by Mary Spiller

September 1, 2024

Usher Opens His First Dave’s Hot Chicken In Atlanta, With More On The Way

Usher called Dave’s Hot Chicken some of the 'best hot chicken' he's ever had.

R&B legend Usher has partnered up with a popular chicken franchise. Dave’s Hot Chicken is set to open nine new restaurant locations in the metro Atlanta area with his help, according to a press release.

WSB-TV reports that on Aug. 29, he soft-opened a location at 1447 Hwy. 138 SE in Conyers. The next day, the restaurant officially opened.

The “You Make Me Wanna” singer, recently in the media for his iconic Super Bowl halftime performance, will invest in locations all across Atlanta in the next few years. With the help of a franchise group run by Lawrence Kourie and Andrew Feghali, the multi-Grammy winner will be involved from start to finish with the new spots.

Usher said, “Dave’s Hot Chicken is some of the best hot chicken I’ve ever had. I’m excited to be involved with the brand.”

He continued, “I’m excited to bring Dave’s delicious tenders and sliders to people across Atlanta.”

Although Dave’s Hot Chicken is based predominantly in California, the franchise has nearly 200 restaurants worldwide. Its new initiative of partnerships has allowed it to begin producing over 700 more brick-and-mortar restaurants.

Usher is one of many celebrities who have invested in the hot chicken brand, some of which include rapper Drake and iconic actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Usher, though, has first-hand experience with Dave’s Hot Chicken, particularly their hottest options.

Just two years ago, Usher posted a video to Instagram showing him taking on the Dave’s Hot Chicken “Reaper” sandwich.

Made with 1,641,183 Scoville-ranked Carolina Reaper peppers, Usher signed a waiver to take on the sandwich as payback for apparently being late to show up to one of his kids’ events.

The 43-year-old musician took on the reaper challenge on video, describing the chicken’s heat as having him “just dancing for no reason.”

by Sharelle B. McNair

August 31, 2024

Los Angeles Commission Releases Reparations Report Outlining Black Residents Experiences Since 1925

Looks like we're getting somewhere....

The Reparations Advisory Commission of Los Angeles released a 400-page report to sponsor potential reparations to Black residents based on discriminatory harms faced over the last 100 years, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The struggles of Black “Angelenos” were documented in the first city-sponsored reparations report, “An Examination of African American Experiences in Los Angeles.” Six researchers at California State University at Northridge (CSUN) unveiled the report on Aug. 27, highlighting data from interviews and focus groups that included hundreds of residents past and present.

Within the report, laws and public policy were analyzed over the last century to showcase the effect of racial discrimination on descendants of enslaved African Americans.

“Despite the legal end of slavery, Black Angelenos continue to face systemic discrimination and inequity via legal segregation, enacted by both the state via the LAPD and the courts, as well as by the public, including groups like the Ku Klux Klan,” researcher and CSUN professor of Africana studies Marquita Gammage said.

Close to 620 people were interviewed for the report, with more than 50% being women. Twelve different types of harmful effects were documented in the report, including traces of slavery, racial terror, mental and physical harm from neglect, racism within environment and infrastructure, the injustices of the legal system, housing segregation, stolen labor, and altered opportunity, segregated and unequal education, political disenfranchisement; the effect of an unhealthy Black family, control over creative, cultural and intellectual life and lastly, the wealth gap.

Of all the effects, three potential reparations solutions were identified. After finding that 80% of survey participants endorsed home buyer assistance, protections of appraisals to limit overpaying, and programs to address housing insecurity, Gammage suggested the city should “calculate the cost of housing inequity and launch compensatory efforts, fund and support programs that advance equity and homeownership opportunities, proactively address homelessness and housing insecurity among Black residents.”

In collaboration with the L.A. Civil Rights, the researchers also created a timeline within the report of federal policies that resulted in the limitations of Black rights between 1930 and 2024. W. Gabriel Selassie expressed feeling stunned by the findings of oppression levels and, more so, how they corresponded with everyday life. “So, you walk outside, and you open up your car door as an L.A. police car drives by. You put your things into your car, and the police car backs up,” he said.

