A new biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has offered a unique insight into what led the couple to step down from royal duties.

Finding Freedom, by royal reporters Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, describes the wall of resentment that slowly built up between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family.

Neither Harry nor Meghan have contributed to the book; it is based on the authors own experiences as members of the royal press and incorporates quotes from sources close to the couple.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Extracts from the biography are being serialised in The Times and The Sunday Times ahead of its publication in August.

From the rumoured rift between Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge to how the Duke of Cambridge allegedly told Harry not to rush things with Meghan, heres everything we know so far about Finding Freedom.

The book states that Meghan told a friend in March that she had given up her entire life for the royal family and was hurt by reports that leaving the royal family was purely her idea.

The courtiers blame Meghan, and some family do, a source is quoted as saying in Finding Freedom.

But the source adds that Meghan sacrificed a lot to slot into royal life.

As Meghan tearfully told a friend in March: I gave up my entire life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. Its very sad, the book states.

The Duke of Cambridge was cautious of his brothers relationship with Meghan at the start, the book claims, and was keen to make sure that Meghan had the right intentions with Harry.

After all, these are two brothers that have spent their whole lives with people trying to take advantage of them, the source is quoted as saying in the book.

Theyve both developed a radar to detect that type of person, but as William didnt know a whole lot about Meghan, he wanted to make sure Harry wasnt blindsided by lust.

In the early days of their relationship Prince Harry was given a closer picture of the ugly realities of racism than he had ever previously seen, the books authors say.

And when those close to him began to question the suitability of his relationship, he was quick to consider whether their critiques came from a place of prejudice.

The authors write: When some questioned his new relationship, and whether she was suitable, he would wonder, Is this about race? Is it snobbery?

An old friend of Harrys spent an afternoon gossiping about Meghan, making disparaging remarks about her Hollywood background. Word got back to Harry, and the prince immediately cut him off.

Finding Freedom claims there was no feud between the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex they simply had nothing in common.

The book states that the press were too quick to blame the decision of the Sussexes to move to Windsor removing themselves from the Kensington Palace umbrella on the duelling duchesses, the authors say, when it was Harry who felt suffocated by his brother.

Ms Durand and Mr Scobie write: The truth was that Meghan and Kate just didnt know each other that well.

They address one particular rumour that Meghan made Kate cry during a bridesmaids dress fitting for Princess Charlotte, stating that it is completely false.

Reports that Meghans strict demands had left Kate in tears puzzled those who were present, the book states.

A source who was there said: Some of the children werent cooperating, and there was a lot going on.

Everyone tried to help where they could, but its never easy with kids at fittings. There were no tears from anyone.

And in the end, the fitting was fine. Kate and Meghan were both a little stressed but professional in the room, and there were other people there.

William is said to have sat Harry down at the start of his relationship with Meghan and urged him to take things slowly with her.

Dont feel you need to rush this, he said, according to sources.

Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.

The words this girl are said to have irritated Harry, leading him to describe his brother as a snob.

Harry could see through Williams words. He was being a snob, a source close to Harry is quoted as saying in the book.

The book details how several members of the royal family did not trust Meghan, or have faith in her relationship with Harry.

At least two other family members also voiced concerns to each other over the pace at which Harrys relationship had moved, the book states.

Meanwhile, when Meghan and Harry started dating, one senior royal allegedly referred to the Suits actor as Harrys showgirl.

Another is reported to have told an aide, She comes with a lot of baggage, while one high-ranking courtier was overheard telling a colleague, Theres just something about her I dont trust.

The authors write that an unnamed trusted confidant of Meghan expressed to them that she blamed the media for corrupting her father, Thomas Markle, from whom she is estranged.

According to the source, Meghan told them: My dad never sought this out. I really believe that hes the victim, and now I feel sad because I believe hes been fully corrupted.

The book states that the couple grew frustrated that they often took a back seat to other family members when they were part of the royal family.

While they both respected the hierarchy of the institution, it was difficult when they wanted to focus on a project and were told that a more senior ranking family member, be it Prince William or Prince Charles, had an initiative or tour being announced at the same time so they would just have to wait, the book reads.

The Duke of Sussex told his future wife that he loved her three months into their relationship, the co-authors of Finding Freedom have claimed in their new book.

According to a friend of Meghan, Prince Harry was the first to profess his love, with the former Suits actor immediately replying I love you, too.

For Meghan, she was all in. Nothing could get her to slow down, not even a friend who cautioned her about getting involved with Harry, the book states.

Three months into their relationship, a Meghan friend said [sic], they had already begun swapping the words I love you.

This prompted the couple to begin talking in non-oblique terms about their future, it added.

Meghan reportedly left clues on social media hinting at her relationship with Prince Harry, including a photograph on Instagram of a Love Hearts sweet inscribed with the words Kiss Me alongside the caption Lovehearts in London on the night she and Prince Harry went on a date.

Link:

Finding Freedom: Everything we've learned so far from upcoming biography of Harry and Meghan - The Independent

We are watching a show. Its important to keep that in mind.

It has its villains Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland and other supporters of the liberal, radical left idea that people have the right peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

It has its victims, people in towns where they dont have or need symphony orchestras and art museums and the very idea of street protests fills them with existential horror.

And the show has its hero, too, Donald John Trump, getting tough with those lawless cities, standing between the victims and their fears and not bothering overmuch about constitutional niceties while he does.

Thats how you end up with the recent spectacle of at least one person reportedly snatched off the streets of Portland by federal agents bearing no badges or identifying insignia and stuffed into an unmarked van on no probable cause, or even an allegation of crime. At this writing, Trump is sending federal agents using, presumably, the same tactics to Chicago, which, in his telling, teeters on the edge of criminal anarchy, and he, alone, can save it.

