Attorney for George Floyd's family recommends redefining crime to accommodate 'black culture' in MSNBC program



Benjamin Crump, an attorney who has at one time or another represented the families of George Floyd, Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Malcolm X, and Ahmaud Arbery, has come up with a radical solution to the problem of crime in America: rather than fight crime, the powers that be ought to simply redefine it.

Crump made the case for redefining crime to accommodate "black culture" in a new race-centered program that debuted on MSNBC earlier this month entitled "Black Men in America: Road to 2024."

According to the network, the program highlights "the intersection of society, race and culture to provide a candid and intimate look at America through the eyes of an overlooked voting block [sic] — Black men."

In one scene, Crump tells MSNBC contributors Charles Coleman Jr., Trymaine Lee, and Al Sharpton during a distracted game of pool, "We can get rid of all the crime in America overnight, just like that. And people ask, 'How, attorney Crump?' Change the definition of crime."

"Of course," responded Charles Coleman.

"If you get to define what conduct is going to be made criminal, you can predict who the criminal's gonna be," added Crump.

The Daily Caller noted the stunning proposal came about after the pool-table panelists broached the subject of the criminal justice system under President Joe Biden.

Coleman, a former prosecutor, bemoaned the "circular argument" concerning authorities going "where the crime is."

"I tell people all the time, if you looking for something, you gonna find it," said Coleman. "So it becomes self-fulfilling in terms of, 'Well, we go where the crime is.' No, you're going and you're finding crime. And if you went somewhere else, guess what? You find it there too."

After Trymaine Lee aborted his attempt to make the case that black men are treated as criminals simply on account of their skin color, Crump suggested that American laws were created to specifically target black citizens.

"They made the laws to criminalize our culture, black culture," said Crump. "So when I think of Eric Garner, I would think of stuff like that."

"They come up with things to profile us for," continued the attorney, citing baggy pants and garbage-littered front lawns as supposed examples of racially-specific causes for interventions by the law.

Crump suggested further that profiling was involved in the case of George Floyd when he allegedly attempted to buy cigarettes with counterfeit money — an act that would have been unlawful for men of all races.

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Florida mom fatally shot in front of her child amid longstanding 'neighborhood feud'



A Florida mother of four was shot through the front door of her neighbor's home Friday as her 9-year-old son stood next to her, ABC News and other outlets reported.

"I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands," Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said at a press conference Monday addressing the death of 35-year-old Ajike "AJ" Owens of Ocala, Florida.

"I wish Mrs. Owens would've called us in hopes we would've never gotten to the point which we are at today."

The incident reportedly began Friday night when children were paying near the neighbor's home. Woods said the shooter was "engaged" with the children but could not say whether she was "yelling" at them.

A press release from the victim's family's attorneys said the shooter was yelling at the children and calling them racial slurs. The press release also says the children had left an iPad behind. When they went to retrieve it, the woman threw it, hitting one of the kids and cracking the screen.

"Was something thrown at them? Yes. But not directly at them is what we're being told now. It just unfortunately may have hit them," Woods said, emphasizing that interviews are not yet complete.

After the interaction with the children, the shooter went inside her home, the sheriff said. At that point, Owens' son informed her of the interaction with the neighbor, and Owens came to the shooter's home to confront her.

Woods, emphasizing that this information came from "one side" of the story, said there was "a lot of aggressiveness" from both women in the interaction that took place with Owens on one side of the door and the shooter on the other. Woods described "banging on the door" and "threats being made."

Woods said the shooter was "cooperating" with the investigation.

Deputies responding to a trespassing call found Owens suffering from a gunshot wound. Though they immediately rendered aid, Owens passed away, Sheriff Woods said.

"We know that this has basically been a neighborhood feud over time," the sheriff said, explaining that calls about the children had been made to law enforcement multiple times from Ms. Owens and the shooter. The first report he had was from January 2021. He estimated six to eight calls in total.

Sheriff Woods went on to explain that Florida's "stand your ground" law requires law enforcement officers to follow certain instructions. Those instructions disallow making an arrest if the officers believe the law may come into play.

"What we have to rule out is whether deadly force was justified or not before we can even make the arrest. Sometimes it becomes difficult. Sometimes it becomes an obstacle, but only a temporary obstacle," Woods said.

Woods implored the community to pray for the children involved.

The neighbor who allegedly fatally shot Owens has moved out, WOFL reported. The neighbor had reportedly received death threats and someone had broken into her apartment through a window.

Owens' family retained attorneys Ben Crump and Anthony D. Thomas to represent them in the matter, the Ocala StarBanner reported.

Crump and Thomas held a press conference with family members at New St. John Missionary Baptist Church. The family are demanding that the unidentified shooter "be arrested for this unjustified shooting."

Watch a press conference below with the Marion County Sheriff's Office on the shooting death of Ajike "AJ" Owens.



