MANUEL ORREGO-SAVALA WHO KILLED NFL PLAYER EDWIN JACKSON IS SENTENCED TO 16 YRS IN PRISON (ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT):
MANUEL ORREGO-SAVALA (FROM GUATEMALA) WAS DRUNK DRIVING, KILLED EDWIN JACKSON & HIS UBER DRIVER, THEN COWARDLY LEFT THE SCENE.
SAVALA IS ANOTHER REASON WHY AMERICA DOES NOT NEED OPEN BORDERS BUT NEEDS LOGICAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM ASAP.
IMMIGRATION REFORM IS NOT RACISM AGAINST LATINOS.....IT’S LAW AND ORDER TO PROTECT OUR NATION.
Post Sources: AP, Fox News, NBC News, Youtube
****** Guatemalan Man living illegally in USA gets 16 years for crash that killed Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and an Uber driver
A man from Guatemala living illegally in the U.S. was sentenced Friday to the maximum of 16 years in prison for a drunken-driving crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver.
Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, pleaded guilty in July to two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .15 or more, causing death. The sentence marked the maximum possible under his plea agreement.
Investigators said Orrego-Savala had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 — nearly 2 ½ times Indiana's legal limit — when his F-150 truck crashed into Jackson and his Uber driver, Jeffrey Monroe, 54, on Feb. 4 along Interstate 70 in Indianapolis.
Monroe, of Avon, Indiana, had pulled over when the 26-year-old Jackson became ill. Both men were standing outside Monroe's car on the highway's shoulder when Orrego-Savala's truck crashed into them.
Authorities said Orrego-Savala was walking away from the crash when a state trooper detained him. Under his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped two counts of failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
A Marion County judge sentenced Orrego-Savala after hearing an emotional testimony from Monroe’s widow, Deborah Monroe, and Jackson's mother. The widow told Orrego-Savala that the crashed killed “the greatest love of my life” and destroyed their retirement plans that included travel and fulfilling her husband’s dream of going to the Great Wall of China.
"My family and I are serving a life sentence because of you," she said, speaking directly to Orrego-Savala, who kept his head lowered during much of Friday's hearing.
"You're a drunk, a liar, a murderer and a coward," Monroe said.
Jackson grew up in Atlanta and started eight games for the Colts during the 2016 season, finishing third on the team with 61 tackles. Jackson was considered a possible starter at inside linebacker for 2017 but missed the season after suffering a training camp injury.
His mother, Mary Ellen Powell Jackson, told the court she was preparing to leave Sunday services when she learned that he had died in a crash in a phone call.
Our hearts have been ripped apart and we're always asking, 'Why Edwin?'" she said, recalling him as a hardworking, handsome athlete, and a good, obedient and caring son who had "a heart of gold."
Orrego-Savala was deported in 2007 and 2009. Federal authorities said he illegally re-entered the U.S. and faces federal immigration charges that could potentially result in a 10-year sentence, said Jeremy Johnson, a Marion County deputy prosecutor.
“I’m grateful he was an illegal immigrant because our federal government will give him 10 more years. So that’s 26 years he’ll spend in prison for what he did,” Monroe said according to FOX 59.
It’s such a simple phrase, most often said without much thought of any greater meaning. But for women who are victims of domestic violence, conditioned to think no one will believe them, or that they somehow brought some horror upon themselves, those three little words can be life-changing.
Maybe even life-saving.
Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension, announced Friday by the NFL, has the potential to be transformative, and I’m not referring to the Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl hopes. In its letter to Elliott, one of the league’s brightest young stars, the NFL made it clear that it believed the woman who had accused him of domestic abuse.
It didn’t matter that prosecutors had decided not to bring charges, a sadly common occurrence in domestic violence cases. Nor did it matter that Elliott had disputed the allegations, trashing his former girlfriend and her credibility in the process. It didn’t even matter that Jerry Jones, arguably the most powerful owner in the NFL, had tried to use his influence to affect the outcome of the investigation.
After a thorough and extensive investigation, the NFL came to a simple, yet powerful conclusion: It believed her.
“Based on the entire record, the credible evidence establishes that on multiple occasions during the week of July 16, 2016, you used physical force against (the victim) resulting in her injury,” Todd Jones, the NFL’s special counsel for conduct, wrote in the letter explaining Elliott’s suspension.
The impact of the league siding with a domestic violence victim cannot be overstated.
Yes, understanding of domestic violence has grown in the three years since the Ray Rice fiasco, and attitudes toward victims are improving. But there is still much work to do. Too many cases go unreported or unprosecuted because of a lack of evidence or a fear of not being believed. (Funny how no one demands a video of the break-in when a robbery is reported.) Too many people still assume that domestic violence is someone else’s problem, certain it couldn’t happen in their community, in their circle of friends, in their own home.
Too many women still live in terror, for themselves and for their children. Too many women are still dying, an average of three each day.
By doing a thorough investigation — the league consulted with two medical experts about “the causation and aging of certain injuries” and there were over 100 exhibits, including “thousands” of text messages and other electronic communications — the NFL sent a message that domestic violence is to be taken seriously, and that the accused isn’t the only one who deserves the benefit of the doubt.
