West Virginia Torture Case

This is absolutely horrid case. A commentator described the incident like a scene out of a horror movie. I'll keep following this as best as I can.

UPDATE: Somehow my google news filter missed this case that occurred in January 2007.

Details Emerge in West Virginia Torture Case

By JOHN RABY and TOM BREEN
Associated Press

BIG CREEK, W.Va. — For at least a week, authorities say, a young black woman was held captive in a mobile home, forced to eat animal waste, stabbed, choked and repeatedly sexually abused — all while being peppered with a racial slur.

It wasn't until deputies acting on an anonymous tip drove to a ramshackle trailer deep in West Virginia's rural hills that she was found. Limping toward the door with her arms outstretched, she uttered, "Help me," the Logan County sheriff's office said.

Six people, all white, including a mother and son and a mother and daughter, have been arrested and could face federal hate crime charges in the suspected attack on 20-year-old Megan Williams, who remained hospitalized Tuesday with injuries that included four stab wounds in the leg, and black and blue eyes. Her right arm was in a cast.

"I'm better," Williams told The Associated Press in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't understand a human being doing another human being the way they did my daughter," Carmen Williams said Tuesday from the Charleston Area Medical Center. "I didn't know there were people like that out here."

The AP generally does not identify suspected victims of sexual assault, but Williams and her mother agreed to release her name.

A prosecutor said police are investigating the possibility that the victim was lured to the house and attacked by a man she had met online, but Carmen Williams insisted that wasn't the case. "This wasn't from the Internet," she said.

Authorities were still looking for two people they believe drove the woman to the house where she was abused, said Logan County Chief Deputy V.K. Dingess. Deputies also interviewed Williams on Tuesday morning. An FBI spokesman in Pittsburgh, Bill Crowley, confirmed that the agency is looking into possible civil rights violations.

The case is "something that would have come out of a horror movie," Logan County Sheriff W.E. Hunter said.

The home is in a forlorn part of Logan County about 50 miles southwest of Charleston, where the scattered homes are marked by "No Trespassing" signs. An old shed linked to a mobile home by an extension cord is what authorities say became a hellish prison for Williams.

Deputies found her when they drove to the home on Saturday after receiving an anonymous tip from someone who witnessed the abuse, officials said.

The woman was forced to eat rat and dog feces and drink from a toilet, according to the criminal complaint filed in magistrate court based on what the suspects told deputies. She also had been choked with a cord, it alleges. Deputies say the woman was also doused with hot water while being sexually assaulted.

One of those arrested, Karen Burton, is accused of cutting the woman's ankle with a knife. She used the N-word in telling the woman she was victimized because she is black, according to the criminal complaint.

Carmen Williams said doctors told her daughter she may be well enough to leave the hospital within a few days, although a nurse said the young woman's condition was listed as "under evaluation."

"I just want my daughter to be well and recover," Carmen Williams said. "I know the Lord can do anything."

The six suspects were arrested Saturday and Sunday. Frankie Brewster, the 49-year-old woman who owns the home where the suspected attacks occurred, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information during a felony investigation.

Her son, Bobby R. Brewster, 24, also of Big Creek, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.

Frankie Brewster was released from prison in September 2000 after serving five years for voluntary manslaughter and wanton endangerment in the death of an 84-year-old woman, according to court records.

Burton, 46, of Chapmanville, is charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony.

Her daughter Alisha Burton, 23, of Chapmanville, and George A. Messer, 27, of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery.

Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding.

All six remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $100,000 bail each, and all have asked for court-appointed attorneys.

"Call for Papers"

Just as I was about to sign off, I get this CFP announcement for the Journal of Asian American Studies. I HAVE to submit something and get my publishing record started.

Journal of Asian American Studies

Special Issue: Asian Americans and Violence

Please note the early deadline: July 15, 2007


This special issue invites essays that address the relationship
between race, culture, and violence as it pertains specifically to
Asian Americans. Extra consideration will be given to essays that
consider this topic broadly, and that focus on Asian Americans not
only as the objects of violence but also its agents. For instance,
essays might address questions like: What does it mean for Asian
Americans to be perpetrators as well as victims? What effect does
this have on our understanding of gender roles and gender relations?
What affect does this have on representations of Asian Americans?
How important is it for us to define violence broadly to include
domestic abuse, public policies that abandon large groups to
premature death, or war? How does focusing on violence help us to
understand transformations in the structural position of Asian
American racial formations? The primary occasion for this special
issue is the recent shooting at Virginia Tech. As revelations of the
shooter’s racial and ethnic identity led to expressions of worry
about a racial backlash, we are reminded of the ways in which race
and violence have long been inextricably linked to one another in the
U.S. But when the shooter turns out be Asian American, adding Seung-
Hui Cho’s name to a list that includes Chai Vang, Andrew Cunanan, and
Gang Lu, we are compelled to consider how complex this link can be.

Hate Crimes Bill (H.R. 1592) Passes ...

... in the House but the President has already signaled an intent to veto it before it even reaches his desk. There's a good synopsis on CNN.com about it. The bill would essentially expand federal powers in assisting state and local law enforcement in prosecuting hate crimes, and, add sexual orientation as a protected category.

Under the House bill, the definition of a hate crime would expand to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. Local law enforcement officials would be allowed to apply for federal grants to solve such crimes, and federal agents would be given broader authority to assist state and local police. Federal sentencing guidelines would also be stiffened.

This is why this bill has been lagging in Congress for over 6 years. A fairly strong coalition of evangelical, socially conservative, Christian fundamentalists, who form President Bush's political base, have been successful in preventing the passage of this bill from day one. And get this: they believe that such a bill would threaten their First Amendment rights to religious freedom and public expression -- that is, their right to publicly espouse their vitriolic attacks on gays, lesbians, and sexual minorities. Give me a break!!!

