The first Senate vote in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson was taken on May 16, 1868. Article XI was called the “omnibus article” because it combined all of the charges against the President. As a result of 19 voting “Not Guilty” and 35 voting “Guilty,” the Senate fell 1 vote short of the two-thirds majority required for removal. After a 10-day recess, the Senate reconvened and voted on Articles II and III. In each case, the result was identical: Johnson was not guilty by a single vote. The Senate then voted to end the trial.

In the 1868 Johnson impeachment trial, the embattled president was just one vote away from being removed from office on each of the three charges put to a vote. There were 11 total articles of impeachment, but the Senate voted to adjourn the trial when it was clear that the voting would be the same for each remaining charge.

#JusticeforZadok: Demand Justice For Matthew “Zadok” Williams

campaigns.organizefor.org

HW Campaign created by Hahnah Williams

Here are our demands:

1. Immediately release ALL media related to the murder of Matthew “Zadok” Williams. This includes but is not limited to 911 call recordings, transcripts, and medical examiner reports.

2. Immediately release the full names and employment records of all officers involved in the murder of Matthew Zadok Williams.

3. Terminate the employment of officers involved in the murder.

Why is this important?

Just eight days before the verdict that convicted Derek Chauvin, unidentified police officer(s) killed my brother, Matthew “Zadok” Williams in his own home moments after he asked the officers to identify themselves as he kneeled behind a piece of furniture. Like so many others, my brother was killed in broad daylight in his home. On April 12th, 2021, DeKalb County, Georgia police officers approached my brother and asked him to leave his own property. According to the police department, officers assumed that Zadok was a trespasser based on two 911 calls from a woman living in the condo behind Zadok’s condo. These calls have yet to be released.

The police department has released some body camera footage and the media is only showing excerpts of the incident. We are calling on Chief Ramos to set an example by ending the secrecy that is rampant behind the blue line and promoting transparency. In the footage available, Zadok has a mental health crisis outside in an incident involving a knife after walking down his steps and being asked to leave his property. Zadok subsequently retreats into his home through an upstairs window. The police began to kick his door open. Once the door is breached, Zadok immediately kneels behind a cushioned piece of furniture to protect himself from gunshots as he tells the officers that he is defending his property and asks the officers to back up and speak to him through the doorway. Zadok is not a threat, and police begin talking to him telling him that he doesn’t have to die. The absurdity of the comment by officers at the scene reveals the culture of dehumanization that is deeply embedded in departments across the nation. A 911 call should not be synonymous with death for Black people. Instead of backing up and talking to Zadok from the doorway as he requested and helping him, police officers shot into his home and killed him while he was kneeling behind furniture.

The officers and supervisor at the scene left him there for nearly an hour and a half to die. No medical aid was rendered and when SWAT teams and EMS arrived more than an hour after the shooting, my brother was subsequently pronounced dead. My family was notified nearly 24 hours after his death.

Such an egregious disregard for my brother’s life speaks to the culture of policing in DeKalb County and across the country. Police officers are rarely held accountable for killing, harassing and assaulting Black people and my family is committed to doing everything in our power to ensure that these officers are held accountable and that other families in DeKalb County don’t have to endure what we have had to go through.

It’s been a month since police officer(s) murdered my brother Matthew Zadok Williams, and the police officer(s) responsible still have not been held accountable. We don’t even know their full names. Zadok was a remarkable brother, uncle, and son, and he meant the world to our entire family. I strongly urge Police Chief Mirtha V. Ramos and Chief Executive Officer, Michael L Thurmond to hold the officers responsible for this ruthless action accountable and to provide my family with answers.

Both Police Chief Ramos and CEO Thurmond have the authority to release all media related to Zadok’s murder, identify the officers to the public, and terminate the officers employment. We want these police officers to be held accountable. This is the first step towards true criminal justice reform here in DeKalb County.

Sign the petition: Tell Police Chief Ramos and CEO Thurmond to release all media related to Zadok’s murder, identify the officers, and terminate the employment of the officer(s) who killed my brother Zadok now!

campaigns.organizefor.org

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Phillip Sousa was performed for the first time on May 14, 1897 at a ceremony unveiling a statue of George Washington. Listen here (as performed by the United States Marines Band):

In partnership with Essie Justice Group, Color of Change is calling on the California Judicial Council to issue guidance to judges to stop setting high bails.

Right now, thousands of Black women in California are disproportionately being held pretrial simply because they cannot afford to pay bail. But these judges have the power to put a stop to it. 

Approximately 44,241 people are locked in cages across county jails in California. These people haven’t been convicted or sentenced for a crime. Unsurprisingly, Black and brown people bear the brunt of this unjust system. in Los Angeles County, where Black people make up only 9% of the overall population, Black women make up a third (33%) of the population of the women’s jail. Most of these women are being held pretrial, and the crisis has gotten even worse throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Some people have been forced to wait more than 5 years for a trial — that’s 5 years separated from loved ones, friends, and community members all because they can’t afford to pay bail. 

Let’s get one thing clear, no one should have to sit in a jail cell because they are too poor to pay bail. The harms of pretrial detention reverberate beyond the accused person, often leading to a heightened risk of loss of a job, housing, or custody of children, and increased risk of future arrest.  

Judges have not been following constitutional law, and as a result, Black people without resources are being held pretrial with sometimes life-risking consequences. 

Sign the petition. California judges must act NOW to ensure our communities won’t continue to be subjected to the harmful and constitutional practice of issuing high bail amounts. 

See the letter that will be sent to the California Judicial Council:  

Please go to colorofchange.org Sign the Petition !

Here is the Petition:

“As a public official, you have the power to put an end to the unconstitutional practice of issuing bail beyond what someone can afford to pay. As you know, the California Supreme Court recently held in the landmark case In re Humphrey that it is unconstitutional for judges to set bail beyond someone’s ability to pay as a way to keep them in jail pretrial.

Nevertheless, judges across the state have continued to issue astronomical bail amounts, which disproportionately harm poor Black people. 

We’re calling on judges in California to commit to the following: 
1. Judges follow In re Humphrey and stop setting bail beyond someone’s ability to pay as a way to keep them in jail pretrial. Judges must promptly hold hearings on renewed bail motions from individuals in jail whose bail was set prior to the Humphrey decision.

2. Every judge across the state must determine a person’s ability to pay before setting bail and people should not have to bear any costs associated with conditions of their release.

3. Denying bail altogether should only be allowed in the extraordinary cases listed in Article 1, Section 12 of the California Constitution. Judges must consider all non-monetary alternatives to detention before denying someone of their freedom before a trial. The burden is on the State to prove by clear and convincing evidence that pretrial detention is necessary; it is not the individual’s burden to show that she should be released.

Jim and House Democrats are fighting to build back our country stronger and more equitably than before by expanding broadband, making health care more affordable, protecting and expanding voting rights, and ensuring opportunity for every American. 

But all of our progress will be lost if we lose the House, and Republicans only need five seats to take back the Majority.

Contribute today to help protect and expand Democrats’ House Majority.

Source: clyburnforcongress.com