Florida Sentinel Bulletin

NEW YORK — One of the biggest awards ever issued for racial harassment in high school — $1 million — was upheld Monday by a federal appeals panel that said it was fair for a jury to conclude a school district should have done more to stop demeaning, threatening and violent conduct directed at a student.

The decision by the 2nd U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan left in place the award for Anthony Zeno, a former student at Stissing Mountain High School in Dutchess County. The award had been reduced from the $1.25 million a jury originally awarded the now 23-year-old haircutter during a 2010 trial. The appeals court said the award wasn’t unreasonable given that payouts for harassment in similar cases have ranged from the low six figures to $1 million in one other instance.

Vanessa Marie Garrett-Rogers, 28, plead guilty to running over her ex-boyfriend with an SUV and will spend 12 years of a 30-year sentence behind bars.  She will spend the remaining years on probation.

According to a statement released by the Douglas County District Attorney’s office, she will also have to pay her victim, Darius Row, $58,000 in restitution.

Garrett-Rogers pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and leaving the scene of an accident for the July 2010 incident. Garrett-Rogers struck the victim, whose name was not released, at Pinebrook Mobile Homes hours after he ended the couple’s relationship, Assistant District Attorney Tom Kegley told the court.

Witnesses said Garrett-Rogers struck the victim, dragged him under her vehicle, and backed over him before fleeing the scene. The victim laid motionless on the ground until investigators arrived and transported him to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for a dislocated pelvis and a fractured femur, along with injuries to his skull and hands.

DETROIT — A Detroit father who inspired dozens of people to look for his missing 2-year-old daughter was sentenced to life in prison for her murder Monday while repeatedly insisting that she’s still alive.

D’Andre Lane claimed Bianca Jones was abducted during a carjacking a year ago, a tragic, emotional story that led police and volunteers to scour the city’s most depressed neighborhoods to look for her during the holiday season.

But investigators soon became skeptical and questioned Lane’s credibility. He was convicted of first-degree murder in October after prosecutors said the carjacking was a lie to cover up Bianca’s death. Authorities alleged that she was killed with a stick because she wet herself and wasn’t toilet-trained.

Bianca’s body has never been found.

“You controlled her dead body like a rag doll. … You figured that a city plagued with violence, understaffed by police – who would care? But you were wrong,” Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda Evans said.

Lane, 33, repeatedly professed his innocence and blamed police for an incomplete investigation.

“I did not murder my child. I did not abuse my child. My child is alive,” he said.

Former Party city employee, Joshua Leon Archie, 21, who was wanted in connection with the murder of Party City manager, Bobby Adams, 68, surrendered to police Monday in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

Undra Ward, 22, a current Party City employee accused of helping to plan and execute the robbery and Adams’ murder, had already been arrested. Both men are currently in the Madison County Jail facing capital murder charges.

The two men previously played football together in both high school and community college before dropping out.

Grieving family and friends came together at Trinity Chapel in Powder Springs, Georgia on Saturday afternoon to say their final farewells to 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who was gunned down by accused shooter Michael Dunn, 45, at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida on November 23rd.

Dunn claims that he felt threatened by the teen — who was sitting inside of an SUV with friends — and loud music coming from the vehicle, so he shot inside of it 8 or 9 times before driving away leaving Davis to die in a friend’s arms.

None of the teens had weapons.

Upon hearing that Dunn, who has been charged with second degree murder and attempted murder, might use the “Stand Your Ground” defense, Jordan’s father, Ron Davis, voiced his disbelief.

“If you feel threatened, most people call 911. He never did that as far as I’m told. He sprayed the car with bullets, knowing kids were in the car, drove to his hotel and had a good night’s sleep. He came down the next day, found out someone died, my son, Jordan Davis, and still didn’t call the authorities,” said Davis.

Jordan’s mother, Lucia McBath, released the following statement.

“The family of the late Jordan Davis would like to thank everyone for your prayers as well as your expressions of love, care and concern.”

Newark Mayor Cory Booker would be favored by a majority of Democrats to replace N. J. Senator Frank Lautenberg, should he choose not to run for re-election in 2014, according to a new poll.

The Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling firm has found that 48 percent of N.J. Democrats back Booker, which puts him far ahead of potential rivals Rob Andrews and Frank Pallone.

Their poll also showed the 6 in 10 state Democrats would rather see Booker run than the 88-year-old incumbent.

While Lautenberg has yet to announce his intentions for 2014, his spokesman has said “retirement is the last thing on his mind.”

The mother of a Michigan college student has launched an online petition to have her deceased son’s $10,000 student loan forgiven because she says she cannot pay it back.

Ella Edwards’ only child, Jermaine, was 24 when he suddenly passed away in 2009 while studying music production in college. He left behind three student loans. Two of them, both federal, were forgiven but, according to Edwards, American Education Services is refusing to dismiss its private loan to her son.

Edwards says the lenders have “turned my son’s dream into a nightmare for me.”

Since the petition was launched three months ago, more than 190,000 people have signed their names in support. Edwards is asking for about 8,600 more signatures before she sends the petition to Daniel Meyers, CEO of First Marblehead Corporation and James Preston, CEO of American Education Services.

Edwards says she had no idea that cosigning her son’s loan would mean she would still be held responsible for it in the event of his death.

“I am trying to pay off Jermaine’s loan,” she wrote on the petition site. “But I simply don’t have the money — and because of my crushing depression, I am barely able to work at all.”

The NAACP is stepping up its fight to end the death penalty in the state of Maryland by vowing to mount its largest-ever effort in a state that has played a historic role in the civil rights movement.

NAACP President Ben Jealous said that the organization has made ending the death penalty in Maryland a top priority in its more broader campaign to end capital punishment altogether in America.

“We’ll make sure people hear from their constituents in a way they’ve never heard from them before,” Jealous said.

ARLINGTON, VA — President Barack Obama made a quick trip to a Virginia bookstore for some Christmas shopping.

The president took his daughters, Sasha and Malia, to One More Page Books in Arlington, Va., on Saturday afternoon.

The White House says Pres. Obama was promoting an effort called “small business Saturday” to encourage shoppers to patronize mom-and-pop businesses after Thanksgiving.

At the store, Pres. Obama held up his BlackBerry, apparently looking up a book title as he spoke with shop owner Eileen McGervey. He said “preparation” was the key to his shopping.

Pres. Obama brushed off a reporter’s question about the looming “fiscal cliff,” saying “we’re doing Christmas shopping.”

The White House says Pres. Obama bought 15 children’s books that will be given as Christmas gifts to family members.