As the blog, Town Called Dobson, simply asks:

When did murdering gays become religious expression?

VT Aftermath

Two articles by way of Angry Asian Man, a possible incident of anti-Asian violence at Auburn University. It's being investigated as a retaliatory attack after the shooting massacre at Virginia Tech. And an essay written by a high school student that had violent themes was reported to the police for investigation. The identity of the kid? He's Asian, and a straight A student.

Ethnic Cleansing in LA? "Little Asian on the Hill?"

Posting an awesome analysis by Oliver, a colleague/friend of mine at Poplicks, about a recent op-ed piece in the LA Times about black/latino race relations. The article, Roots of Latino/Black Anger, was written by Tanya K. Hernandez and it's generated a bit of discussion. Not because of what she raises as an important complex and much needed address on minority-minority relations and conflicts, but how she presents the material. Oliver's critique is right on the mark. There's also an accompanying piece in the New York Times about Asian Americans and higher education focusing on UC Berkeley by Timothy Egan called, Little Asia on the Hill -- I guess it's a derivation of "Harvard on the Hill" when someone goes to a not so great college. Oliver's response raises some insightful points about educational policies like affirmative action and its relationship on Asian American students. It's a damn good read not because he's a sociologist, but because he's an alum of UC Berkeley. It's a really interesting perspective of then when he was an undergraduate, to now at CSU Long Beach as a professor in sociology.

Dissertating Daze

These past 3 days I was amazingly productive on my last chapter. I read 6 law review articles, 3 court cases, wrote 3 pages for my last chapter, and discovered a better argument to round out my second and third chapter. I'm not surprised considering teaching does take up so much time and energy by itself. As a matter of fact, it was a relief to be away from teaching and focusing on my immediate goal of just finishing my degree.

Oddly enough, at a moment when I am most productive, I'll be taking a short 4 day vacation to New York to visit some friends starting tomorrow. I'm quite excited to go considering I haven't been to New York since I was 4 years old and I barely remember anything. So I guess it'll be all brand new for me. But it feels like an interruption knowing that I'm on a roll and I should take advantage of it while it lasts even though I had planned the trip less than 2 months ago.

Don't get me wrong; I'm very excited to go and I will enjoy my time there. Nothing is easier than to forget about it writing a dissertation. As a matter of fact, there are hundreds of ways to avoid the drudgery of writing and researching. But there's still only one way to actually finish it which is to sit and write.

Sentence: Life in Prison

In my research, I come across numerous cases of hate violence from the physically violent to the emotionally traumatic. But I paid particular attention to this case from last year because of the sheer brutality of the attack. As prosecutor, Mike Trent, said, "this was torture." The perpetrator, who is one seriously screwed up kid, had, among other things, a history of violent behavior in particularly towards Latinos, fascination with Skinheads and neo-Nazis, fantasizes about necrophilia, and hears voices in his head. All of which provided the jury enough reason to sentence him to life in prison.

But what moved me, and it seems so rare in these cases, is how both mothers, both families, embraced and mourned together with the perpetrator's mother apologizing repeatedly for the actions of her son.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4344623.html

WTF?

So apparently Michael Richards, the dude who played Kramer from Seinfeld, went on a venemous racist rampage Friday night when he performed at The Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. And don't give me this "he completely lost it" crap because he knew exactly what he was doing on stage. It started when Richards was heckled by an African American and several of his friends. That's the usual thing in comedy clubs as a form of linguistic sparring. Comedians are known to push the boundaries because that's the nature of the game, but Richards clearly escalated the situation when he dropped the nuclear bomb of all racial epithets. Whenever "the word" is used and you are not African American, then be prepared for some serious repercussions against you. It's completely offensive to African Americans, and to everyone's sensibilities. It's a word that no one else can use except African Americans, and even then it's quite limited.

WARNING: Do not watch if you're easily offended.

CNN follow up:

Halloween in "Da' Hood?"

I've heard of other racially themed Halloween frat parties in the past such as Latino gangs in the "barrios" or Vietnam War themed parties involving US soldiers and "oriental" prostitutes dancing to the beat of "Me So Horny" by 2 Live Crew.

Short of anything illegal, and that's always a topic for debate, whatever you say or do in private is the business of you and your friends. That's going to happen and there's nothing I can do to prevent it. But once it is made public for others to see and hear, especially if it's on the internet, then it's open game. Don't be surprised that a world of anger and criticism is going to be unleashed upon you. And don't cry foul and whine that you didn't know it was offensive. It's too late in my opinion. If you didn't know before, you will now and that's the other "higher education" for you. Original article here:

A campus fraternity set off the debate by using Facebook to publicize a “Halloween in the ‘Hood” party, which described Baltimore as “the HIV pit” and urged partygoers to dress in “regional clothing from our locale” like “bling bling ice ice, grills” and “hoochie hoops,” according to The Baltimore Sun. Because of that language — and because of a prop at the party that featured a skeleton dangling from a rope noose — the university’s Black Student Union objected. Campus officials decided to suspend the fraternity, pending an investigation of the event.

Not Halloween but along the same line is this incident from Texas A&M:

A student-made video that appears to depict a master-slave scene, including a beating and an actor in blackface, has stirred racial tensions to a boil at Texas A&M University at College Station, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

By the way, the president of Texas A&M is Robert Gates who is set to replace Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. He called the video "moronic" but university officials are unclear if it violated any law or campus policy.

UPDATE: I just found out that the fraternity sponsoring the "Halloween in the Hood" party was suspended, and the organizer was of Korean descent. What a damn moron.