FBI investigating hanging death of African-American man in Mississippi

 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/19/politics/african-american-man-found-hanging-in-mississippi/index.html 

 

    A black male was found hung from a tree this Thursday. There has not been a for sure identification but he is believed to be 54-year-old Otis Byrd. It is also unsure if it was a murder or suicide. He was found 500 yards from his house. He was found hung with bed sheets and had a skull cap on. His family was not allowed near the scene because the authorities were unsure of the indentity. 

    In my opinion, if this was a murder/hate crime, I think the events in Mississippi need to be handled quicker and that the authorities need to be more decisive as well as doing to more to help the people and the community. I also think that the family should be able to help identify the body because worst-case is that the body is actually Byrd and they identify him while saving the authorities time. 

    This relates to our class because it deals with authority and their effectiveness. Should all these agencies be involved in the events or should they place more effort into the subject. Meanwhile should more taxes be paid for said agencies is all under some controversy.  

 

  State, county police take over Ferguson protest security after shooting

  http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/12/us/ferguson-protests/index.html

     There were two police officers standing guard outside Ferguson police headquarters who were shot in cold blood in Ferguson, Missouri. State and county police took over protest security in the St. Louis suburb Thursday. Ferguson Police will remain responsible for routine policing services in the city. They are currently investigating multiple suspects in search for the assailant. Many of the protestors are saying that this was a random act of violence from a radical individual. The protestors say the believe in resolving their issues without violence. This also isn't the first time that the police have had to handle protest security. 

    In my opinion, I think that the police should be stepping in to try and put an end to the violence. Two officers, who were standing outside where they would feel safest, were shot. This kind of violence should be stopped and I think if the county and state police need to step in then so be it. These people should not feel free to cause this kind of damage and face no prosecution.  

    This relates to our class because of the government and police stepping in. There are times where we believe that it isn't okay for police and government to step in and then there are times like these where it is necessary. The power of assembly and petition is not being used correctly considering the violence so authorities stepping in seems appropriate.

 

Ohio fugitive nabbed after taunting authorities on Facebook

       21 year old Andrew Marcum responded to authorities after they posted pictures of him as the featured warrant of the week. The things he was accused of were included burglary, kidnapping, domestic violence and criminal endangering. His response to the post was "I ain't tripping half of them don't even know me,". His not only gave the authorities his name but also pictures of him and the tattoo spelling out his last name on his back. The authorities with "Andrew Marcum, if you could stop by the sheriff's office, that'd be great,". Sheriff Richard K. Jones then posted a picture of a jail cell that was apparently for Andrew. A day after Andrew's post, the authorities arrested him. The sheriff then posted mugshots of Andrew crying. 

      In my opinion I think it was fair use of social media that the authorities illustrated. Since Andrew posted on the authorities' post, he caused his own undoing and the arrest was fairly made. Even if he had not responded to their post, I think it would have been fair if they had used his account because he made it public. Searching through private records or messages is something I would have a differing opinion on however. The arrest was fair in my view and using social media was a fair way to do so.

      This relates to the class because it has to do with internet privacy rights and the power of the police. Using the internet to make arrests has not been unheard of and is actually quite common. This is what happened in this case. Since Andrew's facebook was public, it was fair information for the authorities to use.