Charges Dropped In Texas Dragging Death

Murder Charges Dismissed Against 2 Whites In Case Of Black Man Hit By Truck, Dragged 70 Feet

(AP)  Two white men accused of killing a black man in a racially charged dragging death in East Texas were released from jail Thursday after murder charges were dismissed, the prosecutor said.

Shannon Finley and Charles Crostley were released Thursday afternoon in Paris after a judge granted the special prosecutor's motion to dismiss the case. The two men had been charged with fatally striking 24-year-old Brandon McClelland with a pickup truck in September following the trio's late-night beer run to Oklahoma.

The case was hampered by a lack of eyewitnesses and physical evidence. Last month, a gravel truck driver gave a sworn statement acknowledging he might have accidentally run over McClelland.

Special prosecutor Toby Shook said the investigation will continue, and that Finley and Crostley have no restrictions on their freedom. The gravel truck driver is unlikely to face charges.

"After investigation, it has been determined this case should be dismissed in the interests of justice," Shook said. "The decision is about the state of the evidence in the case as it exists today."

The dismissal was met with incredulity by civil rights activists who had protested how county authorities handled the case.

"His body was dragged and nobody gets charged?" said Brenda Cherry, a Paris resident and the president of Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality. "Even if a trucker came forward, that's all it takes? Even the trucker's not charged? If you hit someone, you don't get charged? Nobody gets charged with this?

"It's not surprising, but it's sad. It appears that a black man's life means nothing here in Paris."

Attorneys for the two former defendants also said they were not surprised their clients were freed - albeit for different reasons.

"I believed all along there was insufficiency of the evidence," said Ben Massar, Finley's attorney. "The facts in this case did not add up to these two kids being guilty of the charge."

Finley and Crostley had been unable to post their bonds and had remained in the Lamar County jail since being arrested last year. Finley's trial had been scheduled to begin next month, with Crostley's to follow in September.

"He was very happy. He knew that this was going to happen," Massar said of Finley. "He was a little disappointed it took so long, but he was very grateful."

Crostley's attorney said both defense lawyers worked closely with Shook to get the dismissal.

"I think it's very simple," said David Turner, Crostley's lawyer. "These fellows didn't do it."

Authorities had said Finley, Crostley and McClelland were friends who drove across the Oklahoma border for beer in September. They argued on the way back about whether Finley was too drunk to drive, and McClelland got out of the car to walk home.

Authorities alleged that Finley then ran down McClelland, whose body was caught under the truck and dragged about 70 feet. His mangled body was found along a country road.

The racial implications of the case reminded some of the East Texas dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper 11 years ago and brought out about 200 protesters, many of them from the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panther Party. The rally last year also attracted at least one acknowledged member of the Ku Klux Klan to Paris, about 90 miles northeast of Dallas.

The protest was not the first event indicating racial problems in Paris, which is about 73 percent white and 22 percent black. In 2007, a black girl was sentenced to up to seven years in a juvenile prison hundreds of miles from her home for shoving a teacher's aide at school, while a white girl was sentenced by the same judge to probation for burning down her parents' house. The case drew international media attention.

In March, civil rights attorneys alleged discrimination at a pipe fabrication facility that employs about 700 workers in Paris. Two black workers alleged widespread racism and said supervisors did not respond to complaints about racist graffiti, nooses and slurs.

"Hopefully this will go some distance in healing race relations in Paris," Turner said. "It was not motivated by race or any criminal intent. It was just a tragic accident."

Deric Muhammad, a Nation of Islam member from Houston who helped organize last year's protest, called the dismissal "too see-through, too weak, too cellophane."

"I guess that's just small-town Texas law," Muhammad said.

Shook said he spoke with Jacquline McClelland, Brandon's mother, to tell her he was dismissing charges. Her voicemail box was full, and a friend told The Associated Press she was not at home.

"As you can imagine, Ms. McClelland is very upset over this entire process," Shook said. "She is a very brave woman and she is trying to deal with all these issues. Your heart goes out to her because she has lost her son. She is having to continue to deal with his death and having someone brought to justice in it. It is a frustrating experience."

[just4fairness]

The animals listed below; car-jacked, then raped Christopher Newsom, cut off his manhood, then set him on fire and fatally shot him several times while they forced his girlfriend, Channon Christian, to watch. An even more cruel fate awaited her!