“They have a commitment to their players, to treat the players fairly and evaluate any evidence against them fairly,” said Kim Gandy, president and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
“But they also have taken on a responsibility to their fans and society at large to make sure that the victims are also treated fairly.”
For years, the NFL put women in harm’s way with its decisions and actions on domestic violence — or inactions, as was too often the case. Players busted for DUI or drugs often face harsher consequences.
Even after all of the promises Commissioner Roger Goodell made in the aftermath of the Rice debacle, the NFL suspended New York Giants kicker Josh Brown for all of one game last year — this despite knowing his wife had told police she’d been abused more than 20 times and its own security having to step in at the Pro Bowl after Brown showed up at her hotel room.
But Elliott’s suspension, and the league's commitment to giving his accuser a fair shake, is a positive and welcome change. Nothing in this country commands a bigger spotlight than the NFL, and its decisions have the power to drive conversations and influence opinions.
Maybe the NFL's decision, and its reasoning for it, will give a woman the courage to report her abuse or leave her abuser. Maybe it will make those so quick to blame the victim pause to consider that she might be telling the truth.
“Whenever a sports organization — whether it’s the NFL or Major League Baseball or the NBA — takes serious action backed up by evidence in a domestic violence case, it raises the profile of the issue,” Gandy said.
The NFL told a domestic violence victim it believed her. Why shouldn’t we?
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott -- who returned from a six-game domestic violence suspension last Sunday -- said that the Cowboys' clash with the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday matters, even with Dallas out of the playoff picture.
"I only played nine games this season; I'm itching to play football," Elliott told reporters Wednesday, via The Dallas Morning News. "I don't care if we're playing for nothing, I'm playing for something.
"I'm playing for myself, we're playing for each other, and so I'm excited to go out and play Sunday. I'm not going to have any problem waking up Sunday morning, getting ready to play. You don't have to worry about that from me or from anyone on this team."
Through the nine games Elliott has played, he's racked up 880 yards and is within range of surpassing the 1,000-yard plateau on Sunday.
"If it happens, it happens," Elliott said. "It's not like you can go out there and force that, but it definitely would be nice."
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was allegedly involved in a February altercation with the same woman who has previously accused him of domestic violence, according to a report from USA Today, with the incident reportedly resulting in police being called to the scene:
The woman who accused Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott of abusing her for five days in July also called police on him months before the NFL Draft, alleging she suffered left shoulder pain from the force of Elliott pushing her up against a wall during an argument that turned physical.
An incident report obtained Friday by USA TODAY Sports from the Aventura (Fla.) Police Department said there were no visible signs of injury and that the accuser declined to go to the hospital after police responded to a call about an altercation at Elliott’s apartment Feb. 12.
Article continues below ...Elliott reportedly was not placed under arrest for the alleged altercation.
The Cowboys running back was interviewed by the NFL last month regarding domestic violence allegations from the same accuser this past summer.
No charges were brought at that time. Prosecutors stated the lack of charges were “primarily due to conflicting and inconsistent information across all the incidents resulting in concern regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the filing of criminal charges.”
Elliott’s alleged ex-girlfriend told police in July that Elliott assaulted her while they sat in a parked car and that she has had pain in her wrist but declined medical treatment.
Elliott, who has maintained his innocence, told authorities at the time that he never touched Thompson in “a harmful manner.” He claimed Thompson suffered the bruises in a bar fight.
Earlier this week and prior to this new report, Elliott's attorney, Frank Salzano, released a statement defending his client (via USA Today):
“For the past several days the media has elected to focus on allegations of domestic violence involving Mr. Elliott despite the Columbus, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office decision not to charge Mr. Elliott nearly two months ago.
As previously reported, the prosecutor's office conducted a thorough seven-week investigation whereby in their own words they “dotted every I and crossed every T” and concluded there was no credible evidence to file any charges against Mr. Elliott.
My office provided a mountain of exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Elliott's innocence and directly contradicting all of the false allegations contained in the Accuser’s two police reports as first reported on July 22, 2016.
“Yet the media has chosen to deflect the recent negative press regarding the NFL's reported mishandling of several domestic violence matters by focusing on the NFL's prolonged investigation of Mr. Elliott.
The NFL’s interview of Mr. Elliott was conducted over four weeks ago and went unreported at the time as it was then, and still remains a non-story.
It is league protocol to conduct a separate investigation whenever there are allegations of domestic violence by one of its players.
“We firmly believe that the NFL should promptly close its investigation which is only open because of their apprehensiveness stemming from the recent scrutiny it has come under for its handling of other domestic violence matters.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, we remain firm that the NFL will clear Mr. Elliott of any wrongdoing and this matter can be finally put to rest.”
**** Inside Paisley Park on the anniversary of Prince’s death
CHANHASSEN, Minn. – Of all the eerily beautiful moments while spending time in Paisley Park on the anniversary eve of Prince’s death, the most bittersweet was provided by the man himself.
On a massive screen inside the massive soundstage Prince frequently used for performances, a clip played from a 2014 concert with 3rdeyegirl.
As he steered “Purple Rain” through its moody intervals, Prince paused to tell the crowd, “If you come to my house, you have to take care of it…at Paisley Park we sing together, we dine together, we love together.”