“The next thing you know, you are in a jail cell … severely beaten. You have a court hearing and the judge dismisses the case. You have now lost your dignity, your pride, your time at work — you are essentially scarred for life.”

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the last proposal for reparations will be presented to the L.A. City Council and Mayor Karen Bass at the beginning of 2025. Many survey respondents claimed to be interested in monetary reparations, and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a state budget of a maximum of $12 million for reparations legislation. However, identified programs or payments to Black Californians weren’t specified.

Other highlights from the report included Black Angelenos being at higher risk of exposure to air pollutants, which are directly linked to city and freeway planning and development. Black residents also made up 27% of all arrests between 2020 and 2023 and 26% of all police stops between 2018 and 2023 — while only making up 8% of the city’s population. Capri Maddox, executive director of the L.A. Civil Rights and the Advisory Commission, summarized the report, saying, “We are not where we want to be — but we are not where we used to be.”

University Of Chicago Student Accused Of Plot To Hide Bomb-Making Activities

by Daniel Johnson

August 31, 2024

University Of Chicago Student Accused Of Plot To Hide Bomb-Making Activities

Aram Brunson came to the attention of authorities after an explosive device detonated in his dorm room.

Aram Brunson, a 21-year-old former student at the University of Chicago, was charged on Aug. 27 with falsifying, concealing, and covering up a material fact through a trick, scheme, or device and making false statements to federal officials.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts, Brunson’s actions were allegedly linked to his desire to take militant action against various ethnic groups who threaten Armenians in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In January 2023, Brunson came to the attention of authorities after an explosive device detonated in his dorm room at the University of Chicago. At the time, Brunson claimed that he was attempting to mimic a prank he had seen on YouTube.

However, subsequent investigation of Brunson revealed that he was looking to engage in revolutionary direct action and terrorism in his support of Armenian self-determination. Furthermore, Brunson allegedly made videos of himself teaching others to make explosive devices, and his internet search history allegedly contained suggestions that he was planning to attack diplomatic facilities in the United States.

According to Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, “It is alleged that Mr. Brunson crossed the line between political expression and mobilization, by taking affirmative steps to carry out unlawful acts. While radical political views may be offensive, they are constitutionally protected. However, experimenting with extremely dangerous explosives in support of those views and then engaging in false statements about your conduct is crossing the line. We will investigate and prosecute anyone who crosses that line in order to keep our communities safe.”

Jodi Cohen, the special agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, called the charges against Brunson alarming.

“What Arum Brunson is accused of is alarming. We believe he engaged in a calculated scheme to conceal his efforts to develop bomb-making skills and construct an explosive device in support of his violent extremist activity. This case highlights how FBI Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force takes its mission to thwart political violence, wherever it may occur, seriously.”

Dr. Martin Lemelle, Jr. , Grambling State,President

by Daniel Johnson

August 31, 2024

Dr. Martin Lemelle, Jr. Officially Installed As Grambling State President

Lemelle is reportedly the nation’s youngest HBCU president.

The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors named Dr. Martin Lemelle, Jr., president of Grambling State, in February. Earlier this week, he was officially installed in the role. While his age has not been made public, Lemelle is reportedly the youngest president to serve in that position at any of the nation’s HBCUs.

According to a university press release, Rick Gallot, who left the university’s presidency to become president and CEO of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, signaled his faith in Lemelle with a statement.

“Dr. Lemelle’s appointment as the 11th president of Grambling State University guarantees a leader well-prepared on day one,” Gallot said. “I am confident that under President Lemelle’s leadership, Grambling State University will continue to thrive with its best days yet to come.”

The Office of the President issued a press release announcing Grambling University’s Investiture Ceremony, which will take place on Sept. 6.

According to the press release, an investiture ceremony is modeled after a knighthood ceremony and is intended to signal the beginning of a new chapter in a university’s leadership.