If it smacks of despotism, this idea of government seizing those who it bears repeating are accused of no crime, well, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf tells Fox News that sometimes you have to proactively arrest people. Its a nicely dystopian term that might have come out of The Minority Report, the 1956 novella by Philip K. Dick (also a 2002 film starring Tom Cruise), which posits a world where precogs divine the future, enabling police to prevent crime instead of just solving it. Dick provides other terms Wolf might find useful: precrime, potential criminals, prophylactic pre-detection.

If it occurs to you theres no such thing as precogs, if this all seems to you like a civil liberties nightmare, well, youre missing the point. Again, this is a show.

And give him his due. Trump may have failed as a businessman, an educator, an airline mogul, a casino operator, a steak salesman and a human being, but he knows how to put on a show. He also knows every moment we spend talking about American fascism is a moment not spent talking about Russia putting a price on American heads, which in turn keeps us from talking about the more than 144,000 whove died of a virus Trump said would magically disappear.

Even his distractions have distractions.

In fairness, this march toward fascist dystopia didnt begin in Portland. For years, we saw Black and Hispanic men stopped and frisked in New York City without probable cause. Weve seen cops empowered to take your money and border agents empowered to seize and search your laptops and smartphones, also without probable cause. In 2015, we saw a woman named Charnesia Corley subjected to a police search of her vagina on the pavement at a gas station.

What we havent seen so much is public outrage.

So Trumps innovation is not stomping the Constitution, but making the stomping a show. If it doesnt seem like much of one to you, well, youre not the intended audience. For them, this is Dirty Harry and Rambo all rolled into one. For the rest of us, this show isnt about a tough guy. Rather, its about a second-rate magician whose act has seen better days, whose top hat is worn, whose cards are frayed, whose every move reeks of flop-sweat desperation, the terror that he might be seen as he really is.

Which makes this magician dangerous in the same way a cornered animal is. And if we arent careful, he may pull off one last trick.

He may make freedom disappear.

Leonard Pitts Jr. is a columnist for the Miami Herald, 3511 NW 91st Ave., Miami, Fla., 33172. Readers may contact him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com.

2020 Miami Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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For his next trick, the showman might make freedom disappear | Column - Tampa Bay Times

Halo Infinite will usher the series towards open-ended gameplay, as glimpsed in the gameplay showcased a few days ago. As part of a recent press Q&A session we were a part of, 343 Industries Studio Head Chris Lee described the approach as taking Halo Combat Evolved, knocking walls down, and giving players complete freedom to explore the ringworld.

The campaign in Halo Infinite is the most ambitious campaign we have ever created in a Halo game. It's this open, expansive experience for players, and it's several times larger than our last two campaigns put together. I think the way to think about it is this is Halo's take on open gameplay and what kind of providing the player with unprecedented levels of freedom can feel like. We really wanted to capture that moment of players being able to kind of feel what it would be like to be on a foreigner ring and unlock secrets and kind of new equipment or upgrades along the way as they're playing through the campaign. And I have one way to kind of give them more concrete examples when you're looking at the demo. We showed and you're on the elevator looking out over that vista. There's a ton of the ring that you can see there and that is just part of the space that players will be able to explore and where Master Chief's story will take you throughout our campaign experience.

One way to think about it that we talked about sometimes is to think about taking Halo CE, knocking the walls down and then giving players the freedom to explore. And while we have that kind of open experience, we do want there to be equipment and upgrades that you can find in the world along the way, so there are things that you can engage with along the way to do that as you traverse the world and continue Master Chief's story.

Halo Infinite is coming out this Holiday on PC (Steam, Microsoft Store), Xbox One and Xbox Series X. Check back later today for our full transcript of the Q&A with 343 Industries.

Halo Infinite Multiplayer Not Delayed Devs Insist, But There Are Rumors its Free-to-Play

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Halo Infinite Is Halo CE with Walls Knocked Down and Freedom to Explore, Says Dev - Wccftech

TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) A Fort Worth bar was one of more than 800 that opened illegally this weekend as part of a nationwide protest called Freedom Fest.

This isnt the first time the Rail Club Live in Fort Worth has defied Governor Greg Abbotts shutdown order either. The bar opened on July Fourth, too.

Abbott ordered bars to close for the second time during the pandemic in effort to slow a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.

Our businesses are doomed, said co-owner Chris Polone. Like I said before, we have nothing to lose. We can either fight this thing, Or we can starve ourselves out.

Polones license was suspended earlier this month. But any repercussions, are worth it, according to him.

Im responsible for 15 employees ability to feed their children and thats big, thats a huge burden, and I dont see any other way to do it than to do this, he said.

Earlier in the month, he told CBS 11 News thathis decision to open is not to spit on everyones face or the government, but because of a double standard he believes is in place due to restaurants and other businesses being allowed to stay open.

Rail Club Live doesnt sell food.

Polone said he lost more than $15,000 the weekend after he had to close.

Some of my competitors are allowed to stay open because they sell food, he said during a Facebook Live. Literally the only difference between us and them is you cant order a burger with your beer at my bar.

Agents with the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission visited the Rail Club over the weekend and didnt shut it down.

Latest Coronavirus News | Coronavirus Resources

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We Can Either Fight This Thing, Or Starve: Texas Bars Open Illegally As Part Of Freedom Fest - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Who has more freedom of movement in a combat zone: a highly trained and well-resourced Special Operations fighter, or an untrained volunteer working for a cash-strapped religious non-governmental organization (NGO)?

In the authors opinion and experience, the answer is the NGO worker and by a long shot. The reason for this predominantly boils down to organizational culture, resources, and risk tolerance. Is this a perfect basis for comparison? Definitely not. But it certainly provides differences to be identified and appreciated for the purposes of healthy discussion.