It was a fitting comment at that moment, with close to 1,000 fans from across the world assembled in the Paisley Park audience, all staring in the dark at video footage of the performer who died on April 21, 2016 just a few hundred feet from that screen, and exactly a week after thrilling crowds at the Fox Theatre at what became his final concerts.
While the mourning process continues for many – Matt Fink of The Revolution said earlier in the week that he still grieves for his former boss – this weekend at Paisley Park is supposed to be about rejoicing in Prince’s musical contributions and preserving his legacy.
The four-day Celebration 2017 kicked off Thursday with waves of fans who spent between $500 and $1,000 to bask in the Prince-ly aura, wander through parts of the Paisley compound (the Atrium houses Prince’s ashes – out of reach – in a “symbol”-shaped urn, guitar displays and, on the second floor, his white doves in a white cage), attend panels with members of The New Power Generation and soak in a surprise performance from George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic.
A gambler would have lost some cash that Clinton, at 75, would outlive Prince, who died at 57.
For more than an hour, Clinton and P-Funk bulldozed through one seamless groove that included “Get Up for the Down Stroke,” “Flashlight” and “Give Up the Funk.” Clinton alternately led the adrenalized crowd through arm calisthenics and slumped in a purple chair in front of the drum riser, content to direct his ace musicians as they paid tribute to Prince with their funk-steeped rock ‘n’ roll.
The afternoon concert – which would be repeated for a second round of Celebration attendees that evening – was the first live music event at Paisley Park since Prince’s death.
But there Clinton was, a tamer, less-colorful, shorter-haired version, barking through “Atomic Dog” in a silver-sequined military hat and long silver jacket, a dozen or so musicians in varying degrees of costumes whirling around him.
Because cell phones are prohibited at Paisley Park – a Prince rule even before his death – and were placed in Yondr pouches upon entry into the building, fans could experience the music uninterrupted by camera screens and glaring Facebook pages.
Damaris Lewis, who joined New Power Generation in 2012 as a dancer, served as lithe hostess and told the assembled throng after P-Funk’s set, “Live music. Real musicians. Real music. Nothing like it.
Inside the soundstage, a giant lighted Prince symbol hung from a back corner, while a banner of Prince’s face, silhouetted against a moon, looked toward the stage, his guidance omnipresent.
That same stage was the setting for a panel featuring NPG members Levi Seacer, Morris Hayes, Tony Mosley and Damon Dickson, who offered hilarious accounts of their time with Prince, as well as stories about his notorious work ethic.
“We would pull three-day straight sessions,” Hayes said. “He was so dedicated to the creation process. If you start it, finish it.”
Throughout the weekend, Celebration 2017 will present performances and panels from The Revolution, Morris Day & The Time, 3rdeyegirl and Paisley Park mainstays.
If there was a message to receive on Thursday, Seacer provided it: “Prince was all about r
IT'S TIME TO CLOSE VA HOSPITALS & PRIVATIZE VET HEALTH CARE.
Helping Women in Abusive Marriages and Relationships become self-sufficient should be a key 2016 platform issue.
Women married to U.S. SOLDIERS and ATHLETES are frequent victims of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
There are thousands of Male U.S. Military Vets living in American society with severe MENTAL HEALTH issues.
Due to Survival skills they learned while on Active Duty, its not uncommon for Military VETS (Men) to appear Sane in public while Abusing their Wives and Children behind closed doors.
VA Hospitals do NOT screen these Military Heroes, instead they just prescribe them PILLS for the purpose of SELF-MEDICATING their Mental Health issues.
Considering the number of mega VA Hospitals Scandals under Pres OBAMA'S administration, I say it is time shut down all VA Hospitals and PRIVATIZE Health Care for Veterans.
It is also time for all VETS to receive MANDATORY Mental Health screening each time they request pills for illness, each time they are DIVORCED and each time an immediate member of their family dies via SUICIDE.
With thousands of troops now preparing to return, a new crisis may open on the domestic front. Military wife Stacy Bannerman on the husbands she’s seen transformed into domestic abusers.
"If you don't hear from me in the next 24 hours, call the police," she whispered, then hung up. My phone read 2:12 am; it was the third call in as many minutes.
I tried calling back—no answer. I went back to sleep, angry at Kristi for calling in the middle of the night and scaring me with a single sentence.
The next morning I fired off an email: "I cannot, for the love of God, imagine what you were thinking when you called last night.
Please tell me." Kristi and I had become battle buddies at home while our husbands were serving in Iraq in 2004-05.
We had cried each time a military family member called with word of a soldier's death or suicide; we grieved at funerals and gravesites, marches and memorials.
We wept with and for each another when she or I learned that our husband had been mobilized for another deployment, and again when they finally came home.
Her husband had served three combat tours since 2002.
The last one was the shortest yet, a mere 10 months, and Kristi wrote in an email that "he actually came back pretty normal this time!" That was nearly four months ago. When my phone rang in the afternoon early last fall, I saw that it was her, and picked up.
"Mark tried to strangle me last night," she blurted out. "I called you from the bathroom. I locked myself in with the pets. I didn't want him to hurt my puppy. I'm sorry I called. I was just so scared, and I didn't have anyone else to call. I couldn't call the cops."
