Don't Tread On Me - Video

NY1 - A Bronx judge has thrown out the indictment on manslaughter charges filed against the officer accused in the shooting death of Ramarley Graham, saying the grand jury was accidentally misled by the district attorney's office. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.

Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramarley Graham, couldn't hide her feelings when Judge Stephen Barrett threw out the manslaughter indictment against police officer Richard Haste.

"You killed my God damn child, you son of a bitch," Malcolm yelled in the courtroom.

Haste shot and killed the unarmed teen last year. He said he thought Graham had a gun.

Judge Barrett said Bronx prosecutors made a major mistake in the grand jury process.

"I believe that inadvertently, the district attorney's instructions did mislead the jury," the judge said.

Officer Haste has said he chased Graham into the teen's home because other officers put over the police radio that the teen had a gun. Haste shot and killed Graham in the bathroom, but no gun was found.

Judge Barrett ruled that the grand jury should have been able to consider what other officers reported.

"In effect, the grand jury was told, by both commission and omission, that the communications of other officers to officer Haste were not relevant," Judge Barrett said. "That's my conclusion in reading this instruction, and that is error."

Outside court, supporters of Graham's family were outraged.

"We will continue to fight wherever this fight leads," said Franclot Graham, Ramarley Graham's father. "If we have to go to the Justice Department, then that's where we'll go."

"The people of Bronx County and the citizens of America will not go away, will not cease and desist against police violence, excessive force, against, obviously, murder," said Attorney Royce Russell.

Inside the courtroom, Haste didn't say a word, but his union said the judge made the right decision.

"No police officer ever wants to draw their weapon and be in this situation, so it's a difficult time for everyone," said Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

Everyone involved in the case knows it's likely to continue. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said his office will decide if it will appeal the judge's ruling or present the case to another grand jury.

Following the decision, the Rev. Al Sharpton released a statement, saying, "This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice and an insult to the family and supporters of Ramarley Graham. We demand that a new grand jury is convened immediately and that the case is re-presented."

Story from NY1.Com

Message From Ramarley Graham's Mother

Dear Ramarley's supporters,

I am not sure if everyone is up to date as to what happened on the last court date but we were not given the impression that a trial will start anytime soon.  A trial date was not set due to some " TECHNICALITY".  Now, there was no technicality when this murderer illegally gained access to my building, ran upstairs, and kicked off my apartment door and murdered my son. There were no technicality when they were all smirking in my backyard because they did a good job murdering Ramarley in cold blood.  There were no technicality when at his first court appearance he was greeted with applaud by his fellow comrades.

Jazz Hayden Speaking at NYC Canabis Parade 2013

By: Joseph "Jazz" Hayden

At a recent event against drug prohibition I was asked to speak, as I was asked to speak the year before.  Well, my views on drug prohibition have been consistently consistent----prohibition is sheer bull---t!  It is my opinion that the entire narrative around drugs in this country (and the world) has to be changed.  For far too long we have framed the discussion in terms of law and public policy.  It is time for a change because that conversation is not going anywhere.  The conversation has to be reframed in terms of “human rights” and an individuals inalienable right to choose what he/she can put in their bodies.  Noone should have the power to tell another human being what they can and cannot put in their bodies.  Each one of us is trapped in the “castle of our skins” for the duration of our short stay on this planet.  We feed, exercise, clothe, house, and take care of our bodies 24/7.  I watch the pharmaceutical commercials on television and I am amazed at the glaring contradictions in the way that pharmaceutical drugs are treated and the way that so-called “illicit” drugs are treated.  A pharmaceutical drug that has one possible beneficial effect, and fifteen side effects that can maim or kill you is presented to potential customers who are given this information so that they can make a choice.  The provision of all research information to the potential consumer and the leaving of the decision up to them is the way that all drugs should be treated.  Why isn’t this universally applied?  Why do we have so many human beings in cages for simply “self-medicating”, making choices about what to put in their bodies?  How do we rationalize designating them as “criminals” and branding them as second class citizens for the rest of their lives?  This is madness!  The human cost of this failed policy is horrendous!  The economic cost is off of the charts…

Drug War Statistics

Did you know....

Amount spent annually in the U.S. on the war on drugs: More than $51,000,000,000

Number of people arrested in 2011 in the U.S. on nonviolent drug charges: 1.53 million

Number of people arrested for a marijuana law violation in 2011: 757,969

• •              Number of those charged with marijuana law violations who were arrested for possession only: 663,032 (87 percent)

Number of Americans incarcerated in 2011 in federal, state and local prisons and jails: 2,266,800 or 1 in every 99.1 adults, the highest incarceration rate in the world

Fraction of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prison that are black or Hispanic, although these groups use and sell drugs at similar rates as whites: 2/3

Number of states that allow the medical use of marijuana: 18 + District of Columbia

Estimated annual revenue that California would raise if it taxed and regulated the sale of marijuana: $1,400,000,000

Number of people killed in Mexico's drug war since 2006: 70,000+

Number of students who have lost federal financial aid eligibility because of a drug conviction: 200,000+

Number of people in the U.S. that died from an accidental drug overdose in 2009: 31,758

Tax revenue that drug legalization would yield annually, if currently-illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco: $46.7 billion

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that syringe access programs lower HIV incidence among people who inject drugs by: 80 percent

One-third of all AIDS cases in the U.S. have been caused by syringe sharing: 354,000 people

U.S. federal government support for syringe access programs: $0.00, thanks to a federal ban reinstated by Congress in 2011 that prohibits any federal assistance for them

More Resources

Get additional facts at the Drug War Facts website

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