Life is certainly full of risks, many of which we automatically accept, cannot change, and do not even consciously consider. Doing so would be debilitating, counter-productive, and would not lead us in the path of a peaceful and meaningful life. But what happens when an organization loses sight of this and trends towards risk aversion? What if risk tolerance is so low that it precludes operational success? What is the relationship between risk management and acceptable war costs?

Risk management is the bane of all staff officers and the primary mechanism by which the military attempts to identify and assess risk. Risk management is not a new concept and was born from the well-intentioned desire to minimize risk to the mission and the force.

Military operations and special operations, in particular are inherently dangerous. Static line and free-fall parachuting, live-fire weapons training, advanced driving courses, and many other activities come with generous helpings of inherent risk. Indeed, recently, a MARSOC Raider was tragically killed during an airborne operation at the Army Airborne School at Fort Benning. (The incident is currently under investigation.)

Risk increases once the environment transitions from a controlled training one to the real world. For the men and women undertaking both conventional and special operations, these risks are calculated and mitigated as much as possible through extensive training, experience, rehearsals, and planning.

Naturally, the desire to mitigate risk to ones self and comrades is completely well-founded. At the individual level, a lot of risk management occurs automatically and is reinforced by our natural instincts to survive and escape danger. Organizations adopted this natural ability and codified it in the form of formalized risk assessments, policies, and procedures to be undertaken prior to any activity, whether in training or on a real-world mission.

It is the authors opinion that policy and some measure of structure for risk management are incredibly valuable. They help standardize risk management and offer a framework that can be replicated across a diverse range of complex operations. However, we must distinguish between risk management and mitigation. It is not possible to remove or control risk. The best one can do is attempt to identify and mitigate it, and then continue with the mission.

Depending on our definition of success, we can obtain a sense of successful risk mitigation strategies simply by comparing the number of isolated personnel incidents between aid workers and military members in hazardous regions (particularly among French aid workers, it seems). There is clearly some benefit to robust risk management policy as executed by the military compared to the almost haphazard approach of NGOs.

So why and how does an untrained, cash-strapped NGO volunteer have more freedom of movement in a combat zone?

We recently had the opportunity to speak with an aid worker who volunteered with a religious NGO in Iraq for a period of several months almost the same amount of time as a typical Task Force deployment. When swapping stories of familiar areas, sights visited, and experiences with the various cultures, the amount of freedom and mobility the aid worker experienced was remarkable.

One of the most surprising observations was the aid workers mobility given his appearance. We shared common ethnicity, appearance, and language skill. This man was easily identifiable as a Westerner. However, it did not impact his mobility whatsoever. The aid worker traveled alone across the country with zero support, communication plans, contingency plans, or weapons. And he did just fine, never experiencing a single incident that threatened his safety and well-being. Nobody seemed to care who he was or what he was doing, and if anyone did ask, it was primarily out of curiosity.

The authors initial observation? By operating as a true singleton, one becomes so obscure and low profile that the demand for such exhaustive organizational risk management measures appears to change (within reason).

Is a low profile a guarantee of safety and security for sensitive military operations? Of course not. But anecdotally, the stark contrast between the two cultures (NGO and military) as they pertain to freedom of maneuver (aka mobility) and relative effectiveness, present a compelling contrast that needs to be examined further.

Lets take a look at some vignettes.

When overseas, checkpoints are normally unpleasant. It can be difficult to assess under whose control they are and what actions will be taken if a team comes across one. What should be a routine check for papers and payment of a checkpoint management fund fee could quickly escalate to extensive questioning, detention, and an international incident. Therefore, checkpoints are generally avoided.

That aid worker, however, frequently traveled alone through a number of Arab, Kurdish, and other checkpoints with impunity, oftentimes interacting with forces such as the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Front (PMF) militias. They gave him no trouble whatsoever, even though he was a Westerner (this is borderline astounding given general Iranian animosity and malign influence, especially given tensions last year).

More often than not, the aid worker was not asked to furnish any documents (i.e. a visa), despite traveling through diverse regions under the control of militia or others. He barely spoke the language, was not armed, did not have a quick reaction force on standby. Yet, he could still come and go as he pleased.

In the military, missions generally only gain approval after extensive staffing (oftentimes spanning weeks or, more realistically, months-long) planning, rehearsal, numerous CONOPs, decision briefs, progress updates, white papers, and other such bureaucratic operational mission planning requirements.

While the author did not wish to ruin pleasant conversation with a discussion of such laborious bureaucratic processes, we can only surmise that NGO operations do not require such extensive feats of coordination, pre-briefing, read-aheads, or staff churn. Or so wed like to think.

Whereas military operations are normally staged from highly defended and built-up forward operating bases or other locations, the aid worker lived alone, unprotected, in the middle of a small town outside Mosul. He frequently moved in taxis or rented vehicles across the region, only speaking a little of the local language. He relied on the goodwill and relationships of locals and used his local connections to help guarantee his personal security, safety, and welfare all of which he built and maintained himself.

Most remarkably, the aid worker successfully accomplished this despite living and working in Iraq at a time of great uncertainty following the U.S. targeted killing of former Iranian Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani.

The benefits of assessing the aid workers mobility in Iraq are most useful when attempting to replicate his general placement and access to a large geographical area that is inhabited by a number of diverse populations. Such environments are something Special Operations attempt to replicate when conducting sensitive activities.

Without highlighting any of the operational details that make sensitive Special Operations successful, the anecdotal contrast with the mobility experienced by the aid worker remains noteworthy. Certainly, there is an extensive and well-exercised framework in place that provides a reasonable amount of risk mitigation during special operations. Processes ensure redundancy, security, safety, structure, and support.

This generally applies to all aspects of mission planning and execution. What such military operations lack in relative agility and mobility they arguably compensate for with robustness. Need a quick reaction force? One call away. Miss your communications window? Theres a variant time and explicit plan in place for what to do next. About to be overrun? Fire mission is incoming.

