For those who don't know, the night of the Oakland Rebellion over the shooting of Oscar Grant-Oakland Police came after Minister of
Information JR who was on the scene covering the events. Many of us know he didn't come close to doing any of things the police are charging him
with...Yet he along with a 100 other folks got swooped up.. Where most got charged with misdemenaors and have since been released, JR got charged with a
felony. We feel he is being targeted because he has been fearless and uncompromising when covering issues around police terrorism... Please check out the
info surrounding his case and support him in anyway possible... He is one that has remained steadfast and always on the frontlines...
Davey D
I'm torn between wanting to be in court for JR on Mon. morning and going to the press conference and hearing at City Hall in SF to fight for community Access Television, www.accessf.org. It's important to support both. So I urge those of you in the East Bay to make it to the court to support JR, and those in SF to make it to City Hall at 9:30 a.m. In any case, make a financial contribution to JR's legal expenses. He does not have a pro bono lawyer! We cannot afford to lose the most militant Black journalist on the Bay Area scene. I'm sure you can find out how on his website: www.blockreportradio.com.
-Kiilu Nyasha-
!*SUPPORT Bro. JR in Court 2/23!
BROTHER JR HAS BEEN DOING EXCEPTIONAL WORK TOWARDS JUSTICE AND LIBERATION..LIKE MUMIA ABU JAMAL - WHOM JR HAS INTERVIEWED MANY TIMES - THIS IS WHY THIS YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY JOURNALIST BROTHER IS BEING TARGETED!! WE MUST SUPPORT HIM AND PREVENT ANOTHER MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE AGAINST ANOTHER OF "THE PEOPLE'S VOICES!!" PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!!
In Love & Struggle..
sally o'brien - "Where We Live" WBAI RAdio.
---------------------------------------------------------
We MUST Support Our Courageous Independent Journalists!
via: Annie G.
==============
Pack the courtroom, or call the Oakland D.A., to support journalist J.R. Valrey, who could face three years' prison time
The Alameda County D.A. is pursuing charges against journalist J.R. Valrey, KPFA Radio/Flashpoints, Block Report, and Side Show radio producer, and Associate Editor of the San Francisco Bay View, National Black Newspaper, with uncommon determination. Please come to support J.R. in court on Monday, 02/23/2009, and, if you can't do that, please call Alameda County DA Tom Orloff, (510) 272-6222. And, if you can, please forward broadly!!!
J.R. is facing felony arson charges for, allegedly, lighting a trash can on fire during the first protest following BART policeman Johannes Mesherle's fatal shooting of unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant at an Oakland BART station on New Year's Eve. Here is the section of the California State Penal Code specifying possible penalties for felony arson:
(d) Arson of property is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two, or three years.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=450-457.1
Johannes Mesherle, the former BART policeman who shot Grant, could conceivably do as little as two years in prison, if convicted of involuntary manslaughter, according to this section of the California State Penal Code:
(b) Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=187-199
The charges Mehserle will be tried on still seem unclear, at least to me. A homicide conviction would lead to more prison time; a justifiable homicide verdict would set Mesherle free.
In any case, J.R. is facing extraordinarily harsh charges and conceivable penalties. He insists that he did not light a trash can on fire and was instead tackled by Oakland Police while leaving Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' press conference. His lawyer has said that, even if he had lit a trash can on fire, these would be extaordinarily harsh charges.
Mary Ratcliff, Editor of the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper, asked me to circulate this call to support J.R. in the courtroom on Monday:
Pack Courtroom 112 on Monday, Feb. 23, 9 a.m., 661 Washington St., Oakland, to support JR of the Block Report, who's been framed with the charge of felony arson - of a trash can! He's innocent. He was covering the Jan. 7 Oscar Grant rebellion for the Block Report and the Bay View newspaper and had just left Mayor Dellums' press conference when he was tackled by two OPD officers. Two National Lawyers Guild attorneys witnessed the brutal arrest. He is the only journalist charged and the only one of some 130 protesters arrested that the OPD and DA seem determined to prosecute. They want to forever silence his critical coverage of police violence.
