Prostitutes

Mar 11 2013

No trial in sight

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—An alleged serial killer dubbed the “Grim Sleeper” and charged with murdering 10 women appeared in court today, but his trial could still be months away.

During today’s pretrial hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy voiced frustration with defense attorney Seymour Amster, who represents accused killer Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 15 2011

Maybe there was an unbroken span of killings

As the prosecution and defense teams maneuver over legal issues, investigators continue to shift through the 1,000-plus pieces of evidence, including hundreds of photos, primarily of African American females that were found on the 81st Street property of suspected “Grim Sleeper” mass murderer Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

Sep 14 2011

“King Snipe”

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A prosecutor told jurors that an accused Hawthorne pimp who calls himself “King Snipe” should be convicted of forcing two teenage runaways to walk the streets for him, but the defense countered that the alleged victims cannot be believed because they were prostitutes before they met the defendant.

Aug 1 2011

Lonnie Franklin Jr.

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the man suspected in the “Grim Sleeper” serial killings, a deputy district attorney announced today.

A jury will be asked to recommend a death sentence for 58-year-old Lonnie Franklin Jr. if he is convicted, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said. Franklin has been indicted on 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Franklin, a one-time city employee, has been locked up since his July 7, 2010, arrest.

Apr 5 2011

Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Eight more women may have been killed by the 'Grim Sleeper,' an alleged serial killer charged with killing 10 women in South Los Angeles as far back as the mid 1980s.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck plans to discuss the case and release images of possible victims at a 4 p.m. news conference.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.