Al Sharpton speaks at funeral for man killed by sheriff's deputies in Augusta

The family of a man shot and killed by sheriff's deputies at a public housing complex in Augusta laid him to rest on Monday.

Justin Elmore died last Tuesday, two days after the shooting, which officials say happened after the man apparently tried to run over them.

The shooting prompted an angry riot, with people hurling bottles and rocks at police.

Several residents of the housing complex say they witnessed the shooting, and believe Elmore was innocent and that he was not trying to hurt anyone.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton spoke at Elmore's funeral. He called for peace. Sharpton says he does not condone last week's confrontation with deputies. He says he'll wait until an investigation of the shooting by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is complete before he decides whether to become further involved in the case.

Al Sharpton visits coast

The Reverend Al Sharpton visits Savannah today to encourage Georgia residents to vote. Sharpton, a 2004 presidential candidate and civil rights activist, speaks at 7 tonight at Conner's Temple Baptist Church. He is participating in the "Not This Time" campaign to prevent a repeat of the 2000 and 2004 elections when there were widespread complaints of voter obstruction and vote manipulation.

(Associated Press)

Sharpton prays with Ga. inmate facing execution

Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis, who faces lethal injection Tuesday for the 1989 murder of a Savannah police officer, prayed with New York civil rights activist Al Sharpton, the latest well-known figure appealing to spare his life.

Sharpton said Davis, 39, was "surprisingly upbeat" Saturday night after the two prayed together at the Jackson prison. Davis has claimed he is innocent in the shooting death of officer Mark Allen MacPhail, who was killed on Aug. 19, 1989.

Sharpton spent about 35 minutes with Davis, and said by phone that the death-row inmate reflected on how he became a murder suspect.

"He said he got in with the wrong crowd and thought one of the guys he was hanging with killed" MacPhail, Sharpton said. "He said young people should be careful who they hang around."

Pardons and Parole Board spokeswoman Scheree Lipscomb said she does not expect any last-minute clemency for Davis, whose supporters include former President Jimmy Carter. The former president asked the board Friday for a stay of execution.

The slain officer's mother, Anneliese MacPhail, 74, of Columbus, said she is "disgusted" by the outpouring of support for Davis and said she had no doubt Davis is guilty.

"I hope this is over Tuesday and I can have some peace," she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a story Sunday.

She said three of her children will attend the execution. She will not.

A rally for Davis by Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the NAACP is planned Monday in front of the State Capitol.

Since Davis' 1991 trial, several key witnesses have recanted their testimony.

Witness testimony formed the core of the prosecution's case because physical evidence was scant: no murder weapon, no fingerprints, no DNA.

In a statement Friday, Carter said he asked the parole board to reconsider the case, saying it "illustrates the deep flaws in the application of the death penalty in this country."

Carter wrote that "executing Troy Davis without a real examination of potentially exonerating evidence risks taking the life of an innocent man and would be a grave miscarriage of justice."

The case has attracted worldwide attention, with calls to stop his execution from Pope Benedict XVI, Amnesty International and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu. Rallies have been held as far away as Paris.

(The Associated Press)

Family continues James Brown toy giveaway in Augusta

The children of soul singer James Brown carried on the annual James Brown Toy Giveaway in Augusta on Thursday, nearly one year after his death.

Event organizers say they distributed more than 2000 toys to needy children. Brown's family, businesses, and community groups donated the toys.

Al Sharpton, an activist and politician who was a close friend of Brown's, joined the family at the toy giveaway.

Absent from the giveaway was Tomi Rae Hynie Brown, the singer's widow. Hynie Brown, who is involved in a fierce court battle with the family over Brown's estate, had joined the family in November for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway in a show of unity. But she told media later that day that family members had mistreated her. Brown's children deny the accusation.

Brown, who grew up in Augusta, died on Christmas Day last year from congestive heart failure brought on by pneumonia.

His children say this holiday will be bittersweet. His daughter Venisha Brown says they'll visit his grave at his daughter's estate and share memories of their dad.

Last year's toy giveaway in Augusta was Brown's last public appearance, just three days before he died.

Family continues James Brown toy giveaway in Augusta

The children of soul singer James Brown carried on the annual James Brown Toy Giveaway in Augusta on Thursday, nearly one year after his death.

Event organizers say they distributed more than 2000 toys to needy children. Brown's family, businesses, and community groups donated the toys.

Al Sharpton, an activist and politician who was a close friend of Brown's, joined the family at the toy giveaway.

Absent from the giveaway was Tomi Rae Hynie Brown, the singer's widow. Hynie Brown, who is involved in a fierce court battle with the family over Brown's estate, had joined the family in November for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway in a show of unity. But she told media later that day that family members had mistreated her. Brown's children deny the accusation.

Brown, who grew up in Augusta, died on Christmas Day last year from congestive heart failure brought on by pneumonia.

His children say this holiday will be bittersweet. His daughter Venisha Brown says they'll visit his grave at his daughter's estate and share memories of their dad.

Last year's toy giveaway in Augusta was Brown's last public appearance, just three days before he died.

Al Sharpton visits Augusta

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton helped distribute Thanksgiving turkeys to needy families in Augusta Monday.

It's an event that the late soul singer James Brown hosted annually until his death last year.

Sharpton and Brown were close friends. Brown died on Christmas Day last year of congestive heart failure.

Two of the soul singer's daughters, some of his grandchildren, and his widow, Tomi Rae Hynie Brown, joined Sharpton at the giveaway. The family has been embroiled in a court battle over Brown's estate, and there have been questions as to whether Tomi Rae Brown and James Brown were legally wed.

Sharpton, however, said today was a time to set those issues aside.

James Brown Enterprises has typically paid for about half of the 1000 turkeys distributed.

But the funding is currently tied up in the court case.

Family members say this year that they paid for their portion out of their own pockets, and used donations from churches and charitable organizations.

Comcast Cable donates funds for the other 500 turkeys each year.

Rally for Genarlow Wilson draws big names, crowd

Protesters rallied in front of the Douglas County Courthouse today calling for the release of Genarlow Wilson. Wilson is serving a 10 year sentence for having oral sex at age 17 with a girl 2 years younger.

A large crowd of citizens, politicians and religious leaders sang civil rights hymns and shouted for Wilson's released from prison. The long list of speakers included the Rev Al. Sharpton, who like many others, said Wilson's sentence is a miscarriage of justice.

Sharpton says it's ironic that Wilson is still behind bars while President Bush last week commuted former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 2 ½ year prison sentence. "If this young man's name was Scooter Wilson he wouldn't be in jail," Sharpton said.

Sharpton's National Action Now network collected signatures petitioning Douglas County Superior Court Judge David Emerson to allow a bond hearing for Wilson. Emerson last week said Wilson's aggravated child molestation conviction makes him ineligible for bond under Georgia law.