This is not to say that NGOs lack such risk mitigation capacity. All organizations stand to benefit from risk management and generally seek to mitigate risk in a manner that better enables their operations.

But are Special Operations becoming victims of their own meticulous planning and mission execution? Has risk management transformed into risk aversion as commanders tolerance for risk decreases with the rise of no-fail expectations? Have we been culturally conditioned to expect zero casualties, exposure, or adverse impacts to our mission and force? At what point do we shoot ourselves in the foot with exhaustive mission planning and approval processes that limit our ability to operate in a capacity similar to the aid worker, i.e. autonomous, alone, and unafraid?

Thanks for listening.

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Risk aversion in Special Operations: When aid workers have more freedom in a combat zone - SOFREP

If youve read my columns this month, youll be expecting my third of four July Freedom columns. However, you arent likely expecting the topic of Freedom of the Press from a spirituality columnist.

These days, Freedom of the Press feels more like a free-for-all. Anyone with a twitter account and smartphone can claim theyve uncovered the real facts -- a phrase as redundant as burning fire.

Perhaps youve even wondered, How do I know that Chaplain Norris is telling the truth?

Its a question that was asked of me 15 years ago by the editor of a small biweekly newspaper in Elk Grove, Calif.

He called to clarify a discrepancy he saw in my column about a premature baby.

You say he in one paragraph and she in another. Which is it?

It doesnt matter. Say whatever you like, I said. As a chaplain, Id interchanged the pronoun to protect the privacy of the family.

A long exhale informed me he was about to tell me exactly what he thought.

If youre going to change the facts in any way, he cautioned, then you need to disclose your intentions. He was clear that he wouldnt tolerate any irregularities in his paper.

This journalistic experience from 2005 may have you wondering how one finds a trustworthy news source in 2020. Below, I have paraphrased some helpful suggestions from Michael Lewis article Fake News? 8 Ways to Determine If a News Story Is Reliable.

1. What are the writers credentials? A good journalist goes to journalism school or some equivalent and finds employment by a trusted news outlet. (In my case, I have a BA in Journalism, an MFA in Writing, and am currently enrolled in a masters program in journalism.)

2. Is the story reported by only one source? The source you read may be the first to report a story, but it shouldnt be the only one. When it comes to a straight news story, I find that CNN and FOX should sound nearly alike.

3. Read past the headlines. Fun fact editors write headlines, not reporters. Often, the negative emails I get come from folks whove interpreted my column based solely on the headline.

4. Use fact checkers to confirm content on social media. Google Scholar will take you right to the source, but easier sites include http://www.snopes.com, Fact Checker, PolitiFact, and FactCheck. None of these are without some bias. My journalism instructors always required two substantiating sources and good notes that back up my quotes.

5. Is it fact or opinion? You shouldnt detect an opinion in a hard news story, but opinion pieces should still be supported by facts. While my columns are factual, you should consider most to be inspirational opinion.

6. How old is the information? A video posted to Twitter last week was Dr. Fauci saying masks are a waste of time. This was expired advice, but it was portrayed to be valid. When I Google information, I often use the tool tab that allows me to sort by date.

7. Avoid the extreme. Truth is found in the middle. If you tune your ears to the far right by listening to Infowars or you are a Patribotics kinda person, then youve likely stopped reading me by now. Hopefully, most of you are unfamiliar with either of these conspiracy theory sites.

These extreme sources are easily identified by their overuse of the term Lying Press. Labeling the press as fake or liars doesnt make it so. Hitler did the same thing when he popularized the phrase 'lgenpresse to attack the media unsupportive of the Nazi Party.

I take personal offense at the term. I know many journalists. Most are quiet, deliberate people who keep their nose to the grindstone in search of the facts. Their standards are high in their use of each word and their terms are precise. No one among us is unbiased, but I can attest that most journalists I know are factual.

And last, Ill put my chaplain hat back on to tell you this:

A liar is someone who is being intentionally misleading for personal gain. If they dont meet that criteria, then I would prefer to grant them grace.

But, hey, thats only this chaplains opinion.

Sources

Read more at http://www.thechaplain.net. Email: comment@thechaplain.net. Voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.

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Freedom of the Press | Columnists | islandernews.com - Islander News.com

Human rights activists around the world have been protesting in front of Chinese embassies in solidarity with Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement over recent Fridays. The string of protests are part of a weekly Fridays for Freedom campaign, which aims to coordinate international support for the citys democratic movement.

Organised by NOW!, an NGO which advocates for global democracy, the initiative was joined by participants from six continents. Demonstrators hailed from cities such as Brussels, Barcelona, Milan, Montreal, Turin, San Francisco, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, London, Helsinki, Glasgow, Edinburgh, San Jos, Kampala, Manchester, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, and Toronto.

Protesters gathered with placards demanding freedom for Hong Kong. Some displayed flags with slogans now banned in the city under the new national security law.

Other protesters held yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the 2014 Umbrella Movement which saw hundreds of thousands occupy the citys streets in support of universal suffrage.

We are witnessing one of the darkest periods of history unfolding: millions of people are losing their rights and freedoms, and the world is standing down. As governments are bowing to Chinas economic muscles, people of the world need to stand in solidarity with Hongkongers and demand better from world leaders, NOW!s co-executive directors said in a statement.

Thats why we are incredibly proud of the brave activists, who in all corners of the globe are standing up to ensure that world leaders protect Hong Kong and democracy!

One group from Sweden also protested against the treatment of the Uighur community in Xinjiang, China. Video footage which remerged on social media recently showed shackled, blindfolded and shaven members of the Uighur ethnic group being lead onto trains in northwestern China.

