2/1/14

Philadelphia District Attorney refuses to tell all about a transgender woman's murder. WHY?

Two days after a courtesy ride by Philadelphia police on December 22, 2002 transgender woman Nizah Morris died at a Philadelphia hospital of a subdural hematoma, the result traumatic blows to her head. Her family believes that police murdered her and have received a $250,000 dollar settlement in civil court where it is easier to fix blame, but her murder remains unsolved today.

What happened that December 2002 night as best as we can figure:

A concerned individual called an ambulance for an inebriated Morris at the front of the Key West bar where she had been drinking. Morris declined the hospital visit instead accepting a courtesy ride from Philly officer Elizabeth Skala. According to witnesses who helped her into the squad car, she asked to be taken her home

Skala gave her a courtesy ride because of her inebriated state but denied she needed help getting Morris into her car and made no mention of injuries in her report.

Morris never arrived at her home.

Officer Skala testified that Morris asked to be dropped off at Chancellor St and S. Juniper St, two minutes distant driving from the bar and 45-minute walking distance from her home. One minute after being dropped off at 3:30am a motorist testified he called 911 reporting a woman she was laying on the street naked from the waist up, bleeding from her head.

The DA has refused to release the 911 records.

Another wittiness testified he saw her body laying in the street at 3:45am. He later said one officer placed a jacket over her face as she was being loaded into the ambulance. The ambulance attendants said they loaded her at 3:30am. The officer on the scene testified the ambulance didn't depart until 3:45am.


Thomas Jefferson University Hospital records state that Morris didn't arrive at the emergency room a mile distant, until 4:13 am.



The Philadelphia police advisory commission second report released 2013 is highly critical of the police actions and obfuscation even putting into quotation marks "lost" while talking about the eight year period the police report couldn't be 'found'.

The police report wasn't made public until 2011 and then only after ordered to do so by the court after the Philadelphia Gay News filed a right know request.

While the commission report doesn't place blame police for Morris's death directly or indirectly, it acknowledges that it can't because the 'highly redacted' information the DA previously allowed them to see was under the condition they wouldn't make it public.

The Police Commission advisory second report surmises:

These are the problems that we know.  What we do not know may be more problematic.  The 
Police Advisory Commission cannot state with certitude if this was a purposeful course of activity to obfuscate the facts of the Nizah Morris homicide, or just simple human error.  The Police Advisory Commission cannot state with certitude if there was a purposeful course of activity to erase the existence of the “courtesy ride.”  We have reached our procedural and legal limitations.  We therefore intend to forward a copy of this advisory opinion to both the Pennsylvania Attorney General and the federal Department of Justice, and urge both agencies to review the facts and the Police Department’s investigation in the Nizah Morris homicide. The passage of time may well prove fatal to any realistic investigation, but that does not mean it should not be attempted lest we fulfill the ominous prediction of Edmund Burke:
“To sin by silence 
when they should protest makes cowards of men.”

It is just coming to light after reading the second Commission report that the police officers 'were aware of Morris's anatomical sex before they had indicated on their reports".

Without breaking the first commission's review where they agreed not to disclose the DA's finding the second Commission's report is making it clear the officers reacted differently than had Morris been a cisgender female.





Did the police murder Morris? Why did an officer cover Morris's face as if he knew she was already dead, when she was loaded into the ambulance? Did the officers hold the ambulance up making sure that any treatment Morris might have received if she arrived in a timely manner would be ineffectual?

What is the Philadelphia DA scared of? Obviously something because the District attorney of Philidelphia has begun a twitter conversation with me, a practacly unhearlded blogger, on the Sunday racheting it up a notch.



Mr District Attorney,

I never said the DA didn't help in the initial investigation, I said you have not released your full unredacted files to the Police advisory commission unhindered by a non disclosure agreement.

I asked why would the DA submited this report, and only after public awareness demanded it, to the police in the form it was.

I said that without the complete unconditional release of the Philadelphia District Attorney's files to the Police Advisory Commision, the murder of transgender woman Nizah Morris and understanding circumstances that led to her death will have lost a crucial opportunity to be resolved.

In essence, the second reconstructed Police Advisory Board agrees with this assessment by writing:

We therefore intend to forward a copy of this advisory opinion to both the Pennsylvania Attorney General and the federal Department of Justice, and urge both agencies to review the facts and the Police Department’s investigation in the Nizah Morris homicide.

