Monthly Archives: May 2021

OAKLAND In a stunning turnaround, a Bay Area man who had been previously sentenced to life without the possibility of parole has been freed from jail and prosecutors dropped both murder charges against him.

At a Monday morning court hearing, the Alameda County District Attorneys office agreed to drop two murder charges against Patrick Willis, 57, attorneys on both sides of the aisle said. The move came three weeks after a jury hung 11-1 toward a not-guilty verdict at Willis second trial.

Im just happy to give him his freedom back, said Ernie Castillo, Willis attorney for the 2021 trial, giving credit to the tremendous effort by the attorney who worked on Willis six-year appeal.

Willis is now a free man for the first time since 2011, when a DNA hit linked him to the 1992 Oakland killings of Cheryl Walker, 31, and Marsha Gulley, 23, who were tortured and murdered in separate incidents. He was convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 2013, but six years later, an appeals court reversed the convictions, finding hed received an inadequate defense.

In his appeal, Willis cited the 20-year delay in prosecuting the case and the unavailability of two witnesses who were with one of the murder victims, Gulley, hours before her dead body was found in Oakland.

The testimony would have been exceptionally significant for the defense and its absence was undoubtedly prejudicial, the State Court of Appeals concluded in 2019. Although the man seen with Gulley was not considered a suspect, the fact that Gulley was seen alive within an hour of her death makes it less likely that defendant was the killer, the judges wrote, noting that presence of Willis DNA on the victim placed him with her as long as six hours before her death, or longer.

The court ordered a new trial for Willis, concluding his defense attorney was ineffective by not challenging the prosecutions move to exclude all testimony by police and witnesses concerning the statements of the unavailable witnesses.

During the 2021 trial, Castillo argued that both victims were sex workers who had been with other men that night, and that Willis was blamed because his DNA was the only sample police preserved. In an interview he said the real killers DNA had simply not been properly preserved and that he believes Willis is innocent.

In his 2013 trial, prosecutors pointed to witnesses who heard both women screaming combined with the DNA to argue that Willis was the only person who could have killed them during the narrow time frame. During his sentencing later that year, a despondent Willis shook his head throughout the hearing and at one point remarked, I dont even care, this newspaper reported at the time.

Staff writer David Debolt contributed reporting.

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Im just happy to give him his freedom back: Once imprisoned for life, Bay Area man freed, charges dropped in double murder case - The Mercury News

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TheCincinnati Museum Centerand the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will host COVID-19 vaccine clinics courtesy of TriHealth.

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TheCincinnati Museum Centerand the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will host COVID-19 vaccine clinics courtesy of TriHealth. As a bonus,every guest who receives their vaccine at one of the two clinics will get one ticket for free admission for that day.

Those who want a COVID-19 vaccine shot can receive a freeJohnson & Johnson vaccine betweennoon to 3 p.m. on May 22at the Freedom Center.

OnMay 29, vaccines are available at Cincinnati Museum Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine means guests need just a single shot to complete their vaccine journey.

Registrations can be made by calling (513) 873-7124. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Dr. Odell Owens will be at both vaccine clinics to answer anyquestions about the vaccineseffectiveness and to emphasizethe importance of ensuring everyone is vaccinated.

Guests will not be required to pay admission to the museums to receive their vaccine on those dates. As an added incentive, every guest who receives their vaccine at one of the two clinics will get one ticket for free admission for that day.

Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/05/21/cmc-and-freedom-center-offering-free-admission-covid-19-vaccine/5209631001/

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CMC and Freedom Center partnering with TriHealth to offer COVID-19 vaccine shots - The Cincinnati Enquirer

It may sound strange for a booklover to say this, but I think its a good thing if were reading a little less these days.

