Foreign News
Glynn Simmons: US judge exonerates inmate after 48 years in prison
An Oklahoma judge has exonerated a man who spent 48 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, the longest known wrongful sentence in the US.
Glynn Simmons, 70, was freed in July after a district court found that crucial evidence in his case was not turned over to his defence lawyers.
On Monday, a county district attorney said there was not enough evidence to warrant a new trial. In an order on Tuesday, Judge Amy Palumbo declared Mr Simmons innocent.
“This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned, was not committed by Mr Simmons,” said Oklahoma County District Judge Palumbo in her ruling.
“It’s a lesson in resilience and tenacity,” Simmons told reporters after the decision, according to the Associated Press. “Don’t let nobody tell you that it can’t happen, because it really can.”
Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison for the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery in an Oklahoma City suburb.
Simmons was 22 years old when he and a co-defendant, Don Roberts, were convicted and sentenced to death in 1975. The punishments were later reduced to life in prison because of US Supreme Court rulings on the death penalty. Simmons had maintained his innocence, saying he was in his home state of Louisiana at the time of the murder.
Simmons smiled as the court declared his innocence on Tuesday. Dressed in a grey hooded sweater and fedora, a soft-spoken Simmons later told reporters he had been waiting for this moment for a “long, long time”. “What’s been done can’t be undone, but there can be accountability,” he said.
A district court vacated his sentence in July after finding that prosecutors had not turned over all evidence to defence lawyers, including that a witness had identified other suspects. Simmons and Roberts were convicted in part because of testimony from a teenager who had been shot in the back of the head. The teenager pointed to several other men during police line-ups and later contradicted some of her own testimony, the National Registry of Exonerations said.
Roberts was released on parole in 2008.
Wrongfully convicted people who serve time in Oklahoma are eligible for up to $175,000 (£138,000) in compensation.Simmons is currently battling liver cancer, according to his GoFundMe, which has raised thousands of dollars to help support his living costs and chemotherapy.
(BBC)
Tech billionaire Bill Gates has said that he will give away 99 percent of his wealth in the next two decades, funding his philanthropy the Gates Foundation long enough for it to close in 2045.
In a statement published on Thursday, Gates also firmly criticised the way his fellow centibillionaire – Elon Musk, an adviser to US President Donald Trump – is pushing to slash United States funds for essential things like food and medical assistance in poor countries.
“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates told the Financial Times, referring to Musk’s work with the Trump administration to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Gates, who has a current estimated net worth of about $108bn, has long been among the most recognisable figures in the field of philanthropy, with an emphasis on medical assistance in poor countries.
He has also become a symbol of the enormous influence that such wealth can have on everything from politics to global health.
Pandemic vaccine criticism
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gates was a vocal opponent of loosening patent protections around COVID 1 vaccines in order to allow poorer countries to manufacture their own versions and distribute them to their populations more quickly, arguing that doing so would harm innovation and intellectual property rights.
Critics accused him of promoting a vision of vaccine apartheid. They have also questioned whether Gates, through his substantial funding of groups such as the vaccine group Gavi and the World Health Organization, wields disproportionate influence in the field of global health without the same oversight and accountability that a public institution would face.
Over the years, Gates has stated that he is determined to give away most of his enormous fortune. While he is currently worth about $108bn, he expects the foundation to spend a total of around $200bn by 2045, depending on inflation and markets.
“People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” the 69-year-old co-founder of Microsoft said in a post on his website.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people,” he added.
Gates also lamented that the US has pulled back from involvement in global health and humanitarian assistance around the world, offering a subtle rebuke of the Trump administration.
“It’s unclear whether the world’s richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people,” he said.
[Aljazeera]
The auction house Sotheby’s has postponed its sale in Hong Kong of hundreds of sacred jewels linked to the Buddha’s remains, after a threat of legal action by the Indian government.
The sale of the collection – described as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era – had drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders. India had said it offended the global Buddhist community.
