Amerika

Death row inmate Anthony Haynes, a one-time average teen whose descent into the drug life ended with his shooting a Houston police officer in 1998, has been granted a new trial by a federal appeals court because of the possibility that black jurors were improperly dismissed from his jury panel.

Two blacks ultimately were struck by prosecutors using peremptory challenges — though several were seated on the final jury — and those strikes were challenged by Haynes’ lawyers. Wallace overruled their objections.

Haynes, 30, was 19 at the time of the shooting. He admitted to participating in a brief robbery spree and to shooting Kincaid.

Houston Chronicle

Why do we need a second trial for this idiot — are we assuming black jurors would have voted to acquit since he was also black? Possibly — yet another reason that diversity is a costly and destructive experiment. Upshot: either he gets a retrial with more black jurors and walks or not, but either way, money and time goes into this — I’d prefer we spent it on people who were going somewhere in life.

Eleven sixth-graders at the highly touted southeast campus of YES Prep Public School were expelled last month for placing bets on each other during organized fights in the boys’ bathroom.

School officials said they’re not sure how much money changed hands among the 11- and 12-year-olds, but said no students were seriously injured. Other fights were probably held before the students were caught on Feb. 16, Willis said.

Houston Chronicle

They don’t tell you this, but the YES program is a liberal darling. It’s where inner city youth — codeword: diversity — get taken and spoon-fed an aggressive preparatory regimen. It gets massive hype and so far has shown no results better than simply providing intelligent kids with decent education, but it exists as one of those symbolic pro-diversity programs that annoy anyone thinking clearly about what that money and energy would accomplish.