Books helped many of us, of all ages, get through the limitations of the past year-plus. They still matter, and I still tuck one under my arm anyplace I go, in case there a few spare moments or Im detained between trips. However, its a really good thing that we are getting back to all the people, places and things weve missed. And our books will be there when we want or need them. Heres whats Ive been into over the last month or so

A Wanted Man by Lee Child (2012) Jack Reachers picked up hitch hiking with a broken nose and nothing but the shirt on his back. The two men and one woman in the car defy any logical explanation he can come up with. Hours turn into days, and Childs (usual) taut storyline doesnt disappoint. Love the character and the stories.

Dead Mans Folly by Agatha Christie (1956) The legendary detective, Hercule Poirot, is invited to play a small part at a murder mystery party at a country estate. A real murder interrupts the festivities, of course. In its time, it was one of Christies worst-reviewed novels. If youre a fan like I am, you wont enjoy it any less.

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner (2007) Deserving of every award it won, Weiners exhaustive history is also exhausting, and not a little discouraging. Theres been a lot of incompetence. Every president since Truman has both needed and hated his CIA. By the end of the book, you will have a whole new impression of whats possible, even if the agency is reformed. The author has done a lot of work here, and each new president and his team should have this book. A long, great read.

COVID-19 Lockdowns on Trial by Michael Betrus (2020) Much will be written about COVID-19, but this work should stand the test of time, Its narrow focus is on the costs and benefits of lockdowns. Conclusions are damning, but mostly left to the reader.

Colonel Butlers Wolf by Anthony Price (1972) Youll often find me reading dated, Cold War-era espionage novels. I dont miss the Cold War at all, but some of the best fictionalized spycraft came from it, like Prices Audley series. Each one is a gem. In this ingenious plot, foreign agents are radicalizing young men at university to prevent them from becoming future leaders of British politics, industry, military, etc. Whos doing it, and how to stop them? Post-Cold War spy novels almost always fall short.

Deception by Jonathan Kellerman (2010) Dr. Delaware and Det. Sturgis have a dead woman who taught at an elite private school (attended by the police chiefs son, no less). Oh, and she left behind a DVD with explosive accusations against her colleagues at the school. It would be easier NOT to find her killer, but thats not Alex and Milos way.

Second Skin by Eric von Lustbader (1995) Set in Japan, and worldwide, the Nicholas Linnear novels were EVLs best-known books (and my favorites). Now, he probably better known for taking over and continuing the Jason Bourne stories. Get yourself to a library or used bookseller and read every Linnear-series thriller. In order if possible. Theres no better beach or airplane reading for you this summer. Im on my second re-read of them these days.

Proof by Dick Francis (1984) From one of my favorite mystery writers, this is one of my favorite Francis stories. As always the plot involves the British horse-racing world, but always in a different, non-formula way. His protagonist here, Tony Beach, is a wine store proprietor, and youll pull hard for him to survive the (very) bad guys.

The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777) by Rick Atkinson (2019) Atkinson wrote a Pulitzer-winning trilogy of WW2 that is among the greatest works of history Ive ever found. It was a no brainer for me to join him in his new Revolution Trilogy, of which this is the first volume. Just when you thought you could not possibly love this country more, you get lively portraits of events (Bunker Hill, Battle for New York) and people (Washington, Charles Lee, the Howe brothers). You see the revolution, your every sense is caught up. This is why we read history. In fact, this is why we read, period.

As always, please enjoy, and let me know if any of these recommendations please you. Always glad to hear from you at [emailprotected]

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Reading Out of the Pandemic And Into Freedom - 550 KTSA

Laws to protect public interest journalism should be beefed up and a culture of transparency promoted, a senate committee report on press freedom has recommended.

Media companies told the inquiry that press freedom and the protection of whistleblowers is essential to democracy and must be balanced with national security issues.

Tabled in parliament on Wednesday, the report has 17 recommendations, including improving the freedom of information laws which often produce documents so redacted they are useless and amending the criminal code to reverse the onus on journalists to prove their stories are in the public interest.

