The Augusta news-review. (Augusta, Ga.) 1972-1985, July 18, 1981, Image 3

The Augusta news-review., July 18, 1981, Page Page 3, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextDrowning Os 3 Youths Causes Texas Uproar Black residents here are steaming over the deaths of three youths who drowned while in the custody of officers who saved themselves when their boat overturned. A conflict has arisen over whether the teenagers arrested during a civil rights celebration had been handcuffed and questions are being asked about what efforts were made to save the trio. The NAACP has stepped into the case and a special prosecutor has been appointed. About 150 people attended the first hearing last week of an inquiry to determine if the drowning cases would be referred to a grand jury. The victims were Carl Baker, 19; Steve Booker, 19; and Anthony Freeman, 18, who were arrested for marijuana possession at nearby Lake Mexia last Martin Luther King: Has The Truth Been Told? Charges were made that there were probably informers within Dr. Martin Luther King’s organization prior to his death. Also, a commanding 83 percent of a television opinion poll conducted by Tony Brown’s Journal did not believe that James Earl Ray acted alone in the shooting of Dr. King. On a special television program, • Host and Executive producer Tony Brown examines the new impetus of the questions surrounding the death of Martin Luther King on "Martin Luther King: Has The Truth Been Told?” and asks the QUBE audience if anything that was going on SCLC Convention Set For August Discussions of serious issues that confront the nation and threaten the well-being of Blade and poor Americans will'be the priority of the 24th Annual Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference this August fl -14 in New Orleans, La. Convention delegates will be joined by professionals in the fields of education, economics, psychiatry, politics, government and the ministry who will help them devise concrete strategies for countering the physical, economic and political assaults on the Black and poor. A paramount issue to be addressed is the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its extension. It is scheduled to expire in August of 1982. The Reagan administration’s deep budget cuts and excessive allocations for military buildup are an economic assault on the poor whose very survival depends on regular employment or either government leadership and assistance. SCLC joins organisations and individuals in opposing Reaganomics with the firm conviction that the president and Congress could develop a more equitable budget, such as the “constructive alternative* budget"' presented to Congress in March by the Congressional Black Caucus. U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel, a member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committed will lead a discussion on economic alternatives 'on Thursday, August 13, and "The National leathering of Black Clergy” will expire methods by which to counter the assault. Rev. James Lawson, pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, will consider the "theological response” to economic and physical assault. Dr. Kelly Miller Smith, president of the National Conference of Black Churchmen; Dr. Alvin Poussaint, noted osychiatrist and professor Friday night during a large celebration of Juneteeth, a holiday commemorating the day slaves in Texas heard about, the Emancipation Proclamation. Probation Officer David Drum mon said he, Deputy Kenny Elliot and reserve deputy Kenneth Elliot and reserve deputy Kenneth Archie of the Limestone County Sheriff s Department were transporting the prisoners across the lake to a sheriffs department shelter when the 15-foot alumninum boat got swamped. Elliot and Archie, called to the stand after drummond, refused to testify. State Judge P.K. Reiter had said before the inquiry began any refusal to answer questions would not be considered incriminatory because he could not guaranteed the inside Martin Luther King’s own organization, The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, can now be considered significant. Recently,the House* Assassinations Committee, headed by Rep. Louis Sokes (D-OH.), was attacked by outside »'”jrces who believe that information on the deaths of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King was withheld from the public. Tony Brown discusses the issue with Mr. Gene Johnson, who acted as the Deputy Chief Counsel for the (House) Select Committee on assassinations investigating of psychiatry at Harvard University; and Dr. Negail Riley, assistant general secretary for the Board of Global Ministries in the United Methodist Church, are others leading significant discussions on ways to counter the assault from a theological approach. The issue of police brutality has again found its place among the top priorities of the Black community and will be addressed also. SCLC will set plans in motion for monitoring reapportionment and redistricting activities, and will* strategize for making sure the Voting Rights Act is extended. 