FORMERLY INCARCERATED ADVOCATE NORMAN BROWN TELLS OBAMA TO STEP UP COMMUTATIONS ON TV ONE’S NEWS ONE NOW
— Roland Martin Calls Out Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Top Cop Choice —
Formerly incarcerated advocate Norman Brown appeared today on TV One’s News One Now to discuss President Obama’s recent decision to commute the prison sentences of 61 convicted drug offenders. After serving 24 years in prison, Obama commuted Brown’s life without parole sentence in July 2015 for a non-violent drug offense. Since then, he has pledged to work with underprivileged youth in his community — in particular, to help other young men avoid the mistakes he made himself.
Brown asked of Obama, “There are those that are before you who are trailblazers…those that you give a second chance to in life can really, you not only help us, you help our families. Not only do you help our families, but we have a lot to give back to society once we begin to grow up, mature, and understand the value of life. So I would like to ask the president as I did yesterday, Mr. President, with any power that you do have, continue to please use your computation power because there are many men and women in jail that deserve a second chance.”
Later, host and managing editor Roland Martin brought up Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s unprecedented choice for Chicago Police Superintendent. Rejecting the Chicago Police Board’s three recommended finalists, Emanuel appointed veteran cop and CPD’s head of patrol, Eddie Johnson, to the role of interim superintendent. “That’s the fundamental problem in Chicago. As you long as you keep making this an internal thing…that’s the problem. That’s how the Laquan McDonald stuff comes along because they’re unwilling to come in and root out that good ole boys system in Chicago…It is a culture in Chicago,” said Martin.
Panelists Ray Baker of Ray Baker Media, Former Federal Prosecutor Laura Coates, and Republican Political Strategist Rina Shah Bhararaalso joined the conversation. Coates responded, “What Rahm Emanuel did is completely miss the point. There is a mistrust, a fundamental mistrust that’s been very earned by the police in Chicago, and its elected officials and Rahm Emanuel is part of that mistrust.”
Chicago law requires the mayor to pick from finalists the Police Board gives him. Since that has not happened, the board must now conduct a second search, and presumably select Emanuel’s choice of Johnson as a finalist. Martin called out the hypocrisy of the system and Emanuel’s lack of respect for the law in seemingly going around it.
Added Baker, “At best, Mayor Emanuel lacks complete and utter self-awareness and at worst, he is disgustingly arrogant and cares not about the people’s opinion.”
To watch Norman Brown’s call for President Obama to step up commutations, and the conversation on Rahm Emanuel’s top cop choice in Chicago, please https://www.tvone.tv and www.newsone.com
ABOUT NEWS ONE NOW:
Emanating from the heart of Washington D.C. in a state-of-the-art studio that offers a stunning view of the Capitol building, News One Now airs Monday through Friday on TV One from 7-8 a.m. ET. News One Now is hosted by Roland S. Martin, the 2013 National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year and former host of TV One’s long-running, award-winning weekly news program, Washington Watch with Roland Martin. Each morning, Martin – who also serves as the program’s managing editor – sifts through the headlines of the day to spotlight matters that greatly impact the African American community. In addition to television, News One Nowreaches audiences 24/7 with exclusive program content and extended editorial on NewsOne.com and the NewsOne mobile app. News One Now is an evolution of Interactive One’s award-winning digital brand NewsOne.com that launched in 2008 and reaches millions of African Americans each month. Susan Henry is executive producer of News One Now. D’Angela Proctor is TV One’s head of original programming and production.
ABOUT TV ONE:
Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvone.tv) serves 57 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult Black viewers. The network is the exclusive home of News One Now, the only live daily news program targeting Black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK, www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets Black and urban listeners.
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