Channon Christian was beaten and gang-raped in many ways for four days by all of them, while they took turns urinating on her. Then they cut off her breasts and put chemicals in her mouth... and then murdered her.

Knoxville (WVLT) - The District Attorney General of Knox County announced the list of charges facing now five suspects in the double murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

The District Attorney General Randy Nichols is not saying whether or not he will seek the death penalty, but he does say the State will seek conviction for all charges filed in a 24-page indictment from the Knox County Grand Jury.

Lemaricus Davidson, 25 , faces a total of 46 charges.

Letalvis Cobbins, 24 , faces a total of 46 charges.

George Thomas, 24 , faces a total of 46 charges.


Vanessa Coleman, 18 , faces 40 Tennessee state charges.

Eric Boyd, 24 , also arrested in connection with the fatal car jacking, only faces federal charges as an accessory after the fact.

SO!!!!!

Where's Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? Are they providing counsel and help to the families of the victims?

Of course not - the victims were white

Why hasn't this received National coverage by the news media like the Duke 'rape' case?

Oh, that's right - the victims were white

Why hasn't the NAACP, ACLU, New York Times etc., called for an investigation?

Must be cause the victims were white

Why hasn't the FBI been called in to investigate this as a hate crime?

Oh, that's right - the victims were white'

So, if a white radio shock jock uses the phrase 'Nappy headed', it gets 2 weeks of constant news coverage.

If two white people are tortured, raped, and murdered by a group of black people, it barely gets a blip in the news.

Pass this around, and maybe, just maybe, it will land in the hands of someone in the media or politics, that has the guts to stand up for the white people!! Or don't because you don't have the guts either!!

[just4fairness]

The animals listed below; car-jacked, then raped Christopher Newsom, cut off his *****, then set him on fire and fatally shot him several times while they forced his girlfriend, Channon Christian, to watch. An even more cruel fate awaited her!

Channon Christian was beaten and gang-raped in many ways for four days by all of them, while they took turns urinating on her. Then they cut off her breasts and put chemicals in her mouth... and then murdered her.
Knoxville (WVLT) - The District Attorney General of Knox County announced the list of charges facing now five suspects in the double murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

The District Attorney General Randy Nichols is not saying whether or not he will seek the death penalty, but he does say the State will seek conviction for all charges filed in a 24-page indictment from the Knox County Grand Jury.

Lemaricus Davidson, 25 , faces a total of 46 charges.

Letalvis Cobbins, 24 , faces a total of 46 charges.

George Thomas, 24 , faces a total of 46 charges.


Vanessa Coleman, 18 , faces 40 Tennessee state charges.

Eric Boyd, 24 , also arrested in connection with the fatal car jacking, only faces federal charges as an accessory after the fact.

SO!!!!!

Where's Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? Are they providing counsel and help to the families of the victims?

Of course not - the victims were white

Why hasn't this received National coverage by the news media like the Duke 'rape' case?

Oh, that's right - the victims were white

Why hasn't the NAACP, ACLU, New York Times etc., called for an investigation?

Must be cause the victims were white

Why hasn't the FBI been called in to investigate this as a hate crime?

Oh, that's right - the victims were white'

So, if a white radio shock jock uses the phrase 'Nappy headed', it gets 2 weeks of constant news coverage.

If two white people are tortured, raped, and murdered by a group of black people, it barely gets a blip in the news.

Pass this around, and maybe, just maybe, it will land in the hands of someone in the media or politics, that has the guts to stand up for the white people!! Or don't because you don't have the guts either!!

[wasrinrime]

What is everyone ranting about!! IThey did not do it and possibly someone else did but it was an accident - ok. If the gravel truck driver hit this man then he must be held accountable if in fact it was intentional, but if it was an accident - then let his auto insurance sort out the mess of paying for this individule's life. This had nothing to do with the color of one's skin, Racism is a very dangerous thing and it runs this country and everyday living - what a shame! Racism is with all colors and no one color is more racist then the other. There will come a day when it won't exist, but not in my generation and not in my children's perhaps in their children - anyway it's alog time coming.

