Keep Bailing

They say hindsight is 20-20 and almost all of us can pinpoint one pivotal moment in time that has entirely changed our lives.  For S.E. Missouri school teacher, Healther Ellis,  it was the moment she switched checkout lines in her local Wal-Mart store, three years ago. (Perhaps it was the same moment for the “Walmart Slapper“.)

Ellis’ alleged line-cutting launched what she claims is a racially charged dispute between herself, white customers and police, that could land her a 15-year prison sentence for assaulting two officers.  She has since filed a formal written complaint with the NAACP.

Heather Ellis goes on trial in the Dunklin County Circuit Court this month.  Several groups Read more »

Ok, I’ve gotta comment on this story because I can relate to it on so many different levels: parent, bail bondsman, Walmart shopper, on-looker… but first the story:

A 61-year-old Georgia man named Roger Stephens was held without bail yesterday for slapping a two-year old child at Walmart. Stephens was upset that the child was crying. He warned the mother, Sonya Matthews, that he would “shut that baby up” if Matthews couldn’t stop her daughter’s cries by herself.

When the child continued to cry, Stephens followed through on his threat. He slapped the 2-year-old Paige Matthews “across the face approximately four or five times,” according to the Gwinnett County Police Department report. Of course, the child screamed and cried even more after being assaulted, but Stephens said to the mother, “See, I told you I would shut her up.” He was arrested for felony cruelty to children and held without bond at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.

Ok, so as a parent and a member of society: Read more »