I am asking that Mayor Nutter takes a personal interest in this case. I am hoping that once more that increased public awareness will help nudge the wheels of justice to turn.

Finally, I am curious why the Philadelphia District Attorney feels compelled to ratchet up this conversation with a practically unknown blogger like myself, insinuating that I lied, on the weekend?

Pretty intimidating.



The PGN  and other groups are now asking for the state DA to investigate.

I would also like to ask that Mayor Nutter whom I recorded last year at the LGBT Journalist Convo. to throw his considerable political might into solving the Nizah Morris cold case.




1/31/14

Speaker John Boehner tells Gay Caucus "No way ENDA will get done this session" Like he'll move it next?

History was made in the fight for LGBT equality this year with the first ever passage of ENDA in the Senate. All was left was the Republican controlled House.

It was revealed an off the record meeting occurred 'sometime last week' where Boehner announced that his posse of bill killers would shoot a hole through yet another American dream.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told attendees last week at his first-ever meeting with the LGBT Equality Caucus there was “no way” the Employment Non-Discrimination Act would pass this year, according to a gay lawmaker who attended the meeting.

Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who’s gay and one of the caucus co-chairs, volunteered information Tuesday night about the meeting in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol when the Washington Blade asked him about his views on the absence of the ENDA from the State of the Union address.

“A number of us did meet with, actually the caucus met with Speaker Boehner,” Takano said. “He said no way was it going to get done in this session.”

Calling the discussion between Boehner and the lawmakers “a historic sort of meeting,” Takano later clarified he was referring to the LGBT Equality Caucus, a 113-member group of lawmakers committed to advancing LGBT rights, and said the meeting took place “a few days ago” or last week.
Read more at The Washington Blade

So Boehner meet secertly with the Gay Caucus? Sound familiar? It should.




1/30/14

Maine Supreme Court rules school violated transgender student Nicole Maines rights

In a landmark decision the state's highest court ruled that transgender student Nicole Maines rights were violated after her school denied her access to the rest room that corresponded to her gender expression. Ms. Maines had been using the correct restroom but that simple right turned into a legal battle after a male student followed her into the girls room at the prodding of his grandfather.



Source: Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD):

The 5-1 decision by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court reversed a lower court's ruling from November 2012 and stated that the school was in violation of Maine's Human Rights Act when it denied Nicole Maines (referred to in the ruling as Susan Doe) access to the appropriate bathroom when she was a fifth-grade student at Asa Adams Elementary School in 2007.

According to the ruling, "it has been clearly established that a student's psychological well-being and educational success depend upon being permitted to use the communal bathroom consistent with her gender identity, denying access to the appropriate bathroom constitutes sexual orientation discrimination in violation of the [Maine Human Rights Act]."

While Maines was originally granted access to the girls' bathroom, the school later barred Maines from doing so following media attention when a male student followed her into the girls' bathroom at the instruction of his grandfather, who was opposed to the policy.

"Based upon its determination that Susan is a girl, and in keeping with the information provided to the school by Susan's family, her therapists, and experts in the field of transgender children, the school determined that Susan should use the girls' bathroom. In so doing, the school provided her with the same access to public facilities that it provided other girls," the ruling states.

GLAD and Jodi L. Nofsinger of Berman & Simmons, P.A. represented Susan in the lawsuit.
Learn more about the case and read previous case documents here.



HUGE VICTORY FOR TRANS RIGHTS IN MAINE!
Hey everyone!
My best friend, Nikki (animainsupport) has won a very important trial today in the fight for Trans rights. The full article is here. She was denied her rightful bathroom in middle school, and was harassed by students and teachers all through school. Luckily, she’s happy and healthy and in a GREAT place right now. She’s been fighting for five years on this case, and she finally won. JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED.
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1/29/14

WW2 Vet Transgender widow Robina Asti, 92, is fighting for her SS survivor benefits

Lambda Legal is representing Robina Asti, a 92-year-old transgender woman who was denied survivor benefits by the Social Security Administration (SSA) after her husband’s death. The agency denied her benefits after it determined that she was “legally male” at the time of their marriage despite all the legal documents to the contrary.