I had gotten other midnight calls from other military wives, cowering in closets and under dining room tables, dialing for a lifeline to someone outside of their domestic war zone.
But this was my friend: strong and smart, she had worked at a women's shelter nearly a decade ago. She knew all the warning signs.
And Kristi's husband adored her.
He had no history of domestic violence, no pattern of abuse. He had made no attempts to isolate her from friends, family, or finances. Mark's most recent post-deployment mental health assessment hadn't indicated any issues.
There hadn't been a single red flag before Mark wrapped his hands around Kristi's throat and squeezed, which is what makes veterans' household violence unique.
Abuse by combat veterans tends to have its own distinctive pattern that is unlike the recurring power-and-control cycle of abuse described in most domestic violence literature.
The journal Disabled American Veterans stated that veteran interpersonal violence often involves "only one or two extremely violent and frightening abusive episodes that quickly precipitate treatment seeking."
"Mark tried to strangle me last night," my friend blurted out.
The majority of studies of treatment-seeking veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or combat-related mental health issues report that at least 50 percent of those veterans commit wife-battering and family violence.
Male veterans with PTSD are two to three times more likely than veterans without PTSD to engage in intimate partner violence, according to the VA, which also found that the majority of veterans with combat stress commit at least one act of spousal abuse in their first year post-deployment.
"How are you now?" I asked Kristi. "Where is he?"
"I'm okay, but my throat hurts a little. He's gone. I made him leave this morning. I told him I didn't want to hear from him until he had talked to a counselor or gotten into some kind of treatment.
I said that I didn't feel safe with him, and I couldn't…I wasn't…" she sobbed, hiccupping out words, "I wasn't sure if I ever would again… Goddamn it. Goddamn this war."
Kristi and I talked a lot over the next days and weeks—mostly she talked, and I listened. She was seeing a civilian counselor, but spent most of her time at home, shell-shocked and alone.
She said her counselor just kept telling her to leave her husband, giving her lectures on the typical cycle of domestic abuse, so she tried to find someone who understood the military and veterans.
She called the military chaplain on post, but he never called back. She called the VA, and asked if they had support programs for wives of combat veterans.
They didn't. She called Military One Source, a free counseling assistance program provided by the Department of Defense.
But the lady there just started to cry, and told her that she got "these calls all the time. I can't help you. Unless you authorize a report, I can't authorize assistance."
Kristi reached out to another military spouse that lived off post and was married to an Iraq war veteran.
She told her what happened, and her friend said that she and her husband had gotten into so many fights, hitting and screaming and throwing things at each other, that she ended up going to the domestic violence shelter.
Staff at the shelter told her that they didn't have programs for wives of veterans, and that her husband made too much money for her to stay there, anyway.
Meanwhile, Mark was staying with friends, or sleeping in his office.
After several days of silence, they began talking, but she hasn't seen him since that night, and at times, she's wondered if she even wants to. "I miss him, I do," she said. "We've already been apart way too much, but I am so angry, and hurt."
Today, Kristi says that Mark's trying to get help, but it's not easy.
He called a domestic violence hotline, and the person he talked to discouraged him from going to the men's group because he doesn't fit the abuser profile. "It's not like he can make a lot of calls about this when he works for 10 hours every day,"
Kristi says. "His insurance won't pay for him go to a private therapist at night. They said he can only see someone at the base medical center, and he's not doing that. He can't really sneak off for three hours in the middle of the day and drive down to the VA, either."
Most family victims of veteran violence don't file reports with the police or their husband's command.
The military is stepping up domestic violence programs and education at military instillations, but the pressure on spouses within the active duty and retired military culture and much of the civilian population to remain silent is especially intense during a time a war.
Speaking out about veteran violence at home seems to be perceived as more of a betrayal than the violence itself.
Even so, since 2003, there has been a 75 percent increase in reports of domestic violence in and around Ft. Hood, where the number of soldiers diagnosed with PTSD rose from 310 in 2004 to 2,445 in 2009.
Equally telling is the 2010 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, the second annual poll conducted by Blue Star Families (BSF) of military families with a loved one currently in the service.
This year's survey included a ream of questions about returning-veteran violence. I don't think there was a single question on that topic last year.
When I last spoke to Kristi, she said that she had quit praying that she and Mark "would get their old lives back. That's gone." Now, she just prays that the last deployment was, in fact, the last, and that someday, the war will end for them, too.
About 63,000 soldiers will return from combat tours between July and December.
According to military statistics, nearly half of active-duty National Guard members, 38 percent of Army soldiers, and 31 percent of Marines report mental health problems upon return from Middle East deployments.
If just 20 percent of them have post-combat stress, then it can reasonably be projected that roughly half of those veterans will commit at least one act of severe domestic abuse or interpersonal violence in the coming year.
That's approximately 6,300 veterans' wives and kids who are at risk.
President Obama declared that major combat operations in Iraq are over.
They may just be starting for thousands of America's military family members.
If GREG HARDY's Accuser were a BLACK Woman, I doubt if the local Media and National Media would have showed much interest in this FAKE Domestic Violence situation.