Chaired by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, the inquiry was sparked by the Australian federal police raid in 2019 of the home of a News Corp reporter seeking information about the publication of classified material, shortly followed by a raid on the ABC headquarters over reporting of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

Last year the AFP ruled out pursuing charges against the journalist, Annika Smethurst, or anyone else for her story revealing plans to extend the Australian Signals Directorates spying powers.

Commonwealth prosecutors also declined to charge the ABC journalist, Dan Oakes, due to public interest considerations.

National and international outrage followed the raids, which were seen as an attack on press freedom, and resulted in assurances journalists will not be prosecuted without the attorney generals consent.

The 17 recommendations in this report show we do need to change some of our laws to make sure we protect Australians right to know, Hanson-Young said.

Covid-19 has shown access to accurate and comprehensive news has never been more important. Yet at the same time, we have also witnessed less information being available to the public under the guise of Covid and national security.

Whether its the government hiding behind national cabinet confidentiality and denying FOI requests, or refusing to answer questions about the vaccine rollout and hotel quarantine, the publics right to know is being thwarted.

The senate report follows the release in August of the report from another inquiry sparked by the raids: the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security (PJCIS).

The parliamentary joint committee said media companies should be left in the dark before warrants are executed, but a public interest advocate should make the case for press freedom in warrant hearings.

For offences where national security encroached on press freedom, warrants should be issued by a judge of a superior court of record, responding to concerns that the ABC warrant was issued by a registrar of a local court.

Constitutional law scholar Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland, said the recommendations go further than the PJCIS did last year.

It says, in more powerful language, that press freedom and openness are really important; that government accountability and transparency are really important and we need to do more to promote those things, Ananian-Welsh told Guardian Australia.

And a lot of that is about boosting the things that weve already got like making sure the Freedom of Information Act works properly and there is a culture of transparency, which also acknowledges that there is a culture of secrecy in government, a problematic culture of secrecy.

In a dissenting report, government senators said they couldnt agree to all the committees recommendations because some overlapped with PJCISs, some were already in train and some were contradictory.

In a minority report the Greens called for a Media Freedom Act to enshrine protections for public interest journalism.

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance said the recommendations would help to curb the growing culture of government secrecy, stop the persecution of whistleblowers and prevent journalists being prosecuted for simply doing their jobs.

Meaa media president Marcus Strom said the report went a long way to clawing back the overreach of national security laws.

After almost two decades of increased secrecy, culminating in prosecution of journalists for doing their jobs, these recommendations would restore confidence for journalists that they can report on national security issues without the threat of prosecution, Strom said.

Strom welcomed the recommendations to amend the Asio Act, the Criminal Code Act and the use of coercive powers to prosecute journalists under the Crimes Act.

The Human Rights Law Centres senior lawyer Kieran Pender said the public had the right to know what our government does in our name and protecting whistleblowers is vital to our democracy.

As recommended by the committee, the government should urgently reform whistleblowing law, overhaul draconian secrecy law and legislate better protections for journalists, Pender told Guardian Australia.

The commonwealth director of public prosecutions should also review the prosecution of Afghan files whistleblower David McBride, as well as the prosecutions of Bernard Collaery, Witness K and Richard Boyle. These prosecutions are not in the public interest and should be dropped.

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Australia needs to strengthen press freedom laws and promote transparency, inquiry finds - The Guardian

By PTI

NEW DELHI: After two police teams descended on Twitter's offices in Delhi and Gurgaon, the Congress on Monday alleged that the "cowardly raid" on the microblogging site's offices by the Delhi Police "exposes lameduck attempts" to hide a "fraudulent toolkit" by BJP leaders.

The Delhi Police's Special Cell on Monday sent a notice to Twitter India in connection with the probe into a complaint about an alleged 'COVID toolkit', asking it to share information based on which it had classified a related tweet by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as "manipulated media", officials said.

