State Attorney Moves To Revoke Marissa Alexander’s Bond | News One

State Attorney Moves To Revoke Marissa Alexander’s Bond | News One

JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Florida Special Prosecutor Angela Corey has filed a motion to revoke the bond of Marissa Alexander, claiming she violated conditions of her parole by running errands, reports First Coast News.
As previously reported by NewsOne, Alexander, a 33-year old Jacksonville mother of three, has spent the last 2 years behind bars serving time for a domestic violence dispute during which she fired a warning shot at her estranged husband, Rico Gray, Sr. who admitted that he had threatened to kill her.
“If my kids weren’t there, I knew I probably would have tried to take the gun from her,” Gray said. “If my kids wouldn’t have been there, I probably would have put my hand on her.” When Alexander’s defense attorney asked him what he meant by “put my hand on her,” Gray replied, “probably hit her. I got five baby mammas and I put my hands on every last one of them except for one.”
After rejecting a 3-year plea deal offered by Corey, Alexander was sentenced to 20 years to life in jail.
A  new bond hearing was initially scheduled for  Nov. 13 — because a judge ruled that there were errors in the jury instructions — but was pushed back to January 15, 2014.
Alexander was granted a pretrial release on Nov. 27 after agreeing to the following special conditions:
• Remain under the supervision of the pretrial services program at all times
• Subject to electronic monitoring through the CTC at all times
• Remain on home detention until completion of her case and will be allowed to leave her residence except for court appearances, medical emergencies and to satisfy any requirements of PSP or the CTC
• Report all required court appearances and all required appointments with he PSP or its designated service provider
• Alexander cannot change her residence without prior notice and approval by the PSP or its designated service provider
• Cannot have contact with, nor communicate by any means with Rico Gray, Sr., Pernell Gray and Rico Gray, Jr.
• Alexander shall abide by all court orders in the divorce proceedings involving Rico Gray, Sr., including all orders that pertain to child custody, exchange of child custody for visitation shall be facilitated by a third party
• Alexander shall not possess any firearms, nor shall there be any firearms in her residence at any time during her pretrial release
• Shall not consume any alcoholic beverage or drug not prescribed by a physician
• Must abide by all rules and regulations for the PSP and the CTC including random drug testing
• Alexander shall be subject to warrantless searches of her residence by CTC officers or any JSO officer conducting such a search at the direction of CTC personnel, to ensure compliance with her pretrial release conditions
Alexander’s bond was set at a total of $200,009 for three separate charges.
NewsOne contributor, Attorney and Legal Analyst Eric L. Guster, who can frequently be seen sparring with HLN’s Nancy Grace over high-profile cases, said the laundry list of conditions is standard in a case such as Alexander’s:
“Although [the conditions of release] seem extensive, those are typical stipulations for a person in that situation,” Guster said. “Since she has been found guilty once and now may go to trial again, the court has a duty to protect all parties, witnesses and Marissa herself. Therefore, the requirements of her bond are similar to those similarly situated.”
A hearing for Corey’s motion accusing Alexander of violating her parole conditions is scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m.

Gun Violence in America | WOLB Talk 1010

Gun Violence in America | WOLB Talk 1010

JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Three years ago on January 8th, a mass shooting in Arizona took the lives of 6 innocent people and nearly killed U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Since then, mass shootings and urban gun violence have plagued this country. When Congresswoman Giffords was shot, gun reform advocates were sure that there would be change in Washington, with members of Congress seeing one of their own as a victim of the senseless violence. But many bills failed to advance. Since then, nothing changed, and the senseless violence has continued to permeate through communities across the country.
Almost two years later in December 2012, the world stopped when a gunman entered an elementary school and killed 26 people, including 20 children. It seemed like the time to pass sensible laws.  Even Congressional Members who were members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and represented communities in pro-gun ownership states were committed to introducing reform.
But the bi-partisan bills failed to pass and no further serious attempts have been introduced.
With each New Year comes the promise of a new opportunity – a chance to do something differently, an opportunity to improve. We have an opening to address gun violence and on January 8th, the National Action Network’s (NAN) Youth Move will memorialize the past shootings and repurpose the day as the National Youth Day of Action Against Gun Violence.
On this day, NAN chapters and other advocacy organizations will come together for community discussions and agenda setting to tackle gun violence and create opportunities for conflict resolution.
The sad fact is that urban gun violence often takes a backseat to the stories about mass shootings. Many legislators don’t take notice to the violence seen in major cities like Chicago, New York, Miami, and L.A.
It’s seen as an urban problem, something that doesn’t infiltrate the lives of people with education, opportunity or money; categories that many legislators fall in to.
When a mass shooting happens, it normally affects just about anyone and can happen just about anywhere – school, church, the mall, a movie theater — however, to the families of victims of urban gun violence, the pain is no less and the urgency is just as great.
The families of Lloyd Morgan Jr., Hadiya Pendleton, or Deidra Smith never expected to lose their loved one to a senseless shooting — but all three people are victims of urban gun violence, leaving only their memory as a guiding light to the rest of us to be resolved to peace so that others don’t share their fate.
We have a new year, a new opportunity to work on getting Congress to pass reform bills. Young people are leading this effort, and it’s their goal that adults will see them and follow suit.  These young people want to live without fear.  They want to walk in their neighborhoods and not worry that a simple misunderstanding by strangers could mean the end of their life because they turned the wrong corner.
We owe it to them to do everything we can to support their efforts.  We owe it to ourselves to not mourn another friend, family member, or loved one because we didn’t stand up when we had the chance.  It’s a new year; we need a peaceful resolution to the problem of gun violence that is gripping this nation.  What better way to do it than to pledge this year to peace.

'Saturday Night Live' Adds Sasheer Zamata, First Black Female Cast Member Since 2007 | Yahoo TV - Yahoo TV

'Saturday Night Live' Adds Sasheer Zamata, First Black Female Cast Member Since 2007 | Yahoo TV - Yahoo TV
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
After facing criticism over a lack of color in its female cast, “Saturday Night Live” has added Sasheer Zamata, an African-American from Brooklyn, to its lineup as a featured player, NBC announced today.

Zamata is the late night sketch show’s first black female cast member since the biracial Maya Rudolph departed in 2007.

Executive producer Lorne Michaels got heat when he added six new cast members at the start of this season, but none were black women. The problem became more glaring when “Scandal” star Kerry Washington hosted in early November. Washington's opening sketch even poked fun at the issue; with her presence, “SNL” was able to portray key figures like Michelle Obama and Beyonce.

After Washington’s hosting gig made clear how much the show needed a black woman in the cast, Michaels did something he’s never done before: He held targeted auditions with female African-American comedians.

Zamata beat out two dozen other hopefuls. The University of Virginia grad trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade (a major feeder to “SNL”) and has performed at comedy festivals and created videos for College Humor. She also appeared on ABC's hidden-camera summer series, "Would You Fall For That?"

/WOULD YOU FALL FOR THAT? - From the creators of âWhat Would You Do?â comes âWould You Fall for That?â â a one …

Plus, she has a very famous fan in “Girls” creator Lena Dunham, who tweeted her approval last month.

Zamata will make her debut on January 18 in the year’s first "SNL" episode, hosted by Drake.

"Saturday Night Live" airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. on NBC.