Chikei Rick Chow, 61, shot Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back after chasing him from his convenience store in Columbia. He maintained he acted
A South Carolina jury on Monday found a store owner not guilty of murder in the 2023 shooting of a Black 14-year-old.
Chikei Rick Chow, 61, who is Asian, shot Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back after chasing him from his convenience store in Columbia, but maintained he acted to defend his son. The killing sent waves of anguish and grief through the African American community in Richland County, where nearly half the population is Black.
After the verdict was read, sobs and cries of distress could be heard coming from Carmack-Belton's family seated in the gallery. Chow sat silently frozen before slowly bowing his head onto his interlocked hands. [...]
"This case is not about a shoplifter. This case is about a father who sees a gun pointed at his son and had to make a decision," defense attorney Shaun Kent told jurors during closing arguments. The defense attorney said Andy Chow testified that Carmack-Belton pointed a gun at him.
Prosecutors acknowledged Carmack-Belton had a semiautomatic pistol, but they say it fell on the ground during the chase, and he never threatened anyone with it. Prosecutors said Chow chased the teen more than 130 yards from the store.
There was no indication that the teen and Chow had a fight in the store before Carmack-Belton ran away, Richland County Coroner Nadia Rutherford said at the time. She also confirmed the teen died from a gunshot wound to the right lower back, "consistent with someone who was running away." [...]
Gipson said multiple witnesses testified that they didn't see anything in Carmack-Belton's hands and didn't see him point a gun as he ran from the store.
"Nobody testified that happened that doesn't have the last name Chow," Gipson said.
The family of Cyrus Carmack-Belton expressed their indignation towards a jury’s decision to acquit Chikei Rick Chow in the 2023 fatal shooti
“Yesterday a jury watched our 14-year-old boy run away from two grown men on video. They knew one of them shot him in the back and they still said no one is to blame,” the family said in a statement first released to ABC News. “We are heartbroken. We do not accept it. Cyrus stole nothing. He was a child, and he was running for his life. Our son mattered.” [...]
“To everyone hurting with us: honor Cyrus in peace. We will not stop. We’re taking this fight to civil court, and we will not rest until our son’s life is given the dignity this verdict denied him,” the family added.
According to family attorney Todd Rutherford, the family filed a civil lawsuit against Rick Chow in Richland County, which was put on hold until the conclusion of the criminal case.
We have started this GoFundMe to help support the family of Cyrus Carmack-Belton and … Todd Rutherford needs your support for Justice for Cy
You can donate to Cyrus' family. They never fully completed their goal for his funeral costs in 2023, and as they plan to continue a legal fight, they need all the funds they can get.
Please donate or share and support Cyrus’ family during this tragic time in their lives. The murder of innocent black lives has to stop. He was just a child. It’s sickening.
My friend sent me this article discerning the same judge, Heath Preston Taylor. It’s insane how he’s allowed to be a judge.
OH MY GOD… my baby Qais’s heart stopped tonight. I ran through darkness carrying him, screaming for help, until doctors said severe anemia from his bleeding nearly killed him again.
Today we ran out of clean bandages and medicine, and I had no money left to replace them. I never imagined I would beg strangers to help me care for my child.
I am begging you with everything I have left—please don’t let this happen again. Donate now, because your donation could be the only thing that keeps my baby alive.
The doctor told me that due to malnutrition and lack of treatment, my baby Qais has developed severe anemia. I have no money to get what he needs. Please, can you donate now so I can buy his medicine and food?
I am Inas, a mother of two young children: Muhammad, 7 years old, and Hala, 5 years old. They should have been living their childhood like all children—safe and warm in the embrace of their father. But the war has stolen that dream from us😭😭😭
Six months ago, my husband Anas, a kind-hearted man who endured a life of poverty, was killed by a random shell while on his way to work as a taxi driver. Since that tragic day, I’ve been left to carry the unbearable weight of life alone.
I held a diploma in international secretarial studies and was about to start a job to help support my family. But the war shattered not only our home but also my hopes and dreams. We’ve been displaced six times and now live in a tent that offers no shelter from the bitter cold or the ever-looming fear.
My young children face relentless hunger that weakens their fragile bodies and a cold that knows no mercy for their small hearts. Each day, their cries for warmth and food grow louder, and each day, I feel more helpless to provide them with even the basics of life💔😭😭
I appeal to your humanity, to your compassion. We need your help to survive, to find a safe shelter, and to feed my children. Your generosity could be the reason Muhammad and Hala continue to live and find hope amidst this darkness🥹
Please, help me keep the light of these innocent children from being extinguished by this cruel world
Donation Link
My name is Gabe. I am from Portland, OR and I am raising funds on behalf of Enas Shukry I… Gabriel G needs your support for Help Enas and he
Choosing a character in a sexyman-style poll when you are familiar with both options: obviously you are the intended audience of the op, the intention of the poll was to judge based on the audience’s familiarity with both characters
Choosing a character in a sexyman-style poll because they’re the only one you know: obviously biased
Choosing a character in a sexyman-style poll because they’re the only one you don’t know: arguably also biased but in a different and funnier way
Choosing a character in a sexyman-style poll when you don’t know any of them: The Truely Just and Honorable Way to Select, Entirely On Vibes
RIP Marjane Satrapi, author of the amazing graphic novels Persepolis about living during the fundamentalist revolution in Iran in the 70’s and 80’s. She also created the animated movie based on the graphic novels, which is where these gifs come from.
Reblogging in honor of Marjane Satrapi, one of THE great graphic novelists. Her comic Persepolis was a crucial text for shaping my belief that comics can deeply explore identity, culture, politics, and history.
last post is losing traction so remaking once again, sister is still unemployed and needs help making ends meet I got paid a short check for having to miss work because of the crazy ass weather last week and we've both got bills due. please share and help if you can 💫
The measure would bar federally funded civics and history programs from promoting what the bill calls “gender ideology” and “discriminatory
It's called H.R. 8705.
Note: the bill is also racist.
The ACLU and the House Equality Caucus blasted their fellow Democrats and the Republicans who voted to pass a bill threatening to censor edu
"Here are the names of the eight Democrats who voted for what the House Equality Caucus condemned as the "Don't Say Trans" bill:
Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas
Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina
Rep. Cleo Fields of Louisiana
Rep. Laura Gillen of New York
Rep. Vicente González of Texas
Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington
Rep. Eugene Vindman of Virginia"
I beg of you to please contact your senators regardless of party. Say what you have to say to get them to vote against. This is incredibly dangerous.
If one of the Democratic quislings in the House represents you, please call them to tell you exactly how you feel about racist and transphobic censorship and their decision to endanger the lives of children through forced outing.
If you can’t safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:
Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/
Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/
igual ya quedó el precedente de lo mal que organizaron la Copa América, así que no quiero que nadie venga y se queje que no les avisaron que esta gente no está capacitada como para organizar un evento de esta magnitud, cuando ni pudieron con la Copa. Cuando el césped esté hecho pija, cuando los manden a viajar de costa a costa dentro del país, lo mal que manejaron la final. Voy a estar de la mano con Bielsa diciendo al unísono: les dijimos les dijimos les dijimos
Ok i know that too some people it will just look like a question mark but i am in love with this new emoji apple added it dosent even feel realdo the people know about this
andulkaphoto
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