Two police teams also descended on the microblogging site's offices in Lado Sarai in Delhi and in Gurgaon this evening.

Reacting to the development, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter, "Cowardly raid on @Twitter unleashed by Delhi Police exposes lameduck attempts to hide the fraudulent toolkit by BJP leaders."

Such attempts to "murder" freedom of speech lay bare the BJP's guilt, he said and tagged his video statement on the issue.

In the video statement, Surjewala alleged that the "subjugation of free speech, the attempts to stifle every voice that is a dissenting voice against this government and the state-sponsored fraudulent means to propagate and to instill fear continue unabated in Modi government".

He alleged that the BJP forged documents to produce a "fake toolkit".

The Congress leader claimed that after the toolkit was "exposed", the BJP and the Modi government, being scared of it, was "raiding" Twitter offices both in Delhi and in Gurgaon.

"Why, the guilty people are sitting in BJP headquarters and in seat of power, but, you are raiding Twitter's office in Delhi and Gurgaon, what is the reason there of?" he said.

Surjewala alleged that the BJP is "running scared of its lies" and getting caught and being branded as manipulated and fraudulent by social media platforms.

The BJP had accused the Congress of creating a 'toolkit' that seeks to tarnish the image of the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the handling of the COVID pandemic.

However, the Congress denied the allegation and claimed that the BJP is propagating a fake 'toolkit' to defame it.

Last week, Twitter labelled as "manipulated media" a tweet by Patra on the alleged 'toolkit'.

Twitter says it "may label Tweets that include media (videos, audio, and images) that have been deceptively altered or fabricated".

In his statement, Surjewala said the intermediary rules, which give the power to the government to direct people to take off various posts, have not even come into play.

"They come into play only on 25th May, 2021 then why the action today? Under what provision of law notices are being issued?" he said.

Surjewala asked that when BJP leaders are being accused of fraud then why is the government standing in shelter thereof.

"None less than the IT Minister himself and half a dozen other ministers have also tweeted this manipulated and fraudulent media.

Now they are scared that their lies are going to get exposed and the oath of the constitution that they took will stand annihilated and violated and that's why social media platforms are being targeted," he alleged.

"Please remember Mr.Prime Minister that free speech and rights to express opinion is our fundamental right in this country," Surejwala said.

"You can't subjugate the constitution, you can't stifle free speech and you will not be able to suppress the voice of the young or voice of people of this country," he said.

The government had earlier asked Twitter to remove the 'manipulated media' tag as the matter is pending before a law enforcement agency, and made it clear that the social media platform cannot pass judgment when the issue is under investigation.

BJP leaders, including Patra, have posted numerous tweets to attack the Congress over the purported 'toolkit'.

On May 19, the Congress lodged a police complaint seeking registration of cases against BJP chief J P Nadda, Union minister Smriti Irani, BJP general secretary B L Santosh and Patra over the alleged forgery of documents.

The Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress' students wing NSUI also lodged a complaint against Patra and former chief minister Raman Singh for allegedly "forging" the letterhead of the AICC Research Department and printing "false and fabricated" content on it.

On the basis of the complaint, a case has been filed against Patra and Singh at the Civil Lines police station in Raipur.

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Congress slams 'raid' on Twitter offices, calls it attempt to 'murder' freedom of speech - The New Indian Express

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A new Mister Miracle series, starring Shilo Norman, hits stores from DC Comics on Tuesday, by Brandon Easton and Fico Ossio. And if that creative team wasn't a good enough reason to check this one out on its own and it should be, for the record DC gives us a full scene of the titular Mister Miracle performing a death-defying stunt live on camera in this preview of Mister Miracle The Source of Freedom #1.

