Ben Crump

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Colin Kaepernick Steps In on Delta State Student's Death

Former NFL star will fund second autopsy for Trey Reed after family balks at suicide finding

(Newser) - Colin Kaepernick is footing the bill for an independent autopsy in the case of De'Martravion "Trey" Reed, a Delta State University student whose death by hanging was ruled a suicide earlier this week. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Reed's family, announced on Friday that Kaepernick'...

Black Student Found Hanging Took His Own Life: Autopsy

Black student's body was found hanging from tree at Mississippi's Delta State University

(Newser) - Trey Reed took his own life on the campus of Mississippi's Delta State University, Cleveland Chief of Police Travis Tribble now says, after the 21-year-old Black student's body was found hanging from a tree there on Monday, report the Mississippi Free Press and the AP . A statement announcing...

Malcolm X's Family to Trump: Release Files on Assassination

Attorney Ben Crump to make request of Trump administration on Friday, 60th anniversary of shooting

(Newser) - Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is urging the Trump administration to release secret files related to the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X, which he claims was a government conspiracy . Crump is representing three of Malcolm X's daughters in a lawsuit claiming the FBI, CIA, and other government agencies failed...

Malcolm X's Daughters File $100M Suit Over Assassination

Civil rights leader's family says DOJ, CIA, FBI, NYPD all knew of 1965 death plot and did nothing

(Newser) - Three of Malcolm X's daughters have filed a $100 million suit against some of the nation's top law enforcement and intelligence agencies, alleging those groups knew of threats against their father's life and did nothing to stop his assassination at age 39. Per the AP , the complaint...

Cop in Fatal Shooting Worked for 6 Police Agencies in 4 Years

Sean Grayson who shot Sonya Massey 'should have never had a gun,' says victim's father

(Newser) - The former sheriff's deputy charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman killed inside her Illinois home, had been employed by a half-dozen police agencies since 2020, the AP reports, citing state law enforcement records. Sean Grayson's career included short stints as...

'Very Troubling' Footage of Airman's Shooting Released

Florida deputy shot Senior Airman Roger Fortson before telling him to drop gun

(Newser) - A Florida deputy shot Senior Airman Roger Fortson multiple times before ordering him to drop his gun, body cam footage released by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office shows. The footage shows that after the 23-year-old opened the door with a lowered firearm in his hand, the deputy told him...

Florida Cops Allegedly Bust Into Wrong Home, Kill US Airman

Ben Crump, who is representing the family, wants bodycam video released

(Newser) - Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old US Air Force airman, was alone in his off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, around 4:30pm on Friday when someone knocked on his door. Shortly after, he was dead. A woman who was on a FaceTime call with Fortson at the time says he...

Months After Pauper's Burial, Man Killed by Police SUV Laid to Rest

Dexter Wade's family was originally not notified of his death

(Newser) - Dexter Wade received a dignified funeral and burial Monday in Mississippi's capital city, months after he was hit and killed by a police SUV and officials first buried his body in a pauper's grave without notifying his family that he was dead. Under a gray sky, his mother,...

After Settlement Over Henrietta Lacks' Cells, a New Complaint

Family of Black woman whose cells advanced science file another suit, now against Ultragenyx

(Newser) - Just over a week after Henrietta Lacks' descendants settled a lawsuit against a biotech company they accused of unjustly profiting off her cells for generations, the family's attorneys have filed another claim against a different corporation. The new lawsuit, which targets California-based biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx, was filed Thursday in...

Henrietta Lacks' Family Finally Gets Its Due

Family of Black woman whose cells advanced medical science reaches settlement, 70 years later

(Newser) - More than 70 years after doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took Henrietta Lacks' cervical cells without her knowledge, the AP reports that a lawyer for her descendants said they've reached a settlement with a biotechnology company they sued in 2021, accusing its leaders of reaping billions of dollars from...

Students Threaten to Sue After DeSantis Blocks AP Course

3 honors high schoolers want African-American studies class taught in Florida

(Newser) - Earlier this month, Ron DeSantis' administration blocked an Advanced Placement African-American studies class from being taught in high schools around Florida, claiming the course managed by the College Board is "historically inaccurate" and "contrary" to state law. Now, a group of honors students is threatening to sue the...

No Charges for Cops in Killing of Man Who Was 'Biking While Black'

DA's office finds they were acting in self-defense when they fired on Dijon Kizzee

(Newser) - Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies will not be charged in the fatal shooting of a man who was, the attorneys for his family say, killed for "biking while Black." Christian Morales and Michael Garcia stopped Dijon Kizzee for riding his bicycle in the wrong direction; he...

14-Year-Old Was Worried After Getting on Ride, His Father Says

After fatal fall, 911 caller said teenager wasn't secured by a seat belt

(Newser) - Tyre Sampson knew something was wrong before he reached the top of the 430-foot amusement park ride from which he fell to his death, his father said. "He was panicking when he was going up,” Yarnell Sampson said, per WOFL . "He was explaining to his friend next...

Loud Music Allegedly Led to Black Man's Death

Unlicensed gas station security guard charged with shooting Alvin Motley Jr. in Memphis

(Newser) - A Black man who traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to visit with his niece and nephew ended up dead at a Kroger gas station where he was allegedly shot by a security guard upset about his loud music. That's according to an affidavit claiming 54-year-old Gregory Livingston, who is white,...

Jacob Blake: 'You Can Change Your Lives Out There'

Kenosha man releases first words from hospital bed as protests rage on elsewhere

(Newser) - Jacob Blake released a message from his hospital bed in which he beseeched viewers to take to heart that "Your life and not only just your life, your legs—something that you need to move around, to move forward in life—can be taken like this, man," said...

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