'Weddingwells Coverage For MB' WEDDINGS ffew P T] RFCFPTTONS MTFl'viN .724-1953 HEATH, Photographer DAY OR NIGHT HMHI ~ ’ CASH registers CUSTOM DESIGNED ® , KateaA < programmed California) Gigolo! • LOW-PRICED ‘ 1 ' CHARGE POSTER z j "■""■a • WITH AUTOMATIC . * MP 1 I ' John C. Holmes “NE-RND J O VERSATILE A JS COST EFFECTIVE ADULTS ONLY "Reliability ... Service... Integrity" FULL SERVICE ON MOST POPULAR -O* BRANDS Os CASH REGIS TERS 1 1 U I f * ■4 " ■ BUSINESSSYSTEMS DIVISION testimony woulo not guarantee the testimony would not be used in federal investigations. Jay Wallace of Mexia, testified there were no drugs in the car the four young Black men were sitting in when the three were taken into custody. Wallace said that plainclothes officers approached the car, shined a flashlight into it and arrested his friends, on charges of smoking marijuana. Wallace testified he did not hear the officers read the three their Miranda rights, but he also said he did not see the officers put handcuffs on is friends. He said he was left with the car, which belonged to Freeman, while two officers took the suspects to the lake to load them into a boat. Special prosecutor Larry W. Baraka, appointed the King assassination, and Rev. Hosea Williams, a confidant of Rev. King and a former staff member of SCLC. In asnwering the QUBE poll results, Mr. Johnson maintained that “We have not been able during the two years that we investigated the assassination, to come up with any corroborative evidence to support the conclusion that in fact there were co-conspirators.” However, Rev. Williams, who was at the Memphis motel where Dr. King was shot, did not believe that Ray pulled the trigger. Williams said he was certain that Ray did Florist Blossom House International 1816 Wrightsboro ~ 738-1439 For t-WHI Occasion Complete Hair Care Service •fe rwrr I \OU/ Barber & Style Shop k aßk 1378 Laney Walker Blvd. | Specializing in: | .The Curly Look. Unisex Styles L. Permanents .Arching Brows .Tints .Facials 722 4124 M-FIAM-7PM& Closed Wednesday Were They Handcuffed While In Police Boat? at the recommendation of the NAACP, said the fact the officers approached the car and shined a flashlight into it without apparent "probable cause” was an unconstitutional invasion of privacy, but otherwise he could find no criminal intent in the deaths. He said there was nothing wrong with the officers failing to give a Miranda warning since the charge would have been a misdemeanor. A number of people who watched authorities drag the lake for the bodies claimed the prisoners were handcuffed and that searchers removed the cuffs before the bodies were brought to shore. An NAACP official not act alone and thought that “the investigation was a whitewash.” Williams also contended that although the investigation stated that Ray escaped from Memphis in a White Mustang, he firmly believed that Ray’s car never left Memphis. The allegation that a power struggle was going on inside SCLC and that certain members of the organization were guilty of misusing SCLC funds was also discussed. Atty. Johnson responded by stating that he and all of his distinguished collegues, which included Chairman Stokes, gave the investigation everything disputed Mexia Fire Chief Aaron Thompson’s testimony that the bodies showed no signs of being handcuffed. Thompson said all three bodies were found frozen in rigor mortis with their arms spread forward, palms out, ad through relaxed in water. But regional NAACP director Richard Dockery of Dallas said he had examined Baker’s body at a Mexia funeral home and found the hands rigid, with the fingers drawn in and wrists together, as if they had been handcuffed. Drummond said after the three were arrested, Booker and Baker were handculfed together. Freeman was not they had and that there was no evidence to support the claim. On the other hand, the Rev. Williams again flatly stated that the investigations were not true; that he himself, a top official of the SCLC and a witness to the crime, was not throughly questioned. Williams said that he had information which he tried, repeatedly to get to the authorities but was unsuccessful in his attempts. i'- ' ** f’ r»-> j , Sr ctww— »lp, II sElpPs?' i -m !, Ml :w -rM ■■ v handcuffed, he said. “They only had one set of cuffs between them," he said. When the six went to the boat, Archie removed the handcurfs from Baker and Booker, he said. “We were sitting with Archie in the bow. Freeman and I were on the next seat. Booker and Baker in the middle, and Elliot in the rear by the engine,” he said, adding their combined weights were more than a half ton. “The bow was about 4 to 6 inches out of the water. Water washed in when Elliot turned the boat around. 1 shouted at Elliot that we were sitting low in the water. The first time he didn't hear me over the motor; the second time, he placed the motor in idle. “At tha point the blow dipped into the water and water started pouring in. We all started going into Tony Brown’s Journal, the longest running national Black television series, is sponsored by Pepsi-Cola Company. It can be seen in the Augusta area on Sunday on channel 12 at 12:30 p.m. gwm strong BEST QUALITY - BEST SERVICE Carpets, tile, vinyl, linoleum, asphalt j Floor Covering Contractors A. DtWT |H2O Pine St. 724-2182 The Augusta News-Review-July 18,1981-1 the water. Archie and I stayed in the boat, and I think Freeman. I don’t recall him jumping out. I heard someone behind me say ‘Man, I can’t swim,’ I think it was one of the prisoners. We were about 35 or 40 yards from shore when we capsized.” Drummond siad he saw Freeman go under about 8 feet from the boat. He tried to pull him up by the hair, but Freeman grabbed his legs and pulled him under. "I pushed him toward the boat. Archie pulled Freeman up on top erf the boat. I stayed in the water. Freeman looked to be all rieht, and Archie looke like a——— a—naa— mir r tt - - r —. T- »k I I I Read The I Each Week I Page 3 he had the situation under control and I then began swimming toward shore.” Elliot also swam to shore, Drummond said, ano standing waist- deep in water, he pulled his revolver, fired one shot in the air and called for help. They both then walked to a nearby road and commandeered a car, drove to the sheriff’s shelter and asked for assistance. FBI special agent Greg Rampton in Austin said the agency was conducting a “limited investigation’' at the incident, collecting offical documents but conducting no interviews at the time.