The international protests coincide with increasing pressure from Western governments over Hong Kongs national security law, enacted by Beijing in June.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump ended Hong Kongs special trading status and signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, empowering the US to impose sanctions on officials involved in the passing of the law. Meanwhile, the UK, Australia and Canada have all suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong as a response to the legislation, which could see suspects face trial in the mainland.

On June 30, Beijing enacted laws to prevent, stop and punish behaviours in Hong Kong that it deems a threat to national security. The legislation was inserted into the citys mini-constitution, bypassing the local legislature, in order to criminalise subversion, secession, foreign interference and terrorism.

The move which gives police sweeping new powers alarmed democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China.

Hong Kong government officials have said that the new law is crucial to safeguard against the sometimes violent protests which have the city since last June.

In the few weeks since the laws passing, democracy books have been pulled from the citys public libraries, the slogan liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our time has been banned, and students have been forbidden from partaking in any political activities at school.

According to organisers, the Fridays for Freedom campaign has attracted 700,000 followers online. The initiative forms part of a wider campaign, Waves of Freedom, which aims to create an international coalition to implement measures to safeguard Hong Kongs remaining freedoms and advocate for democracy for the city. The next protest will take place this Friday.

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In Pictures: Activists around the world stage Fridays for Freedom protests in solidarity with Hong Kong pro-democracy movement - Hong Kong Free Press

Juvenile lifer gets second chance at freedom 30 years later

Michael Lehman was sentenced to life at 14, freed at 44

Updated: 11:59 AM EDT Jul 24, 2020

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should someone be held accountable for the rest of their lives for crimes they committed as a minor? According to the Supreme Court, some may not have to anymore. Very few can point to the exact moment that changed the course of their life. But Michael Lehmann can. It was the night of June 18th 1988. Michael, then only 14 years old, met up with two boys he knew from his York Pennsylvania group home. Michael Duane, Morning Wake and Miguel Yoder went to see a known drug dealer from the area, Cornell Mitchell. He befriended the boys just a few days before. Together, the group devised a plan to rob a counselor at the home who they thought was too harsh and to rule oriented. They wanted to retaliate against Kwame A. BT's way of managing the group home. Michael would testify in court that he agreed to the plan because the others had threatened to kill him if he didn't go along with it and he didn't want to be seen as a wimp. He offered to act as a lookout and helped the group get inside Undetected explained that I had the window open. Hey, Where you going? In there. One of the home while we're all for our night and then a little big night, Wayne. Morning. Way. Get Miguel. You were gonna go downstairs with him. They appear. And as he waited, Michael said he heard a struggle and left his lookout post to see what was happening. The others wouldn't let him in quantities room. I went back upstairs down the hallway and I realized that they weren't just robbing and they were killing me. Kwamie was stabbed 21 times. After the attack, the group drove to the neighboring town of Harrisburg, where they dumped their knives and bloody clothes, then use the stolen money to buy bus tickets back to York. Police arrested all four of them. The following day, I realized I could have got out of it. But be any of that, I could've done anything. I pray to God. At his trial, Michael testified in his own defense. He thought that because he was just the lookout, he could set the record straight. But the jury didn't see it that way. Michael was found guilty of robbery, conspiracy and murder. At 15 years old, he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Just everything Shut down. Well, yes, I was there. Yes, Look out. Yes, I told something. And yes, I help them evidence, but I didn't kill anyone. Michael was sent to prison to live out the rest of his days. That is, until the Supreme Court decision changed everything. In 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that a mandatory life sentence without parole should not apply to people convicted of murder as juvenile's in 2016 they decided that ruling should apply retroactively, meaning any juvenile convicted before 2012 should be given a chance of parole. At 45 years old, Michael was released in 2018. I held out for I. Pennsylvania has the highest number of juvenile lifers, with a total of 523. 200 have been released so far. States rehabilitation program for juvenile lifers helps them acclimated to life after prison. The program offers things like virtual reality sessions in prison to show them where they'll be living and support groups once they're released. They are not the juveniles that they were when they committed a crime, and because of that, we believe where I believe that they deserve a second. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, the re offending rate of juvenile lifers is substantially lower than in the general prison population, where in Pennsylvania, about 60% of all parolees get rearrested within a few years of release. There's always a concern with any population that you deal with. We monitor all of our juvenile lifers closely until we feel comfortable enough where the juvenile lifer in question is actually proven that he's going to be successful. There are those, however, who aren't just hopeful about the program, like the state's lead voice for crime victims. Gen Storm. At some point, the cameras will go away. Some of the immediate resource is will go away. And are these people equipped to succeed? And I don't think we're gonna know that for 35 years. The Supreme Court's ruling wasn't welcome news for Sherry McMichael and Melissa Vaquero, whose brother, Steven Turner, was 11 years old when he was brutally murdered by their 16 year old neighbor. Because of the Supreme Court decision, their brother's killer will now be eligible for parole. You never get over it. You never, ever get over it. The pain is just a deep, the sorrows Justus deep and it just never goes away. I promised my mother on her deathbed that we would make sure that this man never got out of jail. Sherry and Melissa say they don't believe all juvenile lifers should be denied parole. They just want some discretion used in how convicted murderers air getting released. The pair are fighting to keep Stevens killer in prison. They're certainly going to be some unjust punishments. I've seen some of them. There's also going to be some that the key needs to be thrown away, and there's a reason why they gave them no parole. Our case, I feel, is one of them for Michael Lehmann. He thinks back on the night that changed his life often, but all he could do is move forward. When I got out of prison, I stepped out the front door. I took a breath and I started a new chapter in my life. I can't change anything. All I can do is try to be the best person I can be. In the year after his release, Michael secured full time employment, a driver's license and even found love. While it hasn't all been smooth sailing, Michael is grateful. And in those moments where it becomes too much, he has a place to go and reset. My vision was narrowed by fences and razor wire for so long to just have this view of just this expanses, you know, it's easy toe. Just take that deep breath and just let things go. We spoke with WGCL reporter Matt Barkero, who spent over a year with Michael, his story and many other juvenile lifers whose lives changed completely because of this court ruling. A lot of the juvenile lifers that we talked with compared their released being an infant where here they are has grown adults, but they're experiencing all these things for the first time. Something as simple as cell phones is also a really big hurdle for them, because those were things that when they were kids back in the eighties, some of the seventies, somewhere in jail, like sixties, never saw before I put myself in their shoes was something that I went to explore. Many juvie lifers described the guilt they feel with their release. Can you elaborate on this deal? I can't speak to all of them. But in the ones that we talked with, they do feel that they will never forget what they did. And Michael Lehmann doesn't want to forget. She thinks that keeping this burden with him, it's it's who he is, and it will help him continue on life. The guilt that they feel is here. They are getting their lives back. Essentially, they get to go home. They get to be with their loved ones, but they know the back of their head. Their victims families don't get that second chance. It was really important for Michael, aiming to explain what juvenile lifers are, what their experience really is because they're getting free. This story was a big endeavor. Was there any part of your experience working on it? That was particularly surprising. The biggest surprise for me in talking with these juvenile lifers was learning that freedom was not a celebration, and I just assumed that someone who's been in jail for 30 40 50 years on the day that they're released, you know, they're gonna walk out of the prison and just like the sun would be shining. And they're gonna just celebrate with their family, and it's going to be this big happy occasion. But we met many juvenile lifers who their release day was nothing like that. They just don't know how to take those first couple of steps. They're also leaving behind all of their friends. Think about it. You grow up in jail, your cell mates and the guys and girls on your on your block. I mean, those are the people that you have shared your whole life with. And now here you are being free and you're leaving everything you know. Back in jail, however, the families of victims reacted to these re sentence sings. So Kwamie Beaty's family is a good example of many families of victims of juvenile lifers. They were never expecting their loved ones killer to be free. They thought that this chapter in their lives was gonna be put to bed. And here we are 30 years later, and the possibility that their loved ones killer it's not gonna be living in their community again was something that they don't think is right. Some are trying to fight that, and Stephen Turner's family is still very concerned that John Waters is not a changed man, and if he is free that he could kill again. How did the local community react after W G. A. L special aired, a lot of viewers reached out to us and told us that they feel conflicted about this issue going into it. Maybe they did not believe that these juvenile lifers should ever have been released. But in seeing Michael, Story has one example, but also some of the others. They were able to put themselves in the shoes of these juvenile lifers and realize that maybe it was a mistake, a horrible mistake, but a mistake nonetheless, when they were 14 15 16 years old. And maybe you can redeem yourself. Maybe you can go through that process of prison and come out a better person.