With the exception of TMZ, no Mainstream Media organization really cared about JANAY RICE getting her behind Whipped until TMZ released the incriminating Tapes!
But because HARDY's Accuser was a WHITE Woman, CHARLOTTE's Racist local Media and the National Media wanted to immediately sentence HARDY to Prison and throw away the Key without getting all the FACTS!
If HARDY's Accuser (WHITE ex-girlfriend) were a real Victim of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, She would NOT have accepted a Large CHECK from him and stayed away from the Courtroom.
She would have showed up in Court and Defended herself.
The local RACIST Media in CHARLOTTE just knew HARDY would be Sentenced to Jail, or have his name Ruined for good!
However MONEY allows BLACK People in America to afford proper LEGAL Representation.
Without MONEY, BLACK People in America are often Sentenced to JAIL or PRISON due to having Poor LEGAL Representation in the Courtroom.
So am I mocking the issue of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
NO!
Do I condone DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
Of Course Not!
But I also Don't condone BLACK Men being thrown into JAIL or having their lives Ruined due to a Scorned WOMAN's Lies, and a RACIST Criminal Justice system.
GREG HARDY's case was nothing more than another WHITE Woman vs Wealthy BLACK Man WITCH HUNT.
It wasn't the first, and it won't be the last.
Why?
Because the United States of America remains a very RACIST, very Divided Nation, even in the 21st Century.
Especially in the Deep "BIBLE Belt" SOUTH!
I'm just saying.
Sources: Charlotte Observer; Black & Blue Review; ESPN; TMZ Sports; USA Today; Youtube
Five St. Louis Rams players stood with their arms raised in an apparent show of solidarity for Ferguson protesters before trotting onto the field for pregame introductions.
A Rams spokesman said Sunday the team was not aware the gesture had been planned before the game against Oakland.
Wide receivers Tavon Austin and Kenny Britt came out together first, with the move obscured by a smoke machine in the upper reaches of the Edward Jones Dome. Stedman Bailey, Jared Cook and Chris Givens — all of whom are black — then came out and stood together with arms raised.
After Tre Mason scored on an 8-yard run to make it 45-0 in the fourth quarter, he and Britt raised their hands together.
There have been riots, looting and buildings burned in Ferguson since a grand jury declined Monday to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed Michael Brown in August.
Across the street from the stadium, about 75 protesters gathered in the second half as about 30 police wearing riot gear watched from a safe distance. Protesters chanted "Hands up, don't shoot!" ''No Justice, No Football!" ''This is what Democracy looks like," and "We're here for Mike Brown."
The Rams had additional security measures in place for the game, including armed personnel from the National Guard. The team has wanded fans outside entrances all season.
On another front inside the stadium, a group of fans formed letters spelling "Keep the Rams in St. Louis" in seats in the north end zone.
Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has won his appeal of an indefinite suspension and has been reinstated to the NFL.
Rice is now eligible to sign with any NFL team.
"I would like to thank Judge Barbara Jones, the NFL Players Association, my attorneys, agents, advisors, family, friends and fans -- but most importantly, my wife Janay," Rice said in a statement released by the NFLPA on Friday.
"I made an inexcusable mistake and accept full responsibility for my actions.
"I am thankful that there was a proper appeals process in place to address this issue. I will continue working hard to improve myself and be the best husband, father and friend, while giving back to my community and helping others to learn from my mistakes."
Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones, who heard Rice's appeal earlier this month, concluded in her decision, which was obtained by ESPN, that Rice did not lie to or mislead NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
"In this arbitration, the NFL argues that Commissioner Goodell was misled when he disciplined Rice the first time. Because, after careful consideration of all of the evidence, I am not persuaded that Rice lied to, or misled, the NFL at his June interview, I find that the indefinite suspension was an abuse of discretion and must be vacated," Jones' decision stated.
"I find that the NFLPA carried its burden of showing that Rice did not mislead the Commissioner at the June 16th meeting, and therefore, that the imposition of a second suspension based on the same incident and the same known facts about the incident, was arbitrary," Jones also wrote.
"The Commissioner needed to be fair and consistent in his imposition of discipline.
"Moreover, any failure on the part of the League to understand the level of violence was not due to Rice's description of the event but to the inadequacy of words to convey the seriousness of domestic violence. That the League did not realize the severity of the conduct without a visual record also speaks to their admitted failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely."
An NFL spokesman, when asked by ESPN's Andrew Brandt if the league would pursue any further action against Rice, said: "We, of course, accept the ruling as binding."
Rice's wife, Janay, told ESPN's Jemele Hill on Friday that they learned of the ruling while at the house of Janay Rice's mother, and were with family and friends at the time.
"It feels unbelievable," Janay Rice said. "It's a relief. We've been telling the same story for months and we always had faith that we'd done the right thing. Everyone deserves a second chance. We're excited about what the future will bring."
Whether Rice is entitled to back pay for game checks he missed during his suspension will be determined in a separate proceeding through the grievance filed against the Ravens by the NFLPA on behalf of Rice.