[fsdutch2]

What about Holder dropping charges in a case that Black men with clubs prevented others from voting ?
-------------snip----------------------
I'd like to see the source for that story. I can't imagine why you did'nt post it along with your comments.
Posted by stuart2000 at 4:42 PM : Jun 7, 2009

Try Google, it finds all . . . decide for yourself the merits of the story.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124451552193396877.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[wwotp]

What's wrong with you folks? Is this story so poorly written that you didn't understand it? probably

This story states that the charges were dropped against the 2 boys who where his FRIENDS. AND that another person confessed to the crime of killing the 3rd boy. AND that the 2 boys had already spent many months in jail for something they didn't do! WHAT'S racist about that? Did you want them convicted of something they didn't do just because the color of their skin was different than the victim? THAT is racist!

When the Texas authorities (admittedly they seem kinda slow) get their act together, I'm sure they will charge the truck driver since he ADMITTED to the crime. Why don't you press for that action rather than all the name calling and denigration of all of Texas who has the highest incarceration rate of the whole country? And I'm sure the MLM will let everyone know when that happens since it sounds like manslaughter rather than murder to me since the boy was walking along an unlit road, at night, drunk, when the trucker hit him.

CBS sure didn't spell it out well, but, then, the emphasis here was how accused whites were released after being accused of murder of a black.

Thanks CBS for emphasizing the skin color of the people involved, now, why don't you add the nationality and religion of everyone you report on so more people can get all riled up for all the wrong reasons because they want to read a headline and jump to PC conclusions and remember incidents connected to their outrage instead of facts. Like when a US black newly converted MUSLIM does a drive-by shooting killing US soldiers at a recruiting station? OH YA, you don't want us to know how blacks are jumping into a violent cult and learning how to create chaos INSIDE the US from american hate mongers because they have learned from stories like this that blacks in the USA are downtrodden, disenfranchised and have no opportunities! (let's see, half-black president, black top golfer in the world Tiger, black blockbuster stars on TV and movies including the highest paid entertainer Will Smith, black top talk show host Oprah, black supreme court justice Thomas, black head of the RNC Steele, and the percentage of blacks that are classified in middle class is higher than the percentage of blacks in the general population due to the hispanic take over of low paying jobs, the most loved comedians of all races were the esteemable 60s Flip Wilson and 70s 80s 90s Bill Cosby, singers Beyonce and Aretha whose voice ANYONE recognises on the first word they say, that the percentage of blacks active in churchs exceed the percentage of whites. ya, seems like black opportunities in this county are extremely limited.... OH sorry, that doesn't fit the liberal agenda either) I bet this comment gets deleted by the moderators.

[just4fairness]

The animals listed below; car-jacked, then raped Christopher Newsom, cut off his genitalia, then set him on fire and fatally shot him several times while they forced his girlfriend, Channon Christian, to watch. An even more cruel fate awaited her!

Channon Christian was beaten and gang-raped in many ways for four days by all of them, while they took turns urinating on her. Then they cut off her breasts and put chemicals in her mouth... and then murdered her.
Knoxville (WVLT) - The District Attorney General of Knox County announced the list of charges facing now five suspects in the double murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

The District Attorney General Randy Nichols is not saying whether or not he will seek the death penalty, but he does say the State will seek conviction for all charges filed in a 24-page indictment from the Knox County Grand Jury.

Lemaricus Davidson, 25 , faces a total of 46 charges.

Letalvis Cobbins, 24 , faces a total of 46 charges.

George Thomas, 24 , faces a total of 46 charges.


Vanessa Coleman, 18 , faces 40 Tennessee state charges.

Eric Boyd, 24 , also arrested in connection with the fatal car jacking, only faces federal charges as an accessory after the fact.

SO!!!!!

Where's Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? Are they providing counsel and help to the families of the victims?

Of course not - the victims were white

Why hasn't this received National coverage by the news media like the Duke 'rape' case?

Oh, that's right - the victims were white

Why hasn't the NAACP, ACLU, New York Times etc., called for an investigation?

Must be cause the victims were white

Why hasn't the FBI been called in to investigate this as a hate crime?

Oh, that's right - the victims were white'

So, if a white radio shock jock uses the phrase 'Nappy headed', it gets 2 weeks of constant news coverage.