Juvenile lifer gets second chance at freedom 30 years later

Michael Lehman was sentenced to life at 14, freed at 44

Updated: 11:59 AM EDT Jul 24, 2020

In June 1988, Michael Lehman was the lookout for a crime in York, Pennsylvania. A crime that left Kwame Beatty, a 23-year-old youth counselor, dead. Four men who lived at the group home where Kwame Beatty worked were arrested for his murder, including Lehman. After he was convicted, Lehman was sentenced to life in prison. He was just 14-years-old.He fully expected to live out the rest of his life behind bars, until a 2012 Supreme Court ruling found that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole were unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. Nationwide, these so-called "juvie lifers" had their cases re-examined. Pennsylvania, alone, had over 500. Michael Lehman was one of them. And in 2018, he was released.So much of todays news emanates from New York, Washington or Los Angeles, but what we know is that amazing, authentic and genuine stories are being told around the country every day. Each week "Dispatches from the Middle," which originally aired on Facebook Watch, takes a deep dive into one powerful local news story and gets a behind-the-broadcast look at how it came together.For stories like this and more, follow "Dispatches from the Middle" on Facebook Watch and subscribe to Stitch on YouTube.Read More: Project CommUNITY - Juvenile Lifers: The Long Road to Redemption

In June 1988, Michael Lehman was the lookout for a crime in York, Pennsylvania. A crime that left Kwame Beatty, a 23-year-old youth counselor, dead.

Four men who lived at the group home where Kwame Beatty worked were arrested for his murder, including Lehman. After he was convicted, Lehman was sentenced to life in prison. He was just 14-years-old.

He fully expected to live out the rest of his life behind bars, until a 2012 Supreme Court ruling found that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole were unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. Nationwide, these so-called "juvie lifers" had their cases re-examined. Pennsylvania, alone, had over 500. Michael Lehman was one of them. And in 2018, he was released.

So much of todays news emanates from New York, Washington or Los Angeles, but what we know is that amazing, authentic and genuine stories are being told around the country every day. Each week "Dispatches from the Middle," which originally aired on Facebook Watch, takes a deep dive into one powerful local news story and gets a behind-the-broadcast look at how it came together.

For stories like this and more, follow "Dispatches from the Middle" on Facebook Watch and subscribe to Stitch on YouTube.

Read More: Project CommUNITY - Juvenile Lifers: The Long Road to Redemption

Continued here:

Juvenile lifer gets second chance at freedom 30 years later - WXII The Triad

In honor of the recent passing of two of the original Freedom Riders, longtime Georgia Congressman JohnLewisand the Reverend C.T. Vivian, the PBS history series American Experience is streaming Stanley Nelsons documentary, Freedom Riders, on PBS.org and the PBS Video App.