MISTER MIRACLE THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM #1 (OF 6)DC Comics0321DC0010321DC002 MISTER MIRACLE THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM #1 (OF 6) CVR B VALENTINE DE LANDRO CARD STOCK VAR $4.99(W) Brandon Easton (A) Fico Ossio (CA) Yanick PaquetteSpinning out of DC Future State, the story of how Shilo Norman became the Mister Miracle of tomorrow starts here. The Mister Miracle show used to be the hottest ticket in town, whether you caught him onstage escaping from perilous traps or spotted him on the streets of Metropolis taking out bad guys. What Shilo Norman forgot is the first rule of both showbiz and super-heroing: always leave them wanting more. Now it's time to start showing the world what a miracle man can do. Showbiz/superhero rule #2: timing is everything. There's a new performer in town who wants to knock Mister Miracle off his pedestal and stake a claim to his famous moniker! Can Shilo break free of this trap? (Why yes, that is a clue.)In Shops: 2021-05-25SRP: $3.99

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That's Showbiz in Mister Miracle The Source of Freedom #1 [Preview] - Bleeding Cool News

May 23, 2021

This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated its recommendations for individuals who are fully vaccinated.A few key points from thisguidanceare below.

Fully vaccinated people cando the following:

Spend time with other fully vaccinated people, including indoors, without wearing masks or physical distancing (outside a workplace setting).Spend time with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing. Refrain from wearing face coverings outdoors except when attending crowded outdoor events, such as live performances, parades, fairs, festivals, sports events, or other similar settings.

Fully vaccinated people should continue to take precautions in public including wearing a well-fitted mask indoors, and when attending crowded outdoor events, as described above. Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. If fully vaccinated people test positive for SARS-CoV-2, they should follow CDPH and local health department guidelines regarding isolation and/or exclusion from high-risk settings. For workplace settings, employers should follow the exclusion provisions of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated when it has been two weeks or more after they have received either their second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer orModerna) or their single-dose vaccine (J&J/Janssen).

Asreportedby Kahn, Soares & Conway(KSC),forworkplace settings, employers should follow the exclusion provisions of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards.The Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) applies to all employers, employees, and to all places of employment with three exceptions:

Workplaces where there is only one employee who does not have contact with other people.Employees who are working from home.Employees who are covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases regulation.

KSC as reported, incorrespondence with this weeks CDPH recommendations, and perExecutive Order N-84-2020, the Cal/OSHA ETS now stipulates that fully vaccinated individuals who have had a COVID-19 exposure and are asymptomatic no longer need to be excluded under the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards.More information is available in theCOVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards FAQs.

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Get Vaccinated to Have More Freedom - California Agriculture News - California Ag Today

WHITESBORO, NY - A statue honoring military dogs and their handlers is one step closer to becoming a reality, and its all thanks to the family and friends of a local girl who tragically lost her life one year ago.

Alivia Moylan would help out her father D.J. at the Whitestown American Legion doing odd jobs like cleaning and painting when the legion was closed due to the pandemic. During one of those trips, Alivia noticed a flyer for the memorial honoring the military dogs.

Being a dog lover, she told her dad they needed to do something to help out. Tragically she was killed in an ATV accident a year ago and never got the chance to help like she wanted. Thats when, according to Alivias mother, Virginia Moyland, her family and friends stepped up.

We felt that it was important for us to honor her. So to honor her girlfriends and cousin came up with the design for the t-shirt Im wearing. We ended up selling over 340 shirts and took in quite a bit in donations. So today we are presenting a check to the guardians of freedom for $8,000.

The statue is being modeled after Marine SGT. Adam Cann and his dog Bruno.

Bruno alerted SGT. Cann to a man wearing a vest filled with dynamite while they were on patrol in Kuwait. Bruno went after the man, but the vest detonated, killing SGT. Cann and severely injuring Bruno.

Once enough money is raised the statue will be located in an area just off the Herkimer thruway exit.

Check out the Guardians of Freedom if youd like to learn more about the memorial or help out with donations.

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$8,000 check presented to Guardians of Freedom in memory of Whitesboro teen killed in ATV accident - WKTV