KALW News - Community

Arise High School celebrates one-hundred percent college acceptance for its first graduating class

June Ann Cook — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:28:13 +0000

Oakland is a city where young people are forced to overcome vast economic, social, and political factors in order to have a shot at being college-bound. For the students at one charter school in Oakland, though, college is no longer a distant dream. They need only to look to their graduating class for inspiration.

This June marked ARISE High School’s first graduation ceremony, and it was more than just pomp and circumstance. All of ARISE’s graduating seniors were accepted by four-year colleges.

In the Wake of the Mehserle Verdict: Oakland Standing for Justice and Peace

Erica Mu — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:46:25 +0000

In keeping with the Grant family’s appeal for calm, many people took a stand for justice and peace on the evening of the Mehserle verdict. Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY) along with city agencies, violence prevention, faith-based, and youth groups and others comprising Oaklanders for Justice, Peace, and Healing worked hard to create a safe space in downtown Oakland to allow voices of outrage, injustice, pain, and grief to be heard.

Saturday, Jul 24, 7:33am

Fania Davis, Ph.D...

Sentencing Delayed for Former Cop in Oakland Shooting Case

Rina Palta — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:04:12 +0000

Sentencing for convicted killer Johannes Mehserle has been pushed back to later this year, and his attorney says he will argue to drop a gun enhancement conviction.

Mehserle is the former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer convicted July 8 of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant on an Oakland train platform Jan. 1, 2009. The trial was moved to Los Angeles County Superior court from Alameda County last fall due to extensive pre-trial publicity and concerns about fairness and racial tensions.

Tuesday, Jul 13, 6:00pm

Thandisizwe Chimu...

Cops and Courts

We must learn from Oscar Grant's death

Erica Mu — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:36:39 +0000

This was never going to be an easy decision.

It required jurors to reach into the mind of former BART Officer Johannes Mehserle the morning of Jan. 1, 2009, when he fired that fatal shot into the back of Oscar Grant III. It required them to try to figure out what Mehserle was thinking with all the chaos around him on the platform of the Fruitvale station. It required them to second-guess whether the transit-system cop intended to reach for his gun or his Taser.

Friday, Jul 9, 11:33am

Oakland Tribune E...

The right verdict in Mehserle case

Erica Mu — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:21:18 +0000

Involuntary manslaughter might seem an unsatisfying outcome for the killing of the unarmed Oscar Grant on Jan. 1, 2009, but it was consistent with the evidence that could be proved beyond a reasonable doubt against former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle. Anything less would have been an injustice. Anything more would have required conclusions about Mehserle's state of mind that were not sufficiently supported in trial.

Friday, Jul 9, 11:18am

SF Chronicle Edit...

Being schooled by (in)justice: Mehserle verdict shows injustice, bias in our society

Erica Mu — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:08:54 +0000

The jury deliberated less than seven hours to reach the verdict in the trial of former BART officer Johannes Mehserle for murdering Oscar Grant: involuntary manslaughter. In other words, although the former officer was found guilty of pulling a gun on Grant and shooting him in the back as he lay face down, hand-cuffed, on a platform, the jury did not find that Mehserle had any intent to end Grant's life when he pulled his gun and shot him in the back as he lay handcuffed on the platform, face down, with another officer's knee pushing into in his back.

Friday, Jul 9, 11:04am

Susan Mernit

The Mehserle/BART/Grant trial winds down

Clinton Killian — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:08:37 +0000

Johannes Mehserle’s trial is drawing to a close in downtown Los Angeles. The prosecution rested its case after calling some 26 witnesses. Despite the parade of witnesses, the prosecution has not made a strong case for 1st degree murder. Yes, it is clear that Oscar Grant was killed without provocation. It appears that he did absolutely nothing to justify his murder. That part of the case is not in dispute.

Thursday, Jul 1, 5:05pm

Clinton Killian

Historic Trial Nears End

Rina Palta — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:05:03 +0000

Closing arguments in the case of People v. Johannes Mehserle could be held on Thursday, July 1, 2010. The defense for the former Bay Area Rapid transit officer, accused of the murder of Oscar Grant, is scheduled to call its last witness Tuesday, June 29.

Tuesday, Jun 29, 9:56am

Thandisizwe Chimu...

Cops and Courts

Morning commute

Crosscurrents Producer — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:08:33 +0000

When I was a child, we lived for some years in a small Ohio town with oak trees, robins, sparrows, bluejays, and sometimes a cardinal or two. It was a flat terrain, and there was no ocean anywhere nearby. My brother and I did pick a lot of blackberries, though, in the muggy summers.

Friday, Jun 18, 8:07am

Naomi Schiff

A Cursory Look at Some of the Issues of the Johannes Mehserle Trial, Part 5

Erica Mu — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:31:16 +0000

The People v. Mehserle began in Los Angeles on June 10, 2010. The waters have been somewhat muddied, however, due to much of the mainstream media coverage surrounding this case.

* * *

PART FIVE: Media Matters

The court system strives to make sure that jurors are fair, impartial, objective, and are capable of using reason and critical thinking skills.

Tuesday, Jun 15, 1:25pm

Thandisizwe Chimu...

Cops and Courts