"This decision is a victory for a disciplinary process that is fair and transparent," the NFLPA said Friday in a statement. "This union will always stand up and fight for the due process rights of our players. We take no pleasure in seeing a decision that confirms what we have been saying about the Commissioner's office acting arbitrarily. The only remaining action is for NFL owners to embrace a fair process with a neutral arbitrator in all cases. The players thank Judge Barbara Jones for her time and thoroughness in this matter."
Goodell originally had suspended the running back for two games. The incident occurred in February inside an elevator at an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino.
Rice also testified, as did his wife. Details of what Rice and his wife testified to Nov. 6 and what Goodell said Nov. 5 were not released to "Outside the Lines" because of a gag order that Jones imposed. But sources said Newsome backed Rice's previous accounts of what he told Goodell.
Goodell spent the majority of his time testifying under cross-examination by outside union attorney Jeffrey Kessler, sources said.
Rice's attorney, Peter Ginsberg, said in a statement Friday it was "a huge relief" that Rice can "get back to work."
"That is the fair and legally correct result. The decision, however, certainly does not mean that this incident will be forgotten by anyone involved," Ginsberg said in the statement. "On a personal level, Ray, individually, and Ray and Janay, as a couple, are dealing with these events privately. On a professional level, it is time for Ray to prove himself again.
"Hopefully, the NFL will use this incident to learn and to improve. On the heels of Bountygate, Commissioner Roger Goodell has shown once again that he does not follow the rules in his treatment of players and that his judgment cannot be trusted. Under his leadership, the NFL ignored for years the need to create a stronger and more constructive program to address domestic abuse."
Rice, 27, is a three-time Pro Bowler and helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII. He rushed for 6,180 yards and 37 touchdowns in six seasons with Baltimore.
Ravens receiver Torrey Smith tweeted his support of his former teammate after Rice's reinstatement was announced.
A new search warrant filed in Connecticut details evidence police have amassed against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in the unsolved double murder of two men in Boston’s South End, and provides the first formal indication that the June murder of Odin Lloyd may have been linked to that crime.
According to the search warrant affidavit, first reported by the Hartford Courant, Boston police received an anonymous tip that Hernandez was likely linked to the unsolved July 16, 2012, killing of Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado.
While the documents make it clear that it is unknown who pulled the trigger, investigators allege that video evidence show a vehicle — allegedly driven by Hernandez — circling the block, waiting for the victims to exit the club and to get to their car, seemingly stalking them before the shooting.
Police say video shows Hernandez arriving at 12:04 a.m. early that morning, driving a 2006 Toyota 4Runner, and additional video then shows him entering Cure nightclub immediately behind the victims, according to the affidavit.
The document provides a narrative, based on video evidence, that details Hernandez’s alleged movements on the night of the double shooting.
Hernandez and an accomplice — whom investigators later identified as Alexander Bradley — were recorded on tape during their time in the club. He spent just 10 minutes inside, downing two drinks before exiting, the documents state.
The victims did not exit the club until after 2 a.m., and at 2:32 a.m. Boston police responded to a report of six shots fired.
Witnesses told police that an SUV resembling the one driven that night by Hernandez pulled up next to the vehicle driven by the victims and one of the occupants opened fire.
No video depicting the actual shooting has been recovered by police, and until Lloyd was killed in North Attleborough in June 2013, the South End double murder trail had gone cold.
But, just days after Hernandez was formally implicated in the Lloyd murder investigation, a tipster called police to tell them that he believed Lloyd’s killing was tied to the South End shootings.
The tipster, who was later identified as a security supervisor at Rumor Nightclub — where Lloyd and Hernandez had partied two nights before Lloyd’s killing — said that the Lloyd killing was linked to the South End killing. Asked how he knew that, he told police: “Someone accidentally spilled the beans in front of me.”
Investigators have filed a search warrant to obtain jailhouse phone calls made by Bradley, who has been imprisoned after he skipped out on a grand jury subpoena, in which he allegedly discusses the details of the double murder.
Law enforcement officials have consistently refused to discuss whether Hernandez and Bradley are being investigated for the murders, but the Globe has previously reported that both are the subject of the current investigation.
The Globe has previously reported that Bradley is believed to have been in the car with Hernandez on the night of the double killing. Citing law enforcement sources, the Globe has also previously reported that investigators believe Lloyd may have had information about the South End shooting, and that may have been the motive for his slaying.
What was considered a cold case, the South End shooting investigation has become much more active since Hernandez’s implication in Lloyd’s death.
Police recovered the SUV believed to be driven in the double murder from a Bristol, Conn., home of Hernandez’s uncle.
Its NOT enough for Mr. Banks to just be FREE after being Wrongfully Convicted & Imprisoned for a Rape Crime he NEVER Committed.
His Attorneys are also preparing to Sue the State of California for Restitution due to Wrongful Conviction & Incarceration.
I Concur with this Legal Action against the State of California 100%
According to his Attorneys he is Legally entitled to receive $100. Per Day for Wrongful Conviction & Incarceration from the State of California.
Considering he lost 10 Years of his Life due to NO Fault of his Own, I say He is entitled to that Money and Much, Much MORE!
TROY DAVIS was Executed by the State of Georgia NOT because he was Guilty but because they did NOT want to Pay Him Millions of Dollars for Wrongful Conviction & Incarceration. Thus they MURDERED Troy & Stole his Organs.
