her muscular build and deep voice have raised doubts about her eligibility to compete as a woman.

Preliminary test results have shown that Caster Semenya has three times the normal female level of testosterone, which is the biggest difference between males and females.

Sex verification in athletics was introduced in 1966, when female competitors had to stand naked in front of a committee and were subjected to inspection of their external genitalia. The so called Nude Parades were later replaced by a chromosome test, which also proved to be limited. These days, the tests consist of genetic, gynecological, psychological, and endocrine tests. Tests are only done when suspicion or challenge arises.

Caster Semenya returned to her native South Africa after the competition to a hero's welcome. Her supporters made thinly veiled charges of racism against the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations), the organization performing the gender tests.

South Africa’s Athletics president Leonard Chuene claims: "There is no need to worry about ‘other people’s tests." He spoke out at a press conference saying:

"Yes, indeed, she's a girl. We are not going to allow Europeans to describe and define our children."

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, ex-wife of former President Nelson Mandela, also spoke out.

"To the world out there, who conducted those pseudo-tests to test our gender, they can stuff their insult," she said. "This is our little girl, and nobody is going to perform any tests on her. We have defeated difficult situations in the history of this country. Don't touch us."

Even South African President Jacob Zuma and many other organizations criticized the IAAF for the testing and insisted that Semenya will not be stripped of her gold medal in the 800-meter world championship. The massive outpouring, along with a Facebook fan page with more than 45,000 members, underscored the raw nerve exposed in South Africa by questions about Semenya's sex.

"Ms. Semenya has also reminded the world of the importance of the rights to human dignity and privacy which should be enjoyed by all human beings," President Jacob Zuma said. "In recognition of the supremacy of these rights, we wish to register our displeasure at the manner in which Ms. Semenya has been treated."

Semenya, who comes from a poor rural background in Limpopo province in northern South Africa, has grappled with the consequences of looking boyish all her life. She grew up with four sisters and a brother in the dusty village of Fairlie, about 40 miles from the nearest town.

Being a girl in an African village meant girls' chores: fetching water, washing dishes, cleaning the house. But in her free time, she ran off to play soccer with the boys.

The newspaper Beeld quoted high school principal Eric Modiba as saying that Semenya always wore pants instead of skirts, played rough-and-tumble with the boys and that he didn't realize she was a girl until she was in the 11th grade.

If the teasing hurt her, she kept the pain hidden, said her grandmother Maputhi Sekgala. Her mother, Dorcas, watched the world championship race on television, shedding tears of joy when Caster streaked to victory.

Semenya's father, Jacob Semenya, pleaded: "I wish they would leave my daughter alone."

"She is my little girl. I raised her and I have never doubted her gender. She is a woman and I can repeat that a million times," Semenya told a Sowetan newspaper.

Dorcas Semenya, 50, is fierce in Caster's defense. She refused to let the questions about her daughter's gender dilute the moment of triumph.

"She's a girl. I'm the mother of that girl. I'm the one that knows about Caster. If they want to know about Caster, tell them to come to me."

"They're jealous of my daughter," she said. "It's the first girl in the black people doing such things. That's why they say those things."

Nick Davies, spokesman for the IAAF, said it was clear that whatever the results of the gender tests, "clearly it was not her fault."

"It's a medical issue. You're talking about someone's life. She was born, christened and grew up a woman," he said in an interview with the BBC. The aim of the tests, he said, was to discover whether anything gave her an unfair advantage.

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