If two white people are tortured, raped, and murdered by a group of black people, it barely gets a blip in the news.

Pass this around, and maybe, just maybe, it will land in the hands of someone in the media or politics, that has the guts to stand up for the white people!! Or don't because you don't have the guts either!!

[AlwaysOnTheGo]

Well, I am not surprised by this at all. I just unfortunately had to relocate to Texas for work, and I hate to say it , but never have I been more embaressed to be white. Apparently most white Texans do not believe in education, higher living standards, or driving sober. I have never seen so many 11 to 17 year old girls with babies. And I just moved from San Francisco, where even the homeless could at least annunciate. I have come to realize not to have expectations from a state where every town is just a strip mall on the side of a freeway.....

[daisyarlene]

Remember being seperated into groups in school based on the color of your hair and eyes. In the 50's and 60's this was done to teach about the holocaust. One group recieving privledges- the other being degraded. Some children thought it was funny and never gave it another thought. Some children grew up seeing injustice and found a new moral standard to live by and actively teach their own children not to hate.
Remember.... we teach by example and conversation with our children. We must actually do this. Prejudice people set examples for thier children everday. We can not win by no example and no conversation. It will not be wished away.

[randomlybanned]

I love it when small-minded people think Texas is full of racists. It keeps them living in their little hellhole states that have no historical meaning and keeps them from moving here.

[freespeech101]

Nothing new! Everyone knows how racist Texas is and now their just proving it further!! Good ol Boys Club!! These rednecks are the scum of the earth. It might be a good idea if Texas did secede from the rest of us. Lowlife ignorant people!

[fabrat1]

the point is that these two boys didn't do it. They were actually friends for years and these boys lost their friend. You have to punish the right person. If the gravel truck driver actually did it and they can get the evidence they need he should face charges. I'm sorry for what his mother has had to go through but being a mother myself it wouldn't make me feel better to put the wrong people in jail. She should be at least a little relieved knowing that he sons friends didn't kill him but to put the wrong person in jail isn't going to help her any.

[mrzerato]

In my opinion, Texas always has been and always will be a racist state. I used to live just over the border north of Dallas in Kingston, Oklahoma. That whole region of America is particularly racist because it is full of racists.

.....
Posted by stuart2000

Yeah Stuart I live in that area, we were neighbors for a while. That area around Paris Texas is extremely racist. There is a company in Paris Texas that thought nothing of white employees hanging nooses around their work location with the confederate flag. A news organization posted about the nooses in the workplace, then the community verbally attacked the black man. They were outraged that a person could complain about such insignificant gestures, nooses, confederate flag and the repetition of the N word

[Dgunner]

The next time someone drowns in a lake . Sue the state that owns the lake or the goverment. Don't think so. lady justice wields a sword and scale. Justice is blind and carries a double edged sword.I fi were these two young men I would be seeking residency some where else in texas there is enough room for all the sh---t that blows north.

[brianbwb-2009]

"I guess that's just small-town Texas law," Muhammad said. <<Ya think? Those white boys should hang.>> Posted by Berkeley_Skirt_Lifter

If they did it they should, if they did not, they should not, if the truck driver did it, he should, if he did not, then he should not.

The point is that in America, a citizen died at the hands of another citizen, our laws dictate that there must be due process, and justice for the victim.

This case seems to say "we now know that the two did not, and we know that the truck driver did, but we won't bring the truck driver to due process".

Given the history of America, and Texas in this case, even reasonable people cannot be faulted for thinking that the reason no justice is pursued is because of the ethnicity of the victim.

[brianbwb-2009]

"...because blacks needed to blame this on someone ,and not just a drunk africian american getting run over, scarey these guys could be rotting in prision !" Posted by timothyjo

So I read you as saying that nobody dragged the man to his death, that nobody should be charged, that the victim and his family are not entitled to justice for the death of their loved one, at the hands of someone else?

"Blame it on someone?" I guess you posit that no one did it, then...

[timothyjo]

what is preposterous is the when a black is call BOY !!! its racist when a black call someone white boy thats ok dont think so BOY !! the africian americans riding obamas coattails make to much of it. does mean its a free ride no means you have the chance to show prove your worth !

