The Daily Moth 10-1-19
Amber Guyger found guilty of murder; Hong Kong police officer shoots protester; 15-year-old boy dies protecting little sister from burglar; Father charged with killing son in exorcism attempt; Elizabeth Warren recognizes Deaf Awareness Month; The Kelly Clarkson Show features Matt Maxey from DEAFinitely Dope
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Tuesday, October 1. Ready for news?
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Amber Guyger found guilty of murder
Amber Guyger, the Dallas police officer who shot and killed Botham Jean in his apartment home, has been found guilty of murder by a Dallas County jury.
She faces up to life in prison. At the time of signing this news, the sentencing portion was going on. We’ll update this post with what the sentence is.
The shooting was on September 6, 2018. Jean was sitting on his couch and eating a bowl of ice cream. Guyger had just finished a long shift when she went in his apartment and shot and killed him.
Guyger said she made a mistake in thinking she was entering her own apartment and thought Jean was a burglar. Her apartment is directly below Jean’s in the same complex.
She was arrested and fired from the Dallas Police Department after the shooting. The trial started last week and lasted for six days.
Guyger’s team said she made several horrible mistakes and was afraid for her life. Prosecutors said Jean was never a threat to her and that she had other options besides killing him.
There is a racial element to this story as Guyger is a white person and Jean is a black person.
There was a large crowd of people at the courthouse. Many cheered when Guyger was found guilty. The Jean family lawyer said the conviction was a huge victory for Jean and for black people in America.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/10/01/amber-guyger-convicted-of-murder-for-killing-botham-jean/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/01/dallas-jury-deliberating-fate-cop-who-mistakenly-killed-neighbor/3828562002/
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/amber-guyger-botham-jean-verdict/index.html
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Hong Kong police officer shoots protester
In Hong Kong, a police officer shot an 18-year-old protester in the chest.
A video shows a protester swinging a metal bar at an officer who was holding a pistol. The officer fires a single shot at close range. The protester was seen lying on the street with blood coming out of his left shoulder area. He was taken to the hospital and is recovering.
There were violent clashes between police and protesters today and news reports say it’s the most serious fighting since the demonstrations started several months ago over the Hong Kong - China extradition bill. That bill allows China to arrest people in Hong Kong and extradite them to China to face charges in China’s court system. The bill has been dropped, but the protesters still feel that China overstepped and infringed on Hong Kong’s freedom and rights. Protesters threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, and full soda cans at police, who fired tear gas and other projectiles. Over 180 people were arrested.
Why today? It is China’s “National Day” celebration to mark 70 years of Communist rule. While Hong Kong was in turmoil, there was a large, organized military parade in Beijing.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-protesters-challenge-beijing-in-mourning-parade-11569915879?mod=hp_lead_pos5
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15-year-old boy dies protecting little sister from burglar
In Port Charlotte, Florida, a 15-year-old boy died while protecting his 5-year-old sister from a man who broke into their home last week.
Police said the boy, Khyler Edman, was found dead at his home and that they believe he had a violent encounter with a 27-year-old man who was arrested for burglary.
The suspect had several stab wounds on his hands and side and was found walking on a street. It is not clear exactly what happened during the break-in and how the boy died. The man might receive additional charges as the investigation is still ongoing.
The girl was not harmed.
A GoFundMe set up for the boy’s mother and sister has raised over $45,000. There will be a memorial this Saturday.
Khyler was a sophomore at Charlotte County High School. His family said he loved his family and was his sister’s keeper, and that there is no hero that can amount to him.
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-khyler-edman-protecting-sister-port-charlotte-1462261
https://www.winknews.com/2019/09/30/his-sisters-keeper-port-charlotte-teen-killed-in-break-in-honored-as-a-hero/
https://www.mysuncoast.com/2019/09/30/family-year-old-florida-boy-killed-while-protecting-year-old-sister-intruder/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/yvad3z-funeral-expense?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
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Father charged with killing son in exorcism attempt
A father in Arizona was arrested and charged with murdering his 6-year-old son in an attempt to exorcise him of a demon.
I have to warn you that the details of this story is graphic.
The father’s name is Pablo Martinez. He told police that the boy was acting demonic and had a demon inside of him, so he had to pour hot water down his throat during a bath.
Romelia Martinez, who is the boy’s adoptive mother, said she heard a gurgling sound, unlocked the bathroom, and saw the father holding the boy under a bathtub faucet. She said she yelled for him to stop, but that the father said he had to do it.
The mother called a pastor, but after getting no answer, called 911. Police found the boy on a pillow on a bed and rushed him to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead. The father said he held the boy under the faucet with hot water for 5 to 10 minutes. The boy had burn marks on 15 percent of his body.
The family lived on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation. The mother was a member of the reservation, but the father was not.
The boy was a student at an elementary school in Tucson. The school has confirmed the boy’s death and expressed their condolences.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/01/us/arizona-man-kills-child-demon/index.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/6-year-old-boy-arizona-dies-after-father-tries-perform-n1060711
https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/01/boy-died-exorcist-dad-poured-water-throat-cast-demon-10841181/
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Elizabeth Warren recognizes Deaf Awareness Month
Yesterday Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) tweeted a GIF of her signing, “persist” with the hashtag #DeafAwarenessMonth.
[@ewarren GIF tweet]
It’s nice to have one of the top Democratic presidential candidates recognize ASL and the deaf community.
Who taught her the sign? Kirsten Hernandez, a hard of hearing woman who works with Team Warren as a field organizer in Carrol County, New Hampshire. See her tweet.
[@KHforAmerica tweet]
Warren Tweet/GIF: https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1178846114700779520
K. Hernandez Tweet: https://twitter.com/KHforAmerica/status/1178854895769788416
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The Kelly Clarkson Show features Matt Maxey from DEAFinitely Dope
Matt Maxey, a deaf music performer with DEAFinitely Dope who used to work with Chance the Rapper, was featured in an interview with Kelly Clarkson on her show.
Clarkson opened her segment with recognizing September as “Deaf Awareness Month.” She did an interview with Cat Brewer, who is a teacher and creating a documentary film called “Sign the Show,” which is about ASL interpreters in concerts.
Maxey then came on the set and explained he started DEAFinitely Dope because he grew up being the only deaf student in school and didn’t know how to sign. He felt alone, but then met others who had similar experiences in college. So he started the organization to break barriers.
Both Brewer and Maxey explained that deaf people do enjoy music and going to concerts, but that there is a need for better access to interpreters. Brewer asked for donations to her GoFundMe to support the documentary. She has raised almost $20,000 out of a $50,000 goal.
You can watch the interview at the link in the transcript. For more information about “Sign the Show” and the link to the GoFundMe, go to the links in the transcript.
https://youtu.be/m_JiCRgkMgI
http://www.signtheshow.com/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/SignTheShow
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
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