in, ea ing dea
grand jury call
By Larry 'Doc' Blue
JACKSON - The controver
sy over the beating death of
Jacks n Prison inmate 0 car
Ro is J r a the hands of 12
prison guards continues, fol
lowing the official ruling the
death was "accidental"
The AACP marched July
8 and 9 in front of the Jackson
County Prosecutor's office ad
ding to the demands for a
grand jury investigation, a
demand issued by some mem
bers of the state legislation.
Behind the calls for the
grand jury investigation are
the fac brought out during a
June 23 citizens inques COD-
byJ pr en ,
ph Flips.
edical Examiner's Assis
tant Pathologist Henry A. Kal
let .0. id during the in
ques that according to guard
witnesses, Rowl's neck was ex
tended over the bed rail and
minimal force was used
Kallett contended that the
force used could have caused
Rowls to black out, and by so
doing, choked himself to
death. Th official cause of
death was asphyxiation, Kal
lett testified
Other facts brought out
during the inquest that ma e
the ccidental ruling suspect,
include:
- Rowls should not have been
moved, Warden John Jabe tes
tified
-Injuries to Rowl's neck and
muscle tissue suggest that the
force
attempt to subdue.
-Corrections Officer Lenore
Renke testified tha Ro Is
was handruffed with his hands
Continued on P ,e l6
ate's only Blae
bail out Be to
ban
arbor
BENTO HARBOR - First
Independence ational Bank,
the state's only Blae -owned
bank, stepped in and bailed
out Michigan's poorest com
munity with a $625,000 loan.
After being rejected by the
two banks located in the city -
- NBD Farmers & Merchants
and Inter-City Bank --- and un
able to get any further emer
gency loans from the state,
Benton Harbor city commis
sioners vote June 25 to borro
the funds from First Indepen
dence came at a price.
According to published
reports, City Finance Director
Harold Anderson told commis
s ioners the loan should be
paid off December 1, when
the city receives state revenue
sharing funds.
H that December 1 target is
met, the city will have paid
$14,000 in interest, at the rate
of 8 percent, Anderson said.
In addition, Anderson said,
the city will pay a loan fee of
$l45OO to the bank and the
b 's legal fees of $3 000 to
$5,000.
The city, which has not paid
any bills since March of this
year, wanted to borrow
$800,000. Anderson explained
that under federal regulations,
the city's projected cash
deficit wouldn't be enough to
warrant the larger amount and
still keep the notes tax exempt
The tax exempt status is an
incentive for the bank to make
the loan, Anderson said, as it
does not have to �y taxes on
the interest earned
Benton Harbor laid off
three public safety employees
in June to save costs.
Voting in favor of borrowing
the money ere Mayor Wilee
Cooke and Commissioners
Ralph Crenshaw, Arnold
Smith, orval We' and
Ralph Crensha. Commis
sioner George Wysinger voted
no and Commissioners
Dorothy Dickey, Michael
Govatos and William Wolf
ere absent
Adding to the city's financial
oes was the defeat of two
millage requests in a special
June et ction. Voters turned
down the idea 0 adding al
mo t four extra mills for 20
years to finance repayment of
state loans and Dial-A-Ride.
release of jailed children
i I
e
SH GTO - u.s. Rep. th t more than twenty-five thou-
illiam H. Gray, III (D .. P Continued on P • 3
introduced re lution June
26, calling for the immediate
re of all children detained
under the ate of emergency
regulation in South Afrie .
The me r calls for
eepin ction gain South
frica if the children are not
rei d.
Gray, the author of the
ti-Apartheid Act of 1986,
IIThi is a
modern day
Holocaust
nd a crime
agains
humanity."
p. W" Gray. m
, The Detain s' P rent ' Sup
rt Committee of South Africa
has compiled fi re hieh 0