By Maryclaire Dale, The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Daniel Gwynn found himself on death row at 25 after Philadelphia prosecutors said in court that two witnesses had picked him out of a photo array in a fatal arson case. The photo spread had by then gone missing, and his trial lawyer in 1995 may […]
Author Archives: MaryClaire Dale
Associated Press
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News, NEWS
Philadelphia Names 1st Black Woman Police Chief
By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press The first Black woman named to lead Philadelphia’s troubled police department pledged to be a “conduit” between the community and police and to address the racist and sexist tensions dividing the force. Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney named Portland Chief Danielle Outlaw to the job on Monday, four months after the […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, Music
Now Free From Legal Limbo, Meek Mill Eyes Prison Reform
By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rapper Meek Mill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge Tuesday in a deal that resolves a 2007 arrest that has kept him on probation or in prison for most of his adult life. The negotiated plea comes after an appeals court threw out his conviction last month over […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Sequestered Jury from Outside Area to Decide Bill Cosby Case
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A sequestered jury from an outside county will decide the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby, a suburban Philadelphia judge ruled Monday, rejecting a defense request to move the trial because of worldwide media reports that the actor’s lawyers say brand him a “serial rapist.” Bill Cosby arrives for a pretrial […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Abu-Jamal Loses Suit over Hepatitis C Drug; Can Refile
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has blasted a prison policy that denies former death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal and others an expensive hepatitis C drug until they have advanced liver damage. U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani said the policy amounts to “conscious disregard” for the inmates’ health, but noted that prisons, Medicaid officials […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Cosby Drops Litigation against Accuser in Sex Assault Case
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bill Cosby has dropped a lawsuit that demanded the accuser in his criminal case repay the money from their confidential 2006 court settlement. Bill Cosby leaves a pretrial hearing in his criminal sex-assault case at Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Thursday, July 7, 2016. A Pennsylvania judge denied Cosby’s effort to […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah Convicted in Case that Entangled Son, Wife
Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., walks after leaving the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Fattah, a veteran Pennsylvania congressman, was convicted Tuesday in a racketeering case that largely centered on various efforts to repay an illegal $1 million campaign loan related to his unsuccessful 2007 mayoral bid. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) PHILADELPHIA (AP) — […]
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Philly Carjack Suspect Seeks Forgiveness; 3 Kids + Mother Dead
19-year-old Johnathan Rosa (l), and the funeral service for the three children killed last week in a carjacking at the North Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church (r). PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Minutes after learning a mother had also died from a Philadelphia carjacking crash that killed three of her children, a teen suspect blurted out a lament […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Philly Abortion Doc’s Wife Says He Deserves Life Sentence
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The wife of a rogue abortion doctor told a judge Wednesday that her husband deserves his life sentence for killing babies born alive, but complained that she and her children are left to deal with the public scorn. Pearl Gosnell must spend at least another four months in prison for helping perform […]
Posted inNational News
Convicted Pa. Abortion Doctor Gets Life in Prison
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia abortion doctor convicted of killing three babies who were born alive in his grimy clinic agreed Tuesday to give up his right to an appeal and faces life in prison but will be spared a death sentence. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the deaths […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Philly Names Sonia Sanchez Its First Poet Laureate
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The city that anchors one end of the Walt Whitman Bridge has named a teacher and activist its first poet laureate. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter bestowed the honor Thursday on poet Sonia Sanchez, calling her the longtime conscience of the city. Sanchez, 77, said she seeks to explore what it means to […]