"I hope Lambda succeeds not for the money but for the act of humanity that is absolute necessary here." ~ Ms.Robina

Dru Levasseur, Transgender Rights Project Director, said:

Robina’s husband passed away over a year-and-a-half ago, and at 92 years old, she should not have to wait another day for the benefits to which she is entitled. The government has recognized Robina as a woman for over thirty years, including on her passport, FAA pilot’s license and her driver’s license. For the federal government to deny her survivor benefits now is inexplicable. This remarkable woman should not have had the grief of losing the love of her life compounded by the insult of having her gender and marriage disrespected.



In a 2004 ceremony in an airplane hangar in Orange County, NY, Robina, a World War II veteran and pilot, married her longtime sweetheart, Norwood Patton. In June 2012, Norwood passed away at 97 years old. On July 27, 2012, Robina applied in person for survivor benefits through the SSA. Though Robina already receives Social Security benefits, being able to claim survivor benefits would increase her monthly check by about $500. On April 24, 2013, the SSA notified Robina that her survivor benefits under Norwood’s Social Security record were denied because “her marriage does not meet the requirements under Federal law for payment of Social Security widow’s benefits,” stating that her marriage was not valid because she was “legally male” at the time of their wedding.

In June 2013, Lambda Legal filed a request for reconsideration on Robina’s behalf. After more than six months, there is still no word from the Social Security Administration.

Said Robina:

I am so insulted that the Social Security Administration refused to recognize me as a woman and treated my marriage to Norwood in such a disrespectful way. I have lived a very private life, but the SSA is forcing me to speak out. I don’t want other people to have to experience this.




Also at sdgln.com


Zimbabwe trans woman arrested, stripped by police for using the ladies room

Source The Huffington postsRicky Nathanson,(pictured left) has been detained by Zimbabwe's police, forced to strip naked and charged with "criminal nuisance" for using a female toilet at a city hotel.

48 year-old modeling agency director, Nathanson, from Bulawayo, was seized at the Palace Hotel on Thursday last week, by ZANU PF party youth leader Farai Mteliso who later handed her over to the police.

The reports which only emerged late last week, indicate she was then humiliated at the police station, forced to strip naked, without a court order, so that police officers "could confirm" her gender.

She was then sent to a hospital for "further physical examinations" which determined she was transgender and spent two nights in a police cell before appearing in court Saturday, when a magistrate remanded out of custody and reprimanded the police for their mistreatment.

Farai Mteliso did not attend the court session and a warrant of arrest was issued against the youth with the magistrate warning him in absentia not to interfere with Nathanson.

The Zimbabwe Heald headline "Gay shemale causes stir in court" is just a preview of the transphobic content:

In court, Nathanson’s lawyer Tanaka Muganyi told magistrate Abednico Ndebele that the charges laid against his client were non-existent according to law.

“There’s no crime here. If nothing is done by the State on the next remand date, we will apply for refusal of remand,” said Muganyi.

“The State had indicated that it would further investigate or decline to prosecute because the charge is non-existent but nothing has been done.”

Muganyi claimed that Nathanson had also left his place of residence in Barham Green to an unnamed house because “he was threatened with unspecified action by the complainant within the court premises.”

A warrant of arrest was issued against Farai Mteliso, who effected a citizen’s arrest, for defaulting and Ndebele also warned his friends not to interfere with the trial.

Nathanson, will return to court on February 4 and is out of custody.





1/28/14

Protest Thursday One Police Plaza demanding NYCPD account for negligent Islan Nettles murder investigation

Transgender woman Islan Nettles was savagely beaten on August 17th, 2013 in Harlem and died from her injuries five days later. The case has gained national notice but justice is, yet again, elusive, for another trans* woman of color.

Let's change that.

Protest to demand that Police Chief William Bratton and the NYPD explain failures to fully question witnesses, gather evidence, check the victim's condition, and retain surveillance footage for FIVE DAYS!!!

Protest to demand the NYPD explain why the mother of the assailant seen attacking Nettles was not charged with obstruction of justice, even after she coerced a falsified confession from another inebriated individual!!!

Protest to demand that D.A. Cyrus Vance update the community fully on its 2-month homicide investigation!!!

Protest to demand that Bratton and the NYPD audit all precincts for their capacity to conduct unbiased investigations of all transphobic crimes!!!

This protest was organized by a coalition of social justice groups, including:

The Transgender/Cisgender Coalition
ACT UP NY
Luz's Daughter Cares
TWOCC: Trans Women of Color Collective of Greater NY
STARR: Strategic Trans Allliance for Radical Reform
LGBT Faith Leaders of African Descent

BRING YOUR SIGNAGE, CHANTS, AND VOICES:

Thursday, January 30th 2014, 4 p.m.
One Police Plaza, Manhattan MAP

Take the 4,5,6, J, Z trains to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall, walk on Chambers St. straight through the
One Centre Street building, past the large red sculpture, to the front entrance of One Police Plaza.

