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<font size=3>A Lake County Court, ruled in favor of a change of venue
motion in the case of Renato Hughes today.<br>
<br>
Renato Hughes is a 22-year-old black youth who is charged with the murder
of two of his lifelong friends in a case involving an alleged forceful
entry into the home of Shannon Edmonds, a white resident of Clearlake on
Dec. 7, 2005.<br><br>
Renato Hughes, of San Francisco, is being charged with the shooting
deaths of Christian Foster, 22, of San Francisco, and Rashad Williams,
22, of Pittsburg – even though it was Edmonds who did the shooting.<br>
<br>
The murder of two young Black men, both shot in the back and killed while
fleeing the home of a white man is being blamed on the young Black
survivor under a law – The Provocative Act doctrine – that holds the
“co-perpetrator” of an alleged felony responsible if the act results in a
“lethal response.”<br>
<br>
So one of the Black victims of this armed attack by a white man was now
being charged with murder in an almost entirely white county. Close to
400 residents had been interviewed and none of these prospective jurors
where African American. <br>
<br>
Instead of the D.A. prosecuting Edmonds who admits to shooting both
unarmed men in the back while they were fleeing and after they had
already left his property, “he is trying to sentence Renato to double
life in prison without the possibility of parole. The D.A. has created a
story to hold Renato responsible for Rashad and Christian's deaths rather
than the drug dealing murderer, Shanon Edmonds” according to E'leva
Hughes, Renato’s sister. “They continue to protect the killer even though
his girlfriend recently filed a restraining order against him because he
tried to kill her.” <br>
<br>
This represents a tremendous victory given that the California State
Supreme Court had earlier rejected a similar request. <br>
<br>
“Finally, Renato will have a chance at a fair trial and the injustice of
the Provocative Act doctrine can be challenged,” exclaimed his attorney
Stuart Hanlon. A new venue will be decided in the coming weeks.<br>
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<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
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