“An investiture ceremony is an academic event typically held during a new president’s first year. As one of the oldest traditions in academia, originating from English universities and modeled after knighthood ceremonies, the ceremony signifies the beginning of a new chapter of leadership for a university, and it provides an opportunity for the university, guests, and community to witness the formal installation of the new leader.” The press release stated.

According to the Minden Press Herald, the investiture ceremony planned for Sept. 6 is believed to be the first such ceremony in the storied HBCU’s history.

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, Grambling University recently became the first HBCU and only institution in Louisiana with a digital library. This achievement, coupled with Grambling State University’s Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, Dr. Gavin R. Hamms’s inclusion in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Executive Leadership Academy, signals an exciting start to the Martin Lemelle era at Grambling State University.

As Lemelle said during his remarks at the library’s dedication, “We’re building a future where every student can excel, and we are fighting to ensure that Grambling remains a beacon of hope, resilience, and excellence. We’re building a bridge between the past and the future, and we are fighting to keep the legacy of our flame burning bright.”

Lemelle continued, “So, as we stand here today, let us remember what we set out to do — let us tell them we are building, not just structures, but the future. Let us tell them we’re building not just spaces but legacies. And as we continue to build, let us also fight — fight for the dreams of our students, fight for the excellence of our university, and yes, fight for Dear Ole Grambling for we are the pride of the USA and there is no doubt that we will win today, tomorrow and always.”

by Daniel Johnson

August 31, 2024

Suspect In Murder Of Baltimore Tech CEO Sentenced To Three Life Sentences

Jason Billingsley pleaded guilty to the murder of Pava LaPere, a Baltimore tech CEO.

Jason Billingsley, the suspect charged with the murder of a Baltimore tech CEO, Pava LaPere, was sentenced on Aug. 30 after pleading guilty to LaPere’s murder. In addition to pleading guilty on that charge, Billingsley also pleaded guilty on Oct. 26 to two additional counts of attempted murder related to a rape, attempted murder, and arson that occurred days before the 2023 murder of LaPere.

According to WBALTV 11, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates stated at a news conference that he doesn’t believe Billingsley should be allowed out of prison until he has served at least 60 years of his sentence.

“Mr. Billingsley should never see the light of day again,” Bates said. “I do not suspect he will even be able to see the twinkle of light until he’s done 60 years, which would put him at 93 years of age.”

Bates continued, “This defendant should have never been released into the community following a first-degree sex offense conviction to inflict immense trauma, pain and sorrow on so many individuals in such a short amount of time.”

Billingsley was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences and a third life sentence, to be served consecutively after the first two. Although Billingsley was remorseful, the nature of the crimes for which he was convicted demanded a sentence commensurate with his offenses.

According to WBALTV 11, LaPere, who was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Social Impact and started a tech company from her dorm room at Johns Hopkins University, died due to strangulation and blunt force trauma following a sexual assault.

The LaPere family also released a statement describing the pain they have been living with for nearly a full year.

“It has been 342 days since our daughter and sister, Pava Marie LaPere, was murdered. Each one of those days has been extremely painful and difficult to endure. Pava’s death has deeply impacted our family, her friends, EcoMap Technologies, the Johns Hopkins University, the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland.” The LaPere family said. “It was right here, where she was making a significant impact on improving the lives, entities and communities which she so loved. Acceptable justice may be served today, but it will never fill the void, erase the grief or replace the impact Pava would have had if given the full life that she deserved. That ALL innocent people deserve.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott also released a statement testifying to the heinous nature of the crimes of Billingsley and promising the city’s support to his victims and their families.

“Today, justice has been served for Jason Billingsley’s heinous crimes. He should have never been released in the manner he was, and his victims paid the price when he decided to take advantage of that to further terrorize our city. It is my sincere hope that his admission and the court’s rightful decision to put him away for life, multiple times over, will bring a small amount of peace to Pava LaPere’s family, and to April Hurley and Jonte Gilmore.” Mayor Scott said. “Healing from his crimes, which profoundly impacted our entire city, will be a lifetime endeavor -– but I want the LaPere family and April and Jonte to know that our entire city will always stand with you, always ready to wrap our arms around you with whatever support you need.”

