Dunbar Village Rapists Found Guilty by West Palm Beach Jury

Villagers who have been following the aftermath of the heinous crime that took place two years ago in the Dunbar Village projects down in West Palm Beach FL will be glad to learn that the four cretins caught by the police have been brought to justice.

Jurors convicted 18-year-old Nathan Walker of 11 felonies in the brutal attack on a Dunbar Village woman and her son, including burglary, kidnapping, five counts of sexual battery with great force, and the savage act of forcing the mother and son into sexual acts together. Jurors acquitted him of three other charges.

Tommy Poindexter's jury convicted the 20-year-old cretin on eight kidnapping, burglary and sexual battery charges, but acquitted him of five others, including forcing mother and son into sex acts.

Walker, Poindexter and a third young man who has already pleaded guilty, 16-year-old Avion Lawson, face sentencing Oct. 13. All are looking at possibly spending the rest of their life in prison.

Poindexter, Walker and Lawson were tied to the crimes by forensic evidence - DNA from a condom, a pillowcase, the woman's dress and fingerprints.

The verdicts come more than two years after the attack by a gang of as many as 10 men and boys upon the woman and her 12-year-old son within their public housing complex apartment. They forced themselves inside, demanded money, then sex, then poured chemicals on the woman and her son.

The woman had to testify about it before jurors at trial. "I tell him to stay on top of me. Stay there because there are going to kill us," she said of her son, in Creole-accented English.

The woman, now 37, had to recount before a packed courtroom the variety of ways she was raped and doused in chemcials. She did so slowly, methodically, as if still in shock.

"It's really hard. If I even think about I might cry," said juror Rebecca Meyer Baez. "She's probably the strongest woman I've ever met. The fact she can come in there and hold her head high. I'm astonished."

Villager's Voice: I am still looking for the police to arrest the other six cretins involved in this rape-torture case. What can possibly be taking so long to bring the other six people to justice?

Open Letter to NAACP Leaders Dennis Courtland Hayes, Adora Obi Nweze or Maude Ford Lee

BlackVoices.com wonders out loud where NAACP West Palm Beach stands on the issue of civil rights vs. criminal rights. The problem, as I see it is simple. NAACP West Palm Beach branch took a formal stance out in front of the courthouse steps three weeks ago. They wanted bail to be given to the Dunbar Village rapists similiar to what Boca Raton rapists received. In my view, that 'equal justice' stance is bone-headed and wrong. It would have been better if NAACP West Palm Beach branch president Maude Ford Lee to step up and say that 'equal justice' would be for the Boca Raton rapists to be denied bail to make them 'equal'.

Al Sharpton recognized that he made a mistake. He owned up to it on his radio show last week. National NAACP (Hayes), NAACP Florida (Nweze) nor NAACP West Palm Beach (Lee) will acknowledge that their appearance, flyers and statements at the press conference were a mistake. As a result, the growing movement to ask my blog readers to discontinue their membership and volunteer hours to NAACP stays in full effect.

I see that Ms. Nweze will be on a podcast later this week. Perhaps she will take responsibility for the poor judgement that was shown at that press conference. Heck, perhaps she or Mr. Hayes or Ms. Lee or some other NAACP official in that leadership chain will respond to this online message and bring this matter to an end. It's not difficult. Simply acknowledge that it was a mistake to ask for bail on the Dunbar Village rapists. Is that so hard to do?

NAACP Issues Weak Response to Dunbar Village Protest

Drumbeats from What About Our Daughters blog provide us with a statement from the NAACP in response to the email accountability campaign launched following their joint press conference with Rev. Al Sharpton regarding bail for the suspects in the Dunbar Village rape and torture case.

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E-mails misrepresent NAACP's position on Dunbar Village case. A series of viral e-mails circulating the Internet the past several days distort and misrepresent the NAACP's stance on the Dunbar Village gang rape case that began last June in south Florida.

The NAACP does not condone violence against anyone. Any suggestion to the contrary is not credible in light of the Association's long history of opposing violence against all persons.

In fact, it was the West Palm Beach Branch NAACP and area churches, among others, that provided assistance in the relocation of the victims in this horrific and inexplicable criminal matter.