As it relates to Mr. Banks' situation, No Amount of CASH can reverse the Damage done to His Life & Reputation, however a large amount of CASH will most Certainly Help him to move Forward.
Furthermore if the State of California had done their job accurately, Mr. Banks would NEVER have served one day in jail.
But since they did NOT, now its time to PAY Him in CASH!!
In addition California Law Enforcement Authorities should Prosecute his Accuser Wanetta Gibson & her Family for FRAUD & Lying to Law Enforcement Authorities because they Sued his former High School and Won a Huge Settlement based on LIES!
Has anyone notice that whenever a BLACK Citizen is Wronged by the American Criminal Justice System, Society & the Media just wants Us to FORGIVE, Forget & walk away as if NOTHING ever happened. aka "The Happy Slave" Attitude!
But Whenever a WHITE Citizen is Wronged by the American Criminal Justice System they receive a boat load of CASH, Movie & Book Deals!
While its True GOD Does want Human Beings to FORGIVE those who have Wronged them, he also Instructs Us in his Word (1 Samuel 30:8) to Pursue & Recover ALL after we have Forgiven.
So to Mr. Banks, his Family & his Attorneys I say YES Definitely SUE the State of California for RESTITUTION!
Immediately!!!
And YES Wanetta Gibson & her Family Should be Ordered to Repay the Money they STOLE from Mr. Banks High School Years ago.
Thank God He is FREE & Still ALIVE to Experience VICTORY!
Are there any NFL Teams Still Interested?
I believe BRIAN BANKS could be another Michael Vick!
So YES by all means please FORGIVE those who Wronged You but also GET YOUR CASH because you are Legally Entitled to it.
PURSUE & RECOVER ALL! HALLEJUAH! 1 Samuel 30:8
FORGIVENESS DOES NOT ELIMINATE CONSEQUENCES And When Someone Has Been Unjustly Wronged It Is Right To Expect RESTITUTION.
Even the Bible Agrees with the Premise of Restitution.
Brian Banks Deserves Another Shot At The NFL & He Deserves Restitution. The State of California Must Pay! His Accuser Must Also Pay!
"But if it is actually Stolen from him, he shall make Restitution to its Owner." Exodus 22:12
“If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be Blood shed for him; for he should make full Restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his Theft.” Exodus 22:3
“When the Savior returns, He shall ensure "the Restitution of all things," Acts 3:21
"Eight generations of African-Americans are still waiting to achieve their rights - compensation and restitution for the hundreds of years during which they were bought and sold on the market." Cynthia McKinney
“We want Full Restitution ... so Black Farmers can move on with their Lives.” John Boyd
GOD BLESS BRIAN BANKS, HIS FAMILY & THE INNOCENCE PROJECT
Now that Brian Banks has been exonerated of a rape conviction that put him in prison for five years, the one-time prep football star has a message for NFL coaches: Give him a chance.
After Thursday's emotional court hearing during which Banks broke down in tears, the 26-year-old said he wants to pursue his interrupted dream of playing professional football.
Appearing Friday on NBC's "Today" show", Banks said he just wants a chance from an NFL team.
"I think that any team that gives me an opportunity will be really impressed with what I can do despite all of what I've been through these past 10 years," Banks said.
It was the plan he left outside a prison door when he pleaded no contest to a childhood friend's false accusation of rape in 2002, a claim she has now recanted.
The hearing that changed Banks' life took only minutes. Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Brentford Ferreira said his office conceded the case should be dismissed. Superior Court Judge Mark C. Kim concurred and quickly announced it was over.
One of his first moves was to report to the probation office to have the electronic monitoring ankle bracelet removed — a felon no longer.
Banks said he is ready to move forward and is trying not to be angry.
"I couldn't ask for more today," he told reporters after Thursday's hearing. "But there is always the question of why did it have to happen in the first place? Why wasn't I heard with the truth of what happened when I was 16?"
Even after he was released from prison, he could not get work because he was a registered sex offender and had a felony record.
Before the charges, Banks was a star middle linebacker at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and was attracting interest from college football powerhouses as the University of Southern California, Ohio State University and the University of Michigan, according to the website Rivals.com, which tracks the recruiting of high school football and basketball players.
He verbally agreed to a full scholarship at USC.
Then, a teenage girl he had known since childhood claimed he had raped her. He was arrested and, on advice of counsel, pleaded no contest to rape and an enhancement of kidnapping in order to avoid a possible life sentence if tried by a jury.
According to CBS Los Angeles, Banks said his defense attorney told him, "'When you go into that courtroom the jury is going to see a big black teenager and you're automatically going to be assumed guilty.' Those are her exact words."
His story is a triumph for the California Innocence Project which took up his case and illustrates the growing trend toward taking a new look at convictions. But Justin Brooks, head of the program at California Western University in San Diego, said this was the first case he had championed for someone already out of prison. He felt it was not too late to right a wrong for Banks and turn his life around.
The key, said Brooks, was the woman's admission she had lied. And it came out of the blue.
After serving five years and two months in prison, Banks was released, and a strange thing happened. Wanetta Gibson, the woman who claimed he had attacked her on the high school campus when she was 15, contacted him on Facebook and asked to meet with him.