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

August 31, 2024

Tupac Murder Suspect Denied Bond Again, Judge Suspects Cover-Up Of Source Funds

Duane 'Keefe D' Davis' $750,000 cash bond has been denied for the second time in a row.

Duane “Keefe D” Davis’s bail has been denied for the second time in a row after a judge questioned the sources of the funds.

Clark District Court Judge Carli Kierny denied a request to pay Davis’ $750,000 bail due to her suspicions of a possible cover-up, the Associated Press reports. Davis’s attorney said he would provide additional proof showing that the music record executive offering to cover the bail had obtained the money legally.

However, Kierny expressed skepticism after receiving two identical letters from an entertainment company claiming Cash “Wack 100” Jones wired him the funds as payment for his work. The judge noted that one letter was signed with a name unrelated to the company, while the second letter featured a misspelled name and a return address linked to a doctor’s office.

“I have a sense that things are trying to be covered up,” Kierny said.

Davis’ lawyer, Carl Arnold, asserted that the bail bond agent Davis used had given the entertainment company copy-and-paste instructions for the letters and could testify about their authenticity. However, prosecutor Binu Palal said the bond dealer may have committed a felony by submitting “a false document to this court.”

“The state takes that very seriously,” he said. “Be advised that it will not go uninvestigated.”

Kierny also pushed back the start date for Davis’ trial from Nov. 4 to March 17.

In June, Wack 100 testified about his reasons for wanting to cover the cost of Davis’ pricey bail, stating that Davis has “always been a monumental person in our community … especially the urban community.” He also mentioned Davis’s reported battle with cancer.

During an interview earlier this year, Wack 100 expressed his interest in bailing out Davis in hopes of using it for video content.

“It’s only $750,000,” he told VladTV at the time. “I’ve been thinking about going to get him with the stipulations that I’ll do the series on it.”

Davis has claimed in interviews and his 2019 tell-all memoir that he is the only surviving suspect in the 1996 fatal drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur at a traffic light near the Las Vegas Strip. The ailing former Los Angeles-area gang leader has been incarcerated awaiting trial since his arrest last September.

RELATED CONTENT: Keefe D Secures $750K Bond

by Mary Spiller

August 31, 2024

Woman Charged With First-Degree Murder After Ordering Rottweiler To Fatally Attack 9-Year-Old Girl

The entire incident, and other instances of child abuse, was caught on home security cameras.

Florida woman Tyshael Elise Martin has been charged with murder after allegedly ordering her 100-pound Rottweiler to attack a 9-year-old girl. The alleged Rottweiler attack, which occurred in June, was captured on the family’s security camera.

Florida investigators described a series of disturbing clips in a 10-page arrest affidavit obtained by People, showing Martin allegedly holding the dog’s leash and repeatedly ordering it to bite 9-year-old Jamaria Sessions as she lay prone on the floor.

Later in the videos, Martin allegedly kicked Jamaria to the floor, “grabbed the child by her hair,” and pulled her around while “repeatedly” striking her.

According to the affidavit, Martin said, “I’m fixin’ to kill her.”

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported that two days later, police arrested Jamaria’s father, LoJuan Sessions, and charged him with aggravated manslaughter of a child. Sessions told investigators that he and his girlfriend had argued on June 12, and he moved out the next day, leaving Jamaria with her. Four days after he moved out, someone called 911 to the home for an “unresponsive child, who was cold to the touch.”

When first responders arrived on the scene, they found Jamaria naked and described her as having “a significant number of abrasions, small punctures, burns, possible bite marks, and bruising covering her body, all in various stages of healing.” Per the affidavit, she had a swollen face and several broken teeth. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The medical examiner ultimately ruled her death as a homicide and explained that it was caused by “complications of multiple blunt injuries of head, torso, and extremities and thermal injury of right foot,” but overall, many of the injuries were consistent with extended physical abuse.

Although Sessions’s first court appearance was on Aug. 31, Martin has already appeared before a Lake County judge and refrained from entering a plea.