"The NAACP cares deeply that justice be applied equally, without regards to race, but cares just as deeply that guilty parties be held accountable for their actions," said Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference, NAACP.

The NAACP National Office nor the Florida NAACP have taken any formal position on the case and both believe this situation will benefit from well meaning, interested parties allowing the facts to become further known and letting defense lawyers do their work.

"The lives of the victims in this case are irrevocably altered in the worst way," said NAACP Interim President & CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes. "While we respect the judicial process and implore that equal justice be rendered for all involved, we must also focus on ending the continuing plague of violence in our communities.

"The NAACP and its affiliates will continue to closely monitor the proceedings and details of this case," said West Palm Beach Branch NAACP President Maude Ford Lee, who added, "Earlier reports that my remarks support the heinous acts of the guilty parties could not be further from the truth."

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Villagers, there was no misrepresentation. It was quite clear that the Ford/Sharpton press conference called for more lenient bail for the Dunbar Village rapists.

Rev. Sharpton backtracked on his poor judgement in advocating for the Dunbar Village rapists earlier this week. I don't see that Maude Ford Lee or other NAACP leaders at state or national level accepted responsibility for their mistake in advocating for the Dunbar Village rapists. Has Ms. Lee backed away from her foolhardy misadventure? If not, I don't see any reason for Black bloggers and others to continue working to discontinue further funding and volunteer hours for the NAACP.

Perhaps we will learn more later this week when Adora Obi Nweze, NAACP Florida State President joins the Black Women's Roundtable to answer questions. The podcast takes place on Thursday, April 3rd @ 9:00 pm EST.

In the meantime, I'm curious as to your take on the situation. What say u?

Stop NAACP Support of Rapists

In the past week, a rapidly-moving viral email campaign was launched, and thousands of concerned Black citizens spread the word about crimes against nature committed in the Dunbar Village complex against a Black woman and her 12 year old son.

This email, entitled “Stop Al Sharpton and the NAACP from endangering Black Women,” described a stunning betrayal in which the NAACP and Al Sharpton held a press conference and demanded bail consideration for three suspects in custody for the crime.

Concerned Black citizens all around the country were outraged by the actions of the NAACP and Al Sharpton, and many vowed to withdraw volunteering and financial support from these agencies “until they make the safety of Black women and children a priority.”

On March 24, 2008 an NAACP memo that attempted to defend this betrayal was sent to Beverly Neal, who is the Director of the NAACP’s Florida State Conference. The memo claims that the NAACP was brought into this fray by Rev. Al Sharpton. Moreover, the memo was written by Maude Ford Lee, who is President of the West Palm Beach Branch of the NAACP.

On March 27, 2008, activist Al Sharpton went on the air to clarify his position on the treatment of the Dunbar Village Suspects. He invited writer Tonyaa Weathersbee and blogger Arlene Fenton to his show, to discuss the matter. Rev. Sharpton claimed that he never said that the Dunbar Village suspects were being treated unfairly, and that he did not want bail for the suspects in question.

Ms Weathersbee and Ms Fenton said that their research indicated otherwise, as indicated by video footage, eyewitness accounts, and the reporting from the Florida Sun Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post.

At the end of the radio show, Al Sharpton strongly condemned any activity that would promote bail consideration for the suspects in question. Rev. Sharpton admitted that “if the suspects were white, he would have been there sooner.” He stated that this is a problem with many Black civil rights organizations. He apologized and vowed to uphold his prior promise to advocate for the residents of Dunbar Village. He also challenged all activists, bloggers, and writers to be accountable to each other.

To date, the NAACP has not made an official statement denouncing the Dunbar Village Atrocity, nor have they officially expressed regret to the victim. The NAACP also has not officially retracted their statement requesting bail consideration for the alleged rapists/torturers. To our understanding, neither agency has contributed to the Victim’s Assistance Fund or created a reward program geared toward the apprehension of the remaining rapists/torturers.

Villagers, WE ARE SATISFIED with Al Sharpton’s qualifying statements that he made on his March 27th radio show. We will watch to see if he fulfills his promise to advocate for the residents of Dunbar Village, and we are willing to assist any effort that promotes safer Black neighborhoods in West Palm Beach, FL.

