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  • Michael Vick Faces Protesters At Comedy Event; Can He Ever Redeem Himself?

    New York Jets quarterback Michael Vick went back to his hometown on Saturday in Newport News, Virginia for a football camp. A crowd of people gathered to welcome the 34-year-old athlete.

    James Johnson, a club director who has known Vick since he was a kid said, “I used to tell Mike even when things are going bad, the people down home, they still in your corner. There might be some days where you get booed, but you won’t get booed by nobody down here.”

    Vick was incarcerated for more than 500 days for running a dogfighting ring and lying about it. He was released in 2009. Since then, he has been trying to redeem himself. He helped build a football field in a Philadelphia neighborhood, and launched Christmas and Thanksgiving food drives. He also participates in anti-dog fighting campaigns.

    Michael Vick tries to explain his fascination with dogs

    Though dog fighting is in the football player’s past, some are still protesting. One of the protesters, Rhonda Spataro said, “Michael Vick didn’t just fight dogs. He tortured, drowned, electrocuted, and beat them to death.”

    On Saturday, there were two groups outside The Strand Theatre where the Michael Vick Comedy Explosion took place. On one side were the protesters, and on the other were Vick’s supporters who organized a “Forgiveness Rally”.

    Michael Vick’s protesters and supporters

    Bo Spataro, a protester, said that he’s not yet ready to forgive Vick. “I’ve seen nothing from him that shows a deal of remorse. I know he might’ve went to jail and paid some fines, but it doesn’t look like he’s sorry for anything other than getting caught,” he said.

    Comedian Robert Powell defended the football star and said that his dog fighting days are over and all the bad things that happened are in the past. “It’s time to let it go,” he said.

    Amidst all the controversy, Vick has accepted that his career will never be only about football. Many people still hate him for his past, and there is even a petition seeking to ban him from the Jets training camp.

    “How can I try to win over everybody in this world? Even if I didn’t go through what I went through, some people probably still wouldn’t like me for whatever reason,” said Vick.

    Despite Vick’s past, he’s still seen as a hero by many. Little boys were chanting his name over and over on Saturday, and his fans approached him to sign their jerseys and shirts.

    Image via YouTube

  • Death Row: Louisiana Inmate Glenn Ford Exonerated After 30 Years In Jail

    After three decades of being in prison, Louisiana death row convict Glenn Ford was finally a free man on Tuesday. As he walked out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, Ford told reporters that he had mixed emotions about his release  but that “it feels good” to be exonerated.

    Ford – who is now 64 years old – was charged in 1983 for the murder of an elderly white man in Shreveport named Isadore Rozeman. Ford did occasional yard work for Rozeman and some witnesses placed him close to the scene of the crime on the day of Rozeman’s murder. Ford immediately headed to the police station when he found out that the police were looking for him, and he cooperated with authorities all throughout the investigation. Ford was 34 years old when an all-white jury convicted him of first-degree murder and sentenced him to the death penalty.

    For years, Ford’s legal team had argued that their client was wrongfully convicted after a trial during which he was represented by “inexperienced counsel” and information was unlawfully suppressed. In 2013, a major development happened in the case when prosecutors disclosed the admission of another man to the murder of Isadore Rozeman. A suspect named Jake Robinson, whom Ford identified from several photographs, was the man who admitted to the informant that he shot and killed Rozeman.

    During the murder investigation, Ford mentioned a man he identified as “O.B.”, who had given him jewelry to pawn. Later on, O.B. (whose real name is Henry Robinson) and his brother Jake were also charged with Rozeman’s murder, although the charges were eventually dismissed. Jake Robinson’s then-girlfriend Marvella Brown implicated Ford in the shooting, but declared that it was all a lie when she testified on trial.

    Louisiana law states that exonerated convicts who served time are entitled to receive monetary compensation amounting to $25,000 per year of wrongful incarceration and an additional $80,000 for “loss of life opportunities”.

    Death Penalty Right Or Wrong?

    Image via YouTube