NYC Human Rights Coalition Demands Transparent Investigation of Brutal Transphobic Murder of Islan Nettles


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 20, 2014 Luzs daughter cares

CONTACT: E. NARIKO WRIGHT

EMAIL:  Luzs.Daughter.Cares@gmail.com

On Thursday, January 30th, 2014 at 4 p.m., a coalition of representatives from New York City human rights organizations (including transgender and cisgender [non-transgender] activists) will protest the NYPD’s negligence in the immediate aftermath of the brutal beating death of transgender woman, Islan Nettles. The protest at One Police Plaza demands an explanation by incoming NYC Police Commissioner William Bratton and the NYPD for its initial malfeasance and demands a report on the current status of the felony investigation by NY County District Attorney Cyrus R.Vance, Jr. Members of The Transgender/Cisgender Coalition, ACT UP NY, Luz’s Daughter Cares, Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC), LGBT Faith Leaders of African Descent, Harlem Pride, Strategic Trans Alliance for Radical Reform (STARR), Jamaica Anti-Homophobia Stand, Ali Forney Center, Lambda Legal, Everything Transgender New York City (ETNYC), VOCAL and Make the Road have all endorsed the action.

Several glaringly obvious breaches of procedure stand out about this case. At midnight, August 17, 2013, Paris Wilson, accompanied by friends, flirted with Islan Nettles in Harlem, directly across the street from Police Service Area 6 at 2770 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, between West 147th and West 148th Street. (Public Service Area 6 covers the 24th, 26th, and 32nd Precincts.) Upon realizing Nettles was transgender, Wilson became enraged and began to harass Nettles and her transgender companions with transphobic slurs. Wilson began punching Nettles vigorously in the face until she fell to the pavement, slamming her head on concrete, according to the NYPD. Notified by one of Nettles’ friends, police officers arrived at the scene and pulled Wilson off of Nettles, according to DNAinfo.com. Nettles was then transported to Harlem Hospital and admitted with severe head trauma. Officers at Police Service Area 6 did not question Nettles’ companions thoroughly and never checked on Nettles’ condition after her admittance to Harlem Hospital, law enforcement sources have confirmed. Officers at the scene never obtained DNA evidence from Paris Wilson’s hands. Investigations were halted until August 23rd, when the D.A.’s office learned that Nettles was declared brain dead and removed from life support. When asked about crucial footage from the ten surveillance cameras located on the PSA 6 edifice and on surrounding structures, the D.A.’s office said all cameras were broken and no footage existed.

After the assault, Simone Wilson, mother of Paris Wilson, coerced an inebriated friend of her son to confess to the crime but he later denied the allegations, according to the NYPD. Shockingly, Simone Wilson was never held accountable for falsifying evidence or for hindering the investigation. Nettles’ friends and family also report that Simone Wilson aggressively photographed them at Harlem Hospital, as if threatening them if they filed charges. Following a misdemeanor charge of third degree assault, Paris Wilson was immediately released from jail on a mere $2,000 bail and on November 19th even that charge was dropped due to “lack of evidence.” The D.A.’s office has since said it is “aggressively investigating the crime as a homicide,” but no suspect or statement on the progress of the investigation have been presented in the two months since the investigation began.

The Jan. 30 protest calls for the NYPD to explain its failure to immediately and adequately investigate the crime scene, question witnesses, retain DNA samples and surveillance footage, and check on Nettles’ condition, even if the crime was initially misperceived as merely an assault. We call for the NYPD to explain why Simone Wilson has never been charged with obstruction of justice. We demand that D.A. Vance provide a status report on the investigation. Finally, we call for the NYPD to audit the 24th, 26th, and 32nd Precincts and all city precincts for their capacity to conduct timely and unbiased investigations of this and all transphobic violent crimes.

“The transgender and cisgender communities together call on William Bratton and the NYPD to set an example with the Islan Nettles case by committing to seeing justice served, for Islan Nettles and all victims of transphobic violence in New York City,” said Brooke Cerda Guzman.
PROTEST: Thursday, January 30th 2014, 4 p.m., One Police Plaza, Manhattan