[prometheus21]

And not that I'm implying a black man can't be a racist with regard to another black man, but given the Obama administration and U.S. Attorney's record toward aggressive investigation, due process and full prosecution of crimes, in all likelihood this would never have been prosecuted, not for racist reasons, but solely on the merit that it HAD ALREADY HAPPENED IN THE PAST, and that his administration will only LOOK FORWARD not backwards with regard to full due process and investigation of crimes already committed.

However, I suspect that he will use prosecutorial discretion to the fullest extent not authorized by the U.S. Constitution, to CHERRY-PICK those investigations and cases the U.S. Justice department will pursue, completely abridging the scrutiny of the law and equal protection to within the confines of the executive branch of government. As any supposed aficionado of the U.S. Constitution, fair and equal access and due process would.

Sure makes most of the Bill of Rights kind of meaningless, if the scrutiny and discretion of individuals decides how and if you will even be prosecuted for a crime you did or didn't commit. And whether or not looking FORWARD is the same as looking THE OTHER WAY.
Posted by prometheus21 at 3:11 PM : Jun 5, 2009

Which all kind of makes me wonder if the Obama administration isn't EMBOLDENING prosecutorial discretion, considering the outcome and timing of this DECISION not by the Texas judicial system, or even a grand jury as to whether or not there is enough evidence to prosecute, but by a single individual office whether or not a crime was committed by these two individuals.

[prometheus21]

And not that I'm implying a black man can't be a racist with regard to another black man, but given the Obama administration and U.S. Attorney's record toward aggressive investigation, due process and full prosecution of crimes, in all likelihood this would never have been prosecuted, not for racist reasons, but solely on the merit that it HAD ALREADY HAPPENED IN THE PAST, and that his administration will only LOOK FORWARD not backwards with regard to full due process and investigation of crimes already committed.

However, I suspect that he will use prosecutorial discretion to the fullest extent not authorized by the U.S. Constitution, to CHERRY-PICK those investigations and cases the U.S. Justice department will pursue, completely abridging the scrutiny of the law and equal protection to within the confines of the executive branch of government. As any supposed aficionado of the U.S. Constitution, fair and equal access and due process would.

Sure makes most of the Bill of Rights kind of meaningless, if the scrutiny and discretion of individuals decides how and if you will even be prosecuted for a crime you did or didn't commit. And whether or not looking FORWARD is the same as looking THE OTHER WAY.

[timothyjo]

man they didnt even have evidence to charge these guys why did they charge ?because blacks needed to blame this on someone ,and not just a drunk africian american getting run over, scarey these guys could be rotting in prision !

[prometheus21]

Yes, the system is not perfect and sometimes the guilty party gets away with it. But take heart. There is another Judge they must face, and His judgements are true and righteous altogether.
Posted by dovestar at 1:56 PM : Jun 5, 200

OR we can continue to demand a thorough and complete investigation of everyone involved, including independent FBI investigation and/or any number of other mechanisms for oversight to go re-investigate -- oh, and certainly follow through with the HIT and RUN and vehicular manslaughter charges, at a bare minimum, against the gravel truck driver (I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if new evidence isn't uncovered with this arrest and prosecution alone) -- because, the fact remains that if these two guys that were originally charged were never prosecuted for a crime, THEY ARE COMPLETELY ELIGIBLE FOR RECONSIDERATION AT ANY TIME.

So let the investigation and pursuit of justice on behalf of the victim DRAGGED TO HIS DEATH... continue. How hard can this be, if you haven't even arrested the gravel truck driver yet?

[prometheus21]

prometheus...understandable and a legitimate concern given the history of the area. However, the charges were initially brought by the prosecution and eventually dismissed. That is due process as unsavory as it might be.
Posted by iDragon13 at 1:50 PM : Jun 5, 2009

I don't think you fully comprehend how this process works. What we're witnessing is a corruption of the process, and in absolutely no way whatsoever, due process.

This is the state where George W. Bush was unleashed upon the U.S. and where he returned in the wake of a plague on the United States and humanity that has many of us wondering if we'll ever survive and how much we truly lost. This is much more than an unsavory "due process" Texas-style, I'm afraid.

By the way, has Tom DeLay had is day in court yet. Any chance that might not be "Delayed" any further?