He recalled being stunned. "I thought maybe it wasn't real. How could she be contacting me?"
He said he knew that if he became angry when he met with her it wouldn't help, so he struggled to keep calm.
"I stopped what I was doing and got down on my knees and prayed to God to help me play my cards right," he said.
In two meetings, she said she had lied and offered to help him clear his name, but there was a catch. She did not want to return a $1.5 million payment from a civil suit brought by her mother against the Long Beach schools.
She refused to repeat her new story to prosecutors but they accepted the account which had been secretly videotaped by the defense.
It was uncertain whether Gibson will have to return the money and unlikely she would be prosecuted for making the false accusation so long ago.
Gibson did not attend the hearing and she could not be reached for comment. Prosecutors and defense attorneys said they were unable to find her recently.
At the press conferences that followed the court hearing, Brooks appealed to NFL teams to give Banks a chance. He said Banks has been training six days a week to get in shape for the career he wants.
"He has the speed and the strength. He certainly has the heart," Brooks said. "I hope he gets the attention of people in the sports world."
Gil Brandt, an NFL draft consultant, said Banks would be eligible to sign with any team that might show interest. However, his years away from the game will be hard to overcome.
"History tells us guys who come back after one or two years away when they go into the service find it awfully hard," Brandt said. "And this has been much longer a time."
Brandt compared the challenge to someone who has been out of high school for years trying to get an A in their first class in college.
Banks said he is ready for the challenge.
"It's been a struggle. But I'm unbroken, and I'm still here today," the tall, muscular Banks said, tears flowing down his face.
Outside court, Banks donned a sweatshirt that read: "Innocent."
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended without pay for the 2012 season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was banned indefinitely on Wednesday because of the team's bounty program that targeted opposing players.
Handing down sweeping and serious punishment for a system that paid out thousands of dollars when hits knocked specific opponents out of games, Goodell also suspended Saints general manager Mickey Loomis for the first eight regular-season games next season, and assistant coach Joe Vitt for the first six games.
In addition, Goodell fined the Saints $500,000 and took away their second-round draft picks this year and next.
After the NFL first made its investigation public on March 2, Williams admitted to -- and apologized for -- running the program as the Saints' defensive coordinator from 2009-11. He was hired by the St. Louis Rams this offseason.
Goodell will review Williams' status after the upcoming season and decide whether he can return to the league.
The Saints now must decide who will coach the team while Payton is barred, his suspension is effective April 1, and who will make roster moves while Loomis is out.
After the NFL made clear that punishments were looming, Payton and Loomis took the blame for violations that they acknowledged "happened under our watch" and said Saints owner Tom Benson "had nothing to do" with the bounty pool, which reached as much as $50,000 in 2009, the season the Saints won the Super Bowl.
The NFL said payoffs went to 22 to 27 defensive players for inflicting game-ending injuries on targeted opponents, including quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner.
"Knockouts" were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs. All payouts for specific performances in a game, including interceptions or causing fumbles, are against NFL rules. The NFL warns teams against such practices before each season, although in the aftermath of the revelations about the Saints, current and former players from various teams talked about that sort of thing happening frequently -- although not on the same scale as the NFL found in New Orleans.
Punishment for any Saints players involved will be determined later, because the league is still reviewing the case with the NFL Players Association.
So far, though, the discipline for the Saints' involvement in the bounty scheme is more far-reaching than what Goodell did in 2007, when the NFL came down on the New England Patriots for illegally videotaping an opponent. Goodell fined the Patriots $250,000, stripped a first-round draft pick, and docked their coach, Bill Belichick, $500,000 for what was known as "Spygate."
The Denver Broncos traded the quarterback, who became expendable when they signed Peyton Manning, to the Jets for a fourth- and a sixth-round pick Wednesday. In addition to Tebow, the Jets get a seventh-round pick in the deal, which was first reported by Fox Sports.
Manning received a five-year, $96 million contract from the Broncos and team vice president John Elway was determined to trade Tebow. Although Tebow led the Broncos to the playoffs, Elway never warmed to Tebow’s playing style, committing to him only as the training camp starter. When Manning became available, Elway jumped; when he landed Manning, he just as determinedly committed to trading Tebow.
With Mark Sanchez the incumbent and at times embattled starter despite his three-year contract extension, the Jets are likely to experiment with Tebow at other positions, including running the Wildcat. One thing is certain: Tebow made an impression on the Jets, leading the Broncos on a 95-yard drive for a 17-13 victory last November. The game-winner? A 20-yard touchdown drive by Tebow with 58 seconds left.
Jets management enthusiastically jumped into the bidding for Tebow and now has a quarterback who brings fire to an offense. This wouldn’t be the Jets, though, without at least one player who wasn’t on board with the arrival of Tebowmania.
“We don't need Tebow. We sell out every home game let him go to Jacksonville Tampa or Miami,” Antonio Cromartie tweeted. “Our wildcat offense can b ran by J. Kerley or Joe McKnight we straight.”
Cromartie took some heat from Jets fans and responded. “Look everyone is mad about what I said but u will b okay,” he tweeted. “I have faith in the guys that we have in the locker room right now that I will get it done this year.”
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