Sotheby’s said the suspension would allow for discussions between the parties.
A British official named William Claxton Peppé unearthed the relics in northern India nearly 130 years ago, alongside bone fragments identified as belonging to the Buddha himself.
The auction of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240-200 BCE, was due to take place on 7 May.
In a letter to the auction house two days earlier, the Indian government said that the relics constituted “inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community. Their sale violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions”.
A high-level Indian government delegation then held discussions with Sotheby’s representatives on Tuesday.
In an emailed statement, Sotheby’s said that in light of the matters raised by India’s government “and with the agreement of the consignors, the auction … has been postponed”.
It said updates on the discussions would be shared “as appropriate”.
Notice of the gems sale had been removed from its auction house by Wednesday and the website page promoting the auction is no longer available.
William Claxton Peppé was an English estate manager who excavated a stupa at Piprahwa, just south of Lumbini, the believed birthplace of Buddha. He uncovered relics inscribed and consecrated nearly 2,000 years ago.
The findings included nearly 1,800 gems, including rubies, topaz, sapphires and patterned gold sheets, stored inside a brick chamber. This site is now in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Sotheby’s had said in February that the 1898 discovery ranked “among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time”.
[BBC]
Four anonymous housekeepers are suing Motown legend Smokey Robinson for $50 million (£37 million), accusing him of sexual assault.
A complaint filed in Los Angeles superior court accuses the 85-year-old of sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violence, in addition to a number of labour violations related to wages, breaks, meal times and overtime pay.
The lawsuit also names Robinson’s wife, Frances Robinson, claiming she contributed to a hostile work environment, and used “ethnically pejorative words and language”.
Representatives for the Robinsons did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the accusations could not be independently verified.
Robinson was Motown’s first hitmaker, writing number one hits like Mary Wells’ My Guy and the Temptations’ My Girl.
Born William Robinson Jr in Michigan, he was both a talent scout for the record label and one of its most prominent recording artists, known for songs like Tracks of My Tears, Shop Around and Tears of a Clown.
He has spots in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Halls of Fame, and claims to have credits on more than 4,000 songs.
Robinson’s reputation and stature was an intimidating factor for his accusers, who were made to feel “powerless”, their lawyer said at a press conference in Los Angeles.
“They’re Hispanic women who were employed by the Robinsons earning below minimum wage,” said John Harris.
“As low-wage women in vulnerable positions, they lacked the resources and options necessary to protect themselves from sexual assaults.”
The women are suing under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4, due to the sexual misconduct allegations, including rape, being levelled against the musician.
Three are former housekeepers and one was the singer’s personal assistant, cook and hairdresser, according to court documents.
In the lawsuit, all four women claim that Robinson would summon them to various areas of his properties in Chatsworth, Bell Canyon and Las Vegas, at times when his wife was away.
Sometimes emerging naked from a shower, he forced them to have various types of sex over a number of years, starting in 2006, the lawsuit alleges.
Jane Does 1, 3 and 4 all allege Robinson sexually assaulted them in the “blue bedroom” of his Chatsworth residence, claiming he would lay down a towel to protect the bed sheets prior to the assaults.
Jane Doe 2’s allegations state that Robinson raped her in the laundry room and garage of his Chatsworth residence, where closed-circuit cameras were unable to see.
The women claim that during the alleged assaults, Robinson used physical barriers and threats of force to prevent them from fleeing.
The lawsuit also includes several allegations of workplace violations.
All four women say they worked 10 hours a day, for six days a week without being paid minimum wage or overtime. They also claim to have worked holidays without receiving a holiday rate.
According to their lawsuit, the employees all quit because of the alleged sexual misconduct and hostile work environment.
The BBC has contacted Robinson’s representatives for a response to the lawsuit.
No police reports or criminal charges have been filed against the musician.
A spokesperson for Los Angeles County District Attorney said the women’s claims were not under review because law enforcement had not presented a case.
Los Angeles police said they had no statement on the matter.
[BBC]
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