Hi friends,
Just a short post today.
It’s been another challenging week on earth, so before I get to our local insanity, I have to ask you to take immediate action on a grave miscarriage of justice.
Owens’s lawyers filed motions to delay, but the state supreme court ruled yesterday that the execution should proceed.
Sign the petition to stop the execution of Freddie Owens. You can also call South Carolina Governor McMaster at 803-734-2100.
And now, let’s talk about the batshit crazy police shooting at a Brooklyn subway station on Sunday.
The police shot four people after a man jumped a subway turnstile to evade the $2.90 fare. According to the authorities, the man pulled a knife on the two officers, who tried to Tase him. Finding that their Tasers didn’t work, they fired nine rounds of ammunition.
In addition to the suspect, one of the officers and two members of the public were also wounded. Gregory Delpeche, who was in a subway car, was shot in the head and is still in an intensive care unit.
A lawyer for Delpeche’s family criticized the NYPD for its failure to de-escalate the encounter. City councilmember Chris Banks described
“a reckless NYPD, a reckless two officers, who were callous, who were cavalier, who opened fire in a public area on the L train. It wasn't restrained. It was careless. It was dangerous."
NYPD’s Chief of Patrol said that the police did their best. Yikes.
Civil rights attorney Scott Hechinger posted this on X:
“The NYPD spent $150 Million *extra* last year to catch people who weren’t able to afford to pay the subway fare. They owed just $104,000,” referring to the total of fares unpaid by fare evaders caught by police in 2023. “$150 million could buy free fares (at going rate) for 95,000 poor New Yorkers per year.”
There have been a number of protests since Sunday. On Tuesday, protesters at the Sutter Avenue station
distributed MetroCards and swiped commuters through the turnstiles as the crowd grew steadily throughout the evening. Crowds later marched through Brownsville, chanting in unison.
There were 18 arrests at Tuesday’s protest.
Read JFREJ’s letter calling on Mayor Adams to resign.
The Mayor needs to hear from us. Please personalize your message.
Let Mayor Adams know that the NYPD’s best is not remotely good enough: this is not what public safety looks like.
with love,
L