Hundreds of marchers hold hands as they cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Sunday, ... [+] March 7, 2004. It is the 39th anniversary of the civil rights march across the bridge when state troopers used tear gas and billy clubs against activists marching. Front row from left: U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. C.T. Vivian. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

The winner of three Primetime Emmy Awards and first broadcast in 2011,Freedom Riders tells the powerful, harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months that transformed America. From May until November 1961, over 400 Black and white Americans risked their lives and many endured imprisonment and savage beatings by traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South.

Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws in order to test and challenge a segregated interstate travel system, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. The filmfeatures testimony from government officials, journalists who witnessed the rides firsthand, and the Riders themselves, includingLewisand Vivian, who recount their experiences.

During the making ofFreedom RidersI had the honor and the pleasure to get to know and interview JohnLewisand C. T. Vivian, said Nelson. They were true heroes who put their liveson the line to create positive change in the world. The lives of so many, including mine, were forever altered by their heroism. It is important for all of us in this moment to take up their legacy and push for real systemic change. May they rest In peace and power.

We are proud to make this powerful film by Stanley Nelson available for free streaming to the American public, said American Experienceacting executive producer Susan Bellows. As we mourn these two civil rights pioneers, we hope the story of their courage, determination and grace will continue to inspire us all.

A spokeswoman for the series said Freedom Riders would stream for three years and might also be rebroadcast on television at a later date.

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PBS Streams Award-Winning Freedom Riders Documentary To Honor Memory Of Rep. John Lewis And Rev. C. T. Vivian - Forbes

The Centers for Disease Control report face masks can help people from spreading coronavirus to others. Here are the do's and don'ts. Wochit

Sometimes the conversation focuses on effectiveness and folks who cannot wear a mask because of a medical condition. But largely it's about personal freedom of choice.

Before former Vice President Joe Biden delivered his most recent speech in Pennsylvania, a message was aired over the speakers.

Please keep your masks on the entire time, which is now mandated by the state of Pennsylvania and the governor."

The group of roughly 50 people complied and also practiced social distancing at McGregor Industries, a metal working plant near Scranton.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was also wearing a mask at the Dunmore factory on July 9.

Campaign stops: Biden, Trump make new push to win voters in battleground Pennsylvania

That same day, President Donald Trump sent his top surrogate, Vice President Mike Pence, to Pennsylvania.

When Air Force Two landed at the Lancaster Airport in Lititz, Pencewas wearing a mask. Hewas greeted by other Republican leaders, such as Congressman Lloyd Smucker, who were also wearing masks.

But most of the people in the crowd of Trump and Pence supporters were not wearing masks or standing at least 6 feet apart.

The president, who was in Washington, D.C., that day, had rarely worn a mask at that point.That changed two days later when he visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and wore a mask while visiting patients.

President Donald Trump wears a face mask as he visits Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., July 11, 2020.(Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP)

And it changed even more that Monday night when he posted a photo of himself wearing a mask.

"We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance," Trump tweeted on Monday. "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!"

The president seems to be changing his stance on masks, but it remains to be seen if Republicans in Pennsylvania will follow his lead.

50 lives: These Pennsylvanians share a similar tragedy, losing their lives to COVID-19

Some top-ranking Republicans in the state have been wearing masks for months, even if they haven't agreed with safety mandates from Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat from York County. That includes U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican from the Lehigh Valley who has been advocating for masks since March, and the new Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler, a Republican from Lancaster County.

But former Speaker Mike Turzai, a Republican from Allegheny County, and dozens of other Republicans in the Legislature have been fighting the mask mandate.

Customers with and without masks intersect at the exit of a home improvement store near York, Pa.(Photo: Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record)

Rep. Russ Diamond, a Republican from Lebanon County, takes credit for starting the mask debate in Pennsylvania.

"I kind of pioneered not wearing a mask," he said.

Diamond said he was the first state Republican lawmaker to publicly show that's he's not wearing a mask.

He has a few problems with wearing masks: They create suspicion that everyone has COVID-19;he thinks they're ineffective;and he thinks they're unfair to people with certain medical conditions.

"We're creating a society where we're all isolated from one another, and we assume everyone is dangerous and carrying a disease," Diamond said. "We're turning it into: Everyone is guilty until they're proven innocent."

Also, despite what numerous scientists and doctors say, he doesn't believemasks work.

Opposition: Lebanon County revolts against Gov. Wolf as no other county in Pennsylvania has done

'Mask shaming': Lebanon Rep. Russ Diamond boasts on social media about not wearing face mask while shopping

He said science seemed to agree with him when the virus was first spreading across the U.S. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised against masks.

That changed three months ago when the CDC recommended masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But Diamond hasn't changed his mind.

Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) speaks during the protest in Harrisburg on Monday, saying "we cannot allow the cure to be worse than the disease."(Photo: Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record)

"Reusable masks are problematic," he said. "They can get damp and collect bacteria if they're not properly cleaned. If you want to properly wear a mask, get a disposable mask. Too many people fiddle with them and end up touching their face more."

He said another reason he doesn't wear a mask is because he's supporting his fiancee, who has a medical condition that prevents her from wearing a mask. He said wearing a mask triggers her seizures; she recently had a severe seizure while wearing a mask to pick up her medical cannabis.

Wolf's mandate includes medical provisions, but most merchants don't allow customers inside their businesses without a mask, Diamond said.

"If we're going to exclude unmasked people with medical conditions from businesses, then let's knock out wheelchair ramps, too," he said.

More mandates possible: 'We know the virus has not gone away'

Diamond believes the solution - better than a mask mandate from the governor - is forsymptomatic people to quarantine, and asymptomatic people "don't really need to."

Pennsylvania's recent wave of positive COVID-19 cases can be traced to more than just asymptomatic carriers of the disease, according to state health officials.

Diamond, who said he "hates close talkers" and always maintains "5 feet of personal space to begin with," does support social distancing, vigorous hand washing and sanitizing, and washing and changing clothes when coming home from public spaces.