Officers executed a search warrant on the home, leading to the arrests of Sessions and Martin after they found video footage of Jamaria being attacked by the family’s 103-pound Rottweiler on June 15, with Martin encouraging the attack.

Jamaria had lived in Sessions and Martin’s household since October 2023, before her death.

This is not the first time the couple has been in trouble with the law. According to People, they both have a criminal history of possession and dealing illegal narcotics and charges related to “exposing their children to dangerous situations.” Sessions spent five years in prison for drug trafficking, along with two counts of felony child neglect before the Rottweiler attack.

by Mary Spiller

August 31, 2024

Actress Betty A. Bridges Passes Away At 83 At Home Of Son Todd Bridges

Betty A. Bridges died in the home of her son Todd while under hospice care.

Actress Betty A. Bridges has died. According to her representative, Elizabeth Much, Bridges passed away at 83 in the home of her son, actor Todd Bridges, in Phoenix, Arizona, on Aug. 27.

Betty Bridges reportedly passed away while living with her son in hospice care, and Todd honored the veteran actress with a series of tributes posted to social media. Todd posted an image of his mother smiling, with the years 1941-2024 written across the bottom. Later, he posted another photo and a video compilation of various pictures of his mother, which was soundtracked by Everly Fair’s “I Love You Always Forever (Acoustic).”

Comments from people touched by Betty and her work came from friends of the family and other followers, including words of condolences from Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Gilbert, and Tyrone Burton.

Burton wrote, “I send My Condolences to You & Your Family. I sent some Prayers up asking the Father to comfort your family through His Word in this time of your beautiful Mother’s passing. I thank God we did a movie together with her starting in it, help to keep her memory alive.”

He added, “#FosterBabiesRIP/RIH Betty Bridges. Much Love Fam!!”

Kravitz simply commented, “Rest in power, Queen.”

Betty had over four decades of experience in her filmography and has worked in the industry since 1974. Notably, she has appeared on screen in Police Woman, Good Times, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Charlie’s Angels, Wonder Woman and Quincy, M.E., and even shows like Flamingo Road, Lou Grant, Dallas, NYPD Blue, ER, and Scrubs. Most recently, she appeared in 2 Broke Girls in 2014.

Aside from starring on the screen, Bridges also worked as a manager and acting coach in Hollywood, co-founding the Kane Bridge Academy acting school as a teacher. She acted as a mentor and guiding force for big names Nia Long, Tony O’Dell, Marcus Chong, Shashawnee Hall, and both sisters, King sisters Regina and Reina.

Bridges is survived by her son Todd and his wife, Bettijo Bridges, her son Jimmy Bridges, daughter Verda Bridges Prpich, adopted son Zerondrick Hubbard, as well as 12 grandchildren.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

August 31, 2024

Kamala Harris Snubs Trump’s ‘Tired Playbook’ About Her Ethnicity, ‘Next Question, Please’

Kamala Harris sat down with CNN and answered many questions, except ones about Trump's attacks on her race and ethnicity.

Kamala Harris sat down for her first interview as the Democratic presidential nominee and answered all questions except one about her race and ethnic background.

The Vice President and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, spoke with CNN’s Dana Bash about policies their administration plans to implement if they win the 2024 election. At one point during the nearly 30-minute interview, Harris brushed off Donald Trump’s questioning of her racial identity, dismissing her rival’s suggestion that she “happened to turn Black.”

“Same old, tired playbook,” she said. “Next question, please.”

Dana Bash: “Trump suggested that you happened to turn Black recently for political purposes, questioning a core part of your identity.”

Kamala Harris: “Same old tired playbook. Next question, please.”

Dana Bash: “That's it?”

Kamala Harris: “That's it.” pic.twitter.com/yBUebgVg0Z
— Reda (@RedaMor_) August 30, 2024

When it comes to Harris’s immediate plans upon taking office, she stressed her urgency to strengthen the economy.

“First and foremost, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class,” she told Bash.

Elsewhere, Harris explained why she adjusted some of her positions on fracking and immigration, noting that while her core values remain the same, her experience as vice president has given her new perspectives on some of the country’s most pressing issues.