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Ben Crump Picks Another Winner: A Black Man Who Died After Attacking A Black Man And Choking A Woman

Ben Crump is, once again, trying to stir up controversy as he works to get federal investigators involved in an open-and-shut local case.
Frightening photos of Alabama prisoner go viral, but state DOC claims he won't cooperate with medical advice

Frightening photos of Alabama prisoner go viral, but state DOC claims he won't cooperate with medical advice



The family of a prisoner in Alabama has taken to social media to share photos which they say demonstrate that the state Department of Corrections has neglected his health. However, the ADOC has since released other information which suggests the man may have defied the recommendations of those treating him.

Kastello Vaughan, aka Kastellio, 32, has been housed at Elmore Correctional Facility since July 2019, serving a 20-year sentence for first-degree robbery, breaking into a vehicle, and several other crimes he committed in Baldwin and Mobile counties. Family members visited him on July 24 of this year, at which time his sister Kassie Vaughan claimed he appeared "in good condition." However, they say that they recently received alarming photos which indicate that his health has deteriorated rapidly of late. They visited him again on Sunday and said they are now convinced that prison officials have neglected his care.

"He's looking terrible," said another sister, Kascie Vaughan, twin sister of Kassie. "Just one word: terrible. He's feeling weak in spirit. He's really just, he's really feeling low. He doesn't look like Kastellio, the brother that we know."

Kassie Vaughan shared the disturbing images on Facebook, and they have since gone viral. Kastello Vaughan's lawyers — Lee Merritt, Harry Daniels, and Ben Crump — claim that he has lost 75 lbs. in less than a month. He also has difficulty walking, they say, and must wear absorbent undergarments, which a fellow prisoner must help him change.


In another post, Kassie Vaughan wrote that her brother's feet are still discolored and "swollen" to "the size of footballs," and that he "is scared to lose his legs and his life." She, other family members, and his legal team say they remain "deeply concerned about his safety in that prison."

However, the ADOC has released a statement claiming that Kastello Vaughan has been given "a constitutional level [of] care," but that he has not followed the advice of doctors and nurses. Officials claim that he has received medical attention at least 11 times since July 30, including surgery for a bowel obstruction on August 5. This bowel obstruction, the statement asserted, was a continued complication stemming from a gunshot wound he sustained previously.

However, the statement continued, Vaughan discharged himself "Against Medical Advice" five days later. After he was treated again for the same issue on September 3, the ADOC said Vaughan once again discharged himself AMA four days later and then "refused all medication."

"The ADOC offers medical assessment and treatment to all inmates but does not force them to accept that care," the statement concluded.

Kassie Vaughan dismissed that statement as "A LIE" on Facebook and denied that her brother ever signed a waiver to release his medical records, as the ADOC claimed in its statement. She asserted that he "is not in the correct mental state to sign anything."

On her brother's behalf, Kassie Vaughan also reportedly created a GoFundMe account, which has already raised nearly $51,000 for further legal expenses.

"It doesn't matter what Kastellio did, why he was in jail," said his attorney Harry Daniels. "Doesn't matter. As society as a whole, as human beings, we have a duty to one another. It doesn't matter what that person is imprisoned for.

"We need this man to get well, all right. We need him to get help. That's not asking for a whole lot."


Minneapolis reaches settlement with George Floyd's family for record $27 million



The city of Minneapolis has reached a $27 million settlement with George Floyd's family. The record payout comes only weeks before the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with murder in Floyd's death on May 25.

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved the settlement Friday. Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey's office said he will approve the settlement.

The settlement includes $500,000 to revitalizing the 38th Street and Chicago Avenue business district where Floyd died, USA Today reported.

Moments after the vote, Council President Lisa Bender offered condolences to the Floyd family.

"I do want to, on behalf of the entire city council, offer my deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd, his friends and all in our community who are mourning his loss," Bender said, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "No amount of money can ever address the intense pain or trauma caused by this death to George Floyd's family or the people of our city."

Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Floyd family, released a statement on the record-breaking settlement.

"George Floyd's horrific death, witnessed by millions of people around the world, unleashed a deep longing and undeniable demand for justice and change," Crump said Friday. "That the largest pre-trial settlement in a wrongful death case ever would be for the life of a Black man sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end."

The Star Tribune noted that the $27 million to the Floyd family is the highest police payout ever in Minneapolis. In 2019, the Minneapolis Police Department paid $20 million to the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who was killed by former Minneapolis police Officer Mohamed Noor.

In July, Floyd's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against four Minneapolis police officers involved in the arrest that led to his death. The federal lawsuit claimed that the officers used "unjustified, excessive, and illegal, and deadly use of force."

Jury selection began this week for the trial involving Chauvin, who faces charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in the death of Floyd. Chauvin was seen on video with his knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Seven jurors have been seated as of Friday afternoon, and seven more are needed, according to KARE. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled for March 29.

The other three former officers – J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao — are scheduled to go on trial on Aug. 23. They are charged with aiding and abetting, second-degree murder, and manslaughter in Floyd's death.

Floyd died on May 25, and all four officers were fired the next day. Floyd's death spurred protests across the world.