But he does not support masks, and he disagrees with state education guidelines that will require masks in school this fall.

"Teachers have enough to do. Now, they have to be the mask police, too?" Diamond said.

Diamond thinks a happy medium is: "If you want to wear a mask, fine. I won't say anything bad about you. I choose not to wear one. Please don't say anything bad about me. I'm not going to force myself into your personal space."

Masked shoppers exit and enter Target in West Manchester Township while a sign warns them at the entrance that masks are mandatory in accordance with Pennsylvania state orders.(Photo: Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record)

Republicans launched a political battle with Wolf over business shutdowns, saying it was a threat to livelihoods and personal freedoms.

Now, they're saying similar things about masks.

For some Republicans, the mask fight isn't about medicine. It's about mandates.

State Rep. Ryan Warner, a Republican from Fayette County, talked about liberty and freedom in a July 1 video on his Facebook page.

He said he agrees with wearing masks in many situations, but he doesn't think Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levinehas a right to tell people to wear masks because she's not an elected official. Levine was appointed by Wolf.

"The decisions from the governor are unilateral, authoritarian decisions. It is not how we do things," Warner said.

Like Warner, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, a Republican from Centre County, said he doesn't dispute wearing a mask.

"What we're disputing is by using his emergency powers, this governor is dictating it to people," Corman said to the Associated Press. "We live in a free society. People can make decisions for themselves."

Gov. Tom Wolf confirms the first presumptive positive cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Pennsylvania during a news conference March 6, 2020.(Photo: Commonwealth Media Services)

The state House and Senate recently voted to strip the governor's emergencypowers and give Pennsylvanians more of a say in how they want to be governed in times of crisis, including if they want to wear masks.

The Legislature previously tried to end the governor'semergency declaration without his consent, but a state Supreme Court ruling ended that effort.

Recently, the Legislature voted to change the state constitution and end the emergency declaration, and Wolf vetoed that plan.

We believe the power of our commonwealth truly rests with the people," said House Speaker Bryan Cutler, a Republican from Lancaster. "Pennsylvania is not a dictatorship, and the voters should ultimately decide."

He said the legislative branch has tried to work with the governor and asked to join a bipartisan task force to manage the crisis.

The governor turned us down, deciding instead to go it alone for months on end," Cutler said.

Pennsylvania Democrats, Republicans and health officials who advocate for masks point out that they are not new in the commonwealth.

They have been used here for more than a centuryin surgeries, dentistry and other medicalsettings, industrial operations, veterinary care and more.

These uses have been met without protest, and masks have been trusted to do what they were designed to do provide a reliable barrier against contamination.

In the simplest terms, they are designed to keep people from getting sick.

Mask supporters say they are a needed tool in the currentpublic health crisis just like they were used to curtail deaths in the 1918 flu pandemic and shouldn't be used as political weapons.

"When we should be fighting this virus, we are fighting about masks," said Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who said he wears a mask every time he goes into public spaces.

He pointed out that it's not just Democratic governors who want state residents to wear masks.

"The governors of Alabama and Texas, and governors in very red states, are pleading for masks," Fetterman said. "They realize it's not a political statement. It's a tool until we get a vaccine."

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman walks from the Senate chamber after he was sworn into office on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)(Photo: Matt Rourke, AP)

When Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a mask mandate last week, she said she knew the order would be hard to enforce.

"I always prefer personal responsibility over a government mandate, and yet I also know with all my heart that the numbers and the data over past few weeks are definitely trending in the wrong direction, she said.

At the time, Alabama had more than 58,000 positive cases and hospital intensive care units were overwhelmed.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week defended his mask mandate in a video message.

"Now, I know that many of all you are frustrated. Soam I," he said. "I know that many of you do not like the mask requirement. I dont either. It is the last thing that I wanted to do. Actually the next to the last. The last thing that any of us want is to lock Texas back down again.Each day the facts get worse. If we don't slow this disease quickly, our hospitals will get overrun, and I fear it will even inflict some of the people that I'm talking to right now."

Republican governors in Arkansas, Maryland, North Carolina and Ohio offered similar messages.

And former Republican governors in Pennsylvania say they support Wolf's mandate.

Tom Ridge(Photo: File)

All Pennsylvanians should heed the Wolf Administrations directives to wear a mask when out of the home, former Gov. Tom Ridge said in a statement. Like all Pennsylvanians, Gov. Wolf and Secretary Levine are hoping to avoid the COVID-19 spikes impacting other states so that we can get our economy back up and running as soon as possible. Wearing a mask is a simple, selfless act all of us should support.

His successor echoed that.

"Wearing your mask amounts to saying lets beat the virus now, not later when it might be too late,"former Gov. Mark Schweiker said in a statement.

About 100,000 Pennsylvanians have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 7,000 have died. More than 4,800, or 68 percent,of those deaths have been in nursing homes.

While many Pennsylvanians have been able to go outside and experience some kind of summer, even if it's a masked one, tens of thousands of nursing home patients are still living in isolation because of the continued spread of infection.

Levinesaid the coronavirus typically enters nursing homes through workers who are asymptomatic carriers of the disease. It's imperative that those workers and the people they come into contact with in public are wearing masks, she said.

As the health secretaryalways says, "Your mask protects me, and my mask protects you."

The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci and the CDC say masks protect everyone.

That includes the growing number of Pennsylvanians in their 20s who are getting and spreading the disease.

Pollster and political analyst Terry Madonna, who usually refrains from taking a side in political issues is taking a side in the mask debate.

"I am very, very supportive of wearing a mask in public," Madonna said. "I understand the cons in the issue. I understand the argument. But this is temporary, and it involves life and death. Wearing masks in public seems reasonable to me."

Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA Today Network. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.

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In Pennsylvania, fight against wearing masks involves some key Republicans, and liberty - York Daily Record