MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia man serving a long prison sentence for sex crimes has been set free after a judge said a county prosecutor erred in instructions to a grand jury. Marshall County Circuit Judge David Hummel last week dismissed the case against Michael Daniel Bowman with prejudice, meaning the state cannot retry it pending a review, news outlets reported. The ruling means Bowman was set free and will not be registered as a sex offender. READ MORE: COVID-19 In Pittsburgh: Allegheny Co. Health Dept. Reports 428 New Cases, 1 Additional Death Bowman, 41, had served 3.5 years of a 28- to 70-year sentence. He was convicted in July 2017 of sexual abuse by a custodian, sexual assault, and three counts of first-degree sexual abuse. READ MORE: City Of Pittsburgh Drive-In Movie Series Begins April 24 Marshall County Prosecutor Joe Canestraro, who was elected in 2020, said a previous prosecutor never advised the grand jury about the elements of the charges. Bowman is relieved, pleased to be with family, and “continues to maintain his complete innocence,” said his attorney, Mark Panepinto. MORE NEWS: 'Calling On The Community': Pittsburgh City, Community Leaders Issue Call To Action Due To Wave Of Violent Crime (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) ...
West sacramento
West Virginia governor plans to sign bill restricting transgender athletes
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) on Wednesday confirmed his intention to sign a new bill that would prevent transgender middle and high school athletes from participating in team sports that match their gender identity. During a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic , Justice commented on the bill approved by the Republican-dominated state legislature last week, saying that he would “let it become law or sign it,” and that he was “absolutely not” in support of vetoing the measure, one of several pieces of anti-transgender legislation advancing in GOP-led states. “From the standpoint of how I feel about it personally … I just can’t possibly get through my head that it is the right thing for us at a middle school level or a high school level in our state for me not to support the bill,” Justice explained. “So, I do support the bill.” ADVERTISEMENT The legislation, in addition to limiting participation for transgender athletes, would also require students to provide a birth certificate upon admission to a public school indicating the person’s sex at birth. The state Senate passed a version last week that would expand the bill to also apply to sports at public colleges in the state, though Justice said Wednesday that this could lead the NCAA to “ penalize us in West Virginia.” “We could come back into a special session and retroactively look back at it,” he said. The NCAA on Monday released a statement pledging not to host college championships in states with laws that discriminate against transgender athletes. "This commitment is grounded in our values of inclusion and fair competition," the NCAA said in its statement. "Our clear expectation as the Association’s top governing body is that all student-athletes will be treated with dignity and respect.” “We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them,” the organization added. ADVERTISEMENT West ...
EXCLUSIVE: 400 Venezuelans Cross into West Texas Border Town in Four Days
DEL RIO, Texas — A law enforcement source, speaking on a condition of anonymity, reported the illegal entry of 106 Venezuelan nationals early Monday. The group, consisting mostly of family units, was quickly apprehended by Border Patrol and transported to nearby stations for processing. On Friday, Border Patrol agents apprehended 167 Venezuelans in the same area. On Sunday, an additional 112 made entry. The source indicates of the 107 migrants that entered illegally this morning, 106 are Venezuelan nationals and one is Colombian. Nearly 400 Venezuelans have entered in the last four days. Del Rio, like other cities across the southern border, has seen its share of the increase in migrant traffic. A soft-sided facility was recently opened within the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector to deal with the influx. Del Rio has dealt with large groups of illegal migrants from outside the usual Central American countries normally encountered throughout other border areas. Because of the relative safety of Ciudad Acuna, directly across from Del Rio, the area is a draw for large groups of Haitians , Cubans, and Central Africans. Last month, the Biden Administration granted Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals for 18 months. The designation applies to those residing in the United States since March 8, 2021. The designation suspends any attempts at removal for the period. Generally, these deadlines are extended–sometimes for years on end. Some critics argue this is a pull factor, encouraging illegal immigration from designated countries. According to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, “The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens, it is in times of extraordinary and temporary circumstances like these that the United States steps forward to support eligible Venezuelan nationals already present here, while their home country seeks to right itself out of the current crises.” This group will more than ...
Carson Palmer Is Coming Of Age As Leader Of The Oakland Raiders
By Danny Cox Carson Palmer, QB #3 Height: 6’5″ Weight: 235 lbs. Age: 32 Hometown: Fresno, CA College: USC Experience: 10 years READ MORE: Stimulus Check Latest: Will You Be Receiving A Plus-Up Payment? (Credit, Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) The Oakland Raiders have gone through a number of quarterbacks throughout the last decade with not a single one ever really showing the skills needed to direct the silver and black. When Carson Palmer was finally set free by the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland had gotten the leader they longed for. Three games into the 2012 season and Palmer already has 879 yards on 80-of-128 passing. He’s thrown five touchdowns and kept interceptions to a minimum with a mere two so far. He also hasn’t fumbled the ball away so he’s leaving the ball in the hands of the Raiders’ offense and that is just what they need. In the opening game of the season, Oakland stayed on track with San Diego and came up just short of tying the game to head into overtime. Week Two saw the Raiders destroyed by running back Reggie Bush and the Miami Dolphins. It looked as if the silver and black were heading for an 0-3 start as Pittsburgh was coming to town. That was when Palmer stepped up his game with performance that only garnered him 209 yards passing, but three big touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came in the fourth quarter to wide receiver Denarius Moore and helped the Raiders cut a late 10-point deficit en route to their first win of the season. What everyone needs to remember though is that none of this would have happened for Oakland had Palmer not finally been able to break free from the Bengals. After the end of the 2010 season, Cincinnati was sitting with a 4-12 record which included a 10-game losing streak. With that, Palmer requested a trade from the team and he was quickly refused by Bengals’ president Mike Brown. READ MORE: Watch The Derek Chauvin Trial Live Palmer was stuck with the choice to play out ...
Why Sikh Americans again feel targeted after the Indianapolis shooting
Simran Jeet Singh ( @simran ) is a scholar and historian of South Asia, a senior fellow for the Sikh Coalition , the author of a guide for reporters covering Sikhism and a 2020 Equality Fellow for the Open Society Foundations. The views expressed here are his own. Read more opinion at CNN. (CNN) On Thursday night, a gunman killed eight people and injured several others before killing himself at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis. Four of the eight dead identified as Sikh and the facility was known to employ a significant number of members of the Sikh community. Simran Jeet Singh The shooting came just days after Sikhs, who comprise the world's fifth-largest religious community, celebrated Vaisakhi, the most significant holiday of our calendar, and also as the state of Indiana was honoring its Sikh residents with an awareness and appreciation month -- one of several states to do so. The FBI has not determined the killer's motives -- and may never do so given that he turned the gun on himself and is now deceased. Sikh Americans once again feel targeted. As we come upon 20 years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the racist backlash that ensued, we cannot ignore the long history of hate violence against Sikhs in this country. FBI hate crime data shows Sikhs to be one of the most commonly targeted religious groups -- behind Jews and Muslims -- in modern America. We also know that much of the violence that Sikhs face has to do with the cultural and religious illiteracy of others. Despite being one of the world's largest religions, most Americans do not know who Sikhs are. A 2013 study led by the Stanford Innovation Lab and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund found that 70% of Americans misidentified Sikhs when shown a Sikh man in a picture, with many believing they were Muslim. Read More The distinctive Sikh appearance -- which often includes ...