WE ARE NOT SATISFIED with the reckless, irresponsible actions of the NAACP (West Palm Beach chapter). We continue to urge all Black people, women especially, to refrain from volunteering or giving financially to this organization until they take our safety seriously.

WHAT WE WANT

1. We want law enforcement to make a concerted, sustained effort to apprehend the remaining suspects. We want to see a genuine reward system in place to encourage members of the community to come forward with the knowledge of the whereabouts of the remaining suspects.


2. We want the NAACP (West Palm Beach chapter) to reverse their position that the alleged rapists/torturers of this case should be considered for bail.
   
3. We want both the NAACP and the National Action Network to cease downgrading the gang rape/torture/atrocity of the Dunbar Village by comparing it to an unrelated gang rape, in which guns, maiming, and forced incest were not involved.


4. We want to see genuine victim advocacy in the form of financial support for the relocation, medical expenses, and mental therapy for the true victims in this case.

The Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund
Individuals who would like to donate money to the victims can go to any Wachovia Bank and donate to the St. Ann’s Victim’s Assistance Fund. Donations will go directly to the mother and her son.

St. Ann’s Catholic Church will also accept donations. Checks can be made payable to the "Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund - St. Ann’s". Mail your donation to: St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401

For more information about this Dunbar Village Campaign, you can visit any of the following 24 blogs:

1. Dunbar Village Blog
2. A Different Story
3. Anonymiss Blog
4. A Political Season
5. Aunt Jemima's Revenge
6. Black Fire, White Fire
7. Black Sapience
8. Black Women Vote
9. Character Corner
10. Electronic Village
11. Episcopalienne
12. Essential Presence
13. Focused Purpose
14. H-Essays
15. Never Say Never to Your Traveling Self
16. Privy Concepts
17. Ravenelven Lady
18. Roslyn Holcomb's Blog
19. The Sowing Circle
20. Tribute to Black Women
21. What About Our Daughters
22. What Tami Said
23. Yanmommasaid
24. Something Within

Next step is yours! Do you support this growing effort to Stop NAACP West Palm Beach Chapter's Support of the Dunbar Village rapists? What say u?

NAACP's Maude Lee Responds to Online Allegations About Her Support of Dunbar Village Rapists

Maude Lee is the president of the NAACP West Palm Beach Branch. Her NAACP branch is under tremendous pressure for joining with National Action Network to ask for reduced bail on the four Dunbar Village rapists. This decision to support release of these four gang rapists is wrong on so many levels ... not the least of which is the lack of support given by Ms. Lee's NAACP branch for the Black woman and her child victimized by these gang rapists. It should be noted that there is a formal campaign ongoing to discontinue financial contributions and volunteer support to NAACP or NAN as a result of the decision to support these Dunbar Village rapists.

Ms. Lee wrote a letter to explain her actions. Click here to read the letter. Ms. Lee claims that her NAACP branch participation was "... simply to call for fair and just treatment in all phases of the criminal justice system for the Dunbar Village defendants..."

The odd thing is that Ms. Lee claims that the NAACP responded to call from Rev. Sharpton and the folks from the NAN Florida chapter. NAN tells a different story. NAN indicates that they were at the press conference at the request of Ms. Lee and the NAACP WPB branch. It appears that the two organizations are turning on one another as the pressure continues to mount. Personally, I think that Ms. Lee saw the opportunity to get her face and her branch into the limelight by introducing Rev. Al Sharpton to the media and she didn't really care about the content of the press conference.

This is not a 'due process' issue. The four rapists had due process. They each have lawyers. They simply didn't get bail because of the heinous nature of their crime. The fact pattern for these four rapists who terrorized, raped and tortured a Black woman and her child wasn't the same as the five white rapists in Boca Raton. This is not a 'due process' issue. This is a 'poor judgement' issue. Maude Lee (NAACP WPB Branch) and Al Sharpton (NAN) showed incredibly poor judgement. It is costing them goodwill, volunteer hours and donations from the Black community.

You can reach out to Ms. Lee by phone (561) 655-9798 or e-mail if you are so inclined. My suggestion is that Ms. Lee reach out to those of us in the Black community who question her judgement. Sending a letter to her state NAACP leader ain't gonna get it done. What say u?