“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” she said. “You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed –- and I have worked on it -– that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time.”

Harris also addressed how she would tackle the ongoing border crisis and immigration issue in the country by highlighting her record as California attorney general when she prosecuted gangs accused of cross-border trafficking.

“My values have not changed. So that is the reality of it. And four years of being vice president, I’ll tell you, one of the aspects, to your point, is traveling the country extensively,” she said. “I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems.”

CNN – KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEW BY DANA BASH [FULL LENGTH] pic.twitter.com/VUbp34OLjR
— The Gas Stove (@TheGasStovee) August 30, 2024

Since becoming the official Democratic nominee, Harris laid out an economic policy plan focused on bringing down food, housing, and childcare costs by going after large corporations guilty of price gouging and improving affordable housing. However, Bash asked Harris why her policy plans hadn’t been implemented during the three years that Biden has been in office.

“We had to recover as an economy, and we have done that,” she said while noting efforts toward containing inflation, cutting costs for prescription drugs, and tax cuts for families. “There’s more to do, but that’s good work.”

Harris remained in line with her commitment to serve as a president for “all Americans” by revealing her plan to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if elected. This approach revives a tradition from recent decades—one not followed by Trump or Biden—of including at least one opposing party member in the Cabinet.

“I’ve got 68 days to go with this election, so I’m not putting the cart before the horse,” she said. “But I would, I think. I think it’s really important. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion.”

Harris continued, “I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.”

Ricard Moore, death row, execution, South Carolina

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

August 31, 2024

Death Row Inmate In Missouri Pleads Case Weeks Before Scheduled Execution

Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24.

Death row inmate Marcellus Williams appeared before St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Hilton Wednesday during an evidentiary hearing to prove he did not murder a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter in 1998, CNN reports.

Williams, 55, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 24 for the murder of Felicia Gayle, who was found stabbed to death in her home.

Despite always maintaining his innocence, Williams was sentenced to death in 2001 after he was convicted of first-degree murder, burglary, robbery, and other charges. The Missouri Supreme Court has ordered the hearing after blocking an agreement, previously approved by Hilton, between the inmate and the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that would have spared Williams’ life.

The case has set Wesley Bell, a local prosecutor running for Congress as a Democrat, against state Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican seeking reelection. In January, Bell ordered the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to file a motion to vacate Williams’ conviction, arguing that DNA evidence, which could potentially exclude Williams as the killer, had never been reviewed by a court.

Prosecutors were expected to present evidence in court to support the motion last Wednesday. The evidence was based on analysis by three DNA experts who concluded that DNA testing excluded Williams as the person who wielded the knife that killed Gayle.

However, the hearing did not proceed as planned after Bailey’s office opposed the local prosecutor’s motion, arguing that new DNA testing revealed the knife had “been handled by many actors, including law enforcement” and therefore would not exonerate Williams. There were also reports that the new DNA testing revealed the presence of DNA from an investigator who worked for the prosecutor’s office during Williams’ trial, as well as the prosecutor who handled the case.

A prosecutor admitted to touching the knife without gloves. A forensic DNA expert testified that due to the knife’s handling in the past, it is impossible to determine whether Williams’ DNA was ever on it.

Now Williams’ attorney, Jonathan Potts, said the mishandling of that evidence “destroyed” Williams’ “last and best chance” to prove his innocence. After last week’s hearing was postponed, Bell’s office announced that it had reached an agreement with Williams. Under the consent judgment, which was approved by the court and Gayle’s family, the inmate would have entered an Alford plea to first-degree murder and, in exchange, would have been resentenced to life in prison.

However, the attorney general’s office opposed the deal and appealed to the state Supreme Court, which quickly blocked the agreement. Bailey’s office commended the court’s intervention, while the prosecutor’s office expressed continued “concerns about the integrity” of Williams’ conviction.

Williams’ claim of innocence is supported by attorneys from the Innocence Project and the Midwest Innocence Project. Since 1973, at least 200 individuals sentenced to death have been exonerated, including four in Missouri.