To learn more, go to http://www.blockreportradio.com/ and
http://www.sfbayview.com/ .
Return to Davey D's Hip Hop Corner
Davey D
I'm torn between wanting to be in court for JR on Mon. morning and going to the press conference and hearing at City Hall in SF to fight for community Access Television, www.accessf.org. It's important to support both. So I urge those of you in the East Bay to make it to the court to support JR, and those in SF to make it to City Hall at 9:30 a.m. In any case, make a financial contribution to JR's legal expenses. He does not have a pro bono lawyer! We cannot afford to lose the most militant Black journalist on the Bay Area scene. I'm sure you can find out how on his website: www.blockreportradio.com.
-Kiilu Nyasha-
!*SUPPORT Bro. JR in Court 2/23!
BROTHER JR HAS BEEN DOING EXCEPTIONAL WORK TOWARDS JUSTICE AND LIBERATION..LIKE MUMIA ABU JAMAL - WHOM JR HAS INTERVIEWED MANY TIMES - THIS IS WHY THIS YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY JOURNALIST BROTHER IS BEING TARGETED!! WE MUST SUPPORT HIM AND PREVENT ANOTHER MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE AGAINST ANOTHER OF "THE PEOPLE'S VOICES!!" PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!!
In Love & Struggle..
sally o'brien - "Where We Live" WBAI RAdio.
--------------------------
We MUST Support Our Courageous Independent Journalists!
via: Annie G.
==============
Pack the courtroom, or call the Oakland D.A., to support journalist J.R. Valrey, who could face three years' prison time
The Alameda County D.A. is pursuing charges against journalist J.R. Valrey, KPFA Radio/Flashpoints, Block Report, and Side Show radio producer, and Associate Editor of the San Francisco Bay View, National Black Newspaper, with uncommon determination. Please come to support J.R. in court on Monday, 02/23/2009, and, if you can't do that, please call Alameda County DA Tom Orloff, (510) 272-6222. And, if you can, please forward broadly!!!
J.R. is facing felony arson charges for, allegedly, lighting a trash can on fire during the first protest following BART policeman Johannes Mesherle's fatal shooting of unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant at an Oakland BART station on New Year's Eve. Here is the section of the California State Penal Code specifying possible penalties for felony arson:
(d) Arson of property is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two, or three years.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/
Johannes Mesherle, the former BART policeman who shot Grant, could conceivably do as little as two years in prison, if convicted of involuntary manslaughter, according to this section of the California State Penal Code:
(b) Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/
The charges Mehserle will be tried on still seem unclear, at least to me. A homicide conviction would lead to more prison time; a justifiable homicide verdict would set Mesherle free.
In any case, J.R. is facing extraordinarily harsh charges and conceivable penalties. He insists that he did not light a trash can on fire and was instead tackled by Oakland Police while leaving Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' press conference. His lawyer has said that, even if he had lit a trash can on fire, these would be extaordinarily harsh charges.
Mary Ratcliff, Editor of the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper, asked me to circulate this call to support J.R. in the courtroom on Monday:
Pack Courtroom 112 on Monday, Feb. 23, 9 a.m., 661 Washington St., Oakland, to support JR of the Block Report, who's been framed with the charge of felony arson - of a trash can! He's innocent. He was covering the Jan. 7 Oscar Grant rebellion for the Block Report and the Bay View newspaper and had just left Mayor Dellums' press conference when he was tackled by two OPD officers. Two National Lawyers Guild attorneys witnessed the brutal arrest. He is the only journalist charged and the only one of some 130 protesters arrested that the OPD and DA seem determined to prosecute. They want to forever silence his critical coverage of police violence.
To learn more, go to http://www.blockreportradi
Return to Davey D's Hip Hop Corner
