The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News & Arts
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 — 7

JEFF ROBERSON/AP

St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch, left, speaks during a news conference as St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar listens Sunday, March 15, 2015, in Clayton,
Mo. McCulloch said 20-year-old Jeffrey Williams has been charged in the shooting of two St. Louis-area officers.
Ferguson prosecutors prepare
to try police shooting suspect

DON RYANY/AP

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signs an automatic voter registration bill, Monday, March 16 in Salem, Ore.
Oregon adopts automatic
voter registration system

Williams declines
to make statement
during trial briefing

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — The

man accused of shooting two
police officers last week in Fer-
guson appeared in court Mon-
day, a day after his arrest on
charges that he fired on the men
during a late-night protest.

Williams, 20, did not make any

statements during the brief hear-
ing. St. Louis television station
KTVI said a judge read the charg-
es — felony assault, armed crimi-
nal action and a weapons offense
— and gave Williams a list of pos-
sible private attorneys. His next
appearance was set for March 31.

Williams is accused of shooting

the two officers Thursday outside

Ferguson’s police station, which
has been the scene of protests
since last summer’s fatal shooting
of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Williams told investigators he

was not targeting law enforce-
ment and had been aiming instead
at someone with whom he was in
dispute, authorities said.

“We’re not sure we com-

pletely buy that part of it,” St.
Louis County Prosecutor Robert
McCulloch said.

Williams used a handgun that

matches the shell casings at the
scene, McCulloch said. He was
being held on $300,000 bond.

Ferguson activist Derrick Rob-

inson said Sunday that Williams
told him during a jail visit that he
had been robbed earlier on the
day of the shooting and returned
to the protest zone to retaliate.
On Monday, Robinson referred

inquiries to Wiliams’ lawyer, who
did not immediately respond to an
interview request.

The shooting happened as

a demonstration outside the
police department began to
break up. The protest followed
the resignation of city Police
Chief Tom Jackson in the wake
of a Justice Department report
that found widespread racial
bias in the city’s police practices.

Protesters did not recognize

Williams as one of their own,
and he was not well known
among neighbors.

Brittany Ferrell, 26, a protest

leader with the group Millen-
nial Activists United, said no
one in her group knew Williams,
and they checked with other
frequent protesters, who also
had not heard of him.

John Gaskin, a St. Louis

NAACP leader, said of Williams,
“I don’t know him. I’ve never
seen him.”

On Monday, no one answered

the door of the north St Louis
County home Williams listed
as his address on court records,
and several neighbors said Mon-
day they did not know him. The
home is about 5 miles northeast
of the police department.

According to 2014 county

court records, Williams lived in
the nearby community of Jen-
nings, parts of which border
Ferguson. But no one answered
the door at that home either.

Online state court records

show a man by the name of Jef-
frey Williams at the address
police provided Sunday was
charged in 2013 with receiving
stolen property and fraudulent
use of a credit/debit device.

New protocol

aims to broaden

participation

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Seven-

teen years after Oregon decided
to become the first state to hold
all elections with mail-in ballots,
it took another pioneering step
on Monday to broaden participa-
tion by automatically registering
people to vote.

Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill

that puts the burden of registra-
tion on the state instead of voters.

Under the legislation, every

adult citizen in Oregon who has
interacted with the Driver and
Motor Vehicle Services Division
since 2013 but hasn’t registered
to vote will receive a ballot in
the mail at least 20 days before
the next statewide election. The
measure is expected to add about
300,000 new voters to the rolls.

“It just changes expectations

for who’s responsible for mak-
ing elections work,” said Barry
Burden, a professor of political
science at the University of Wis-
consin in Madison and director
of the Elections Research Cen-
ter. “In every other state it’s the
responsibility for the voters to
make sure it happens.”

Some other states have consid-

ered such legislation but none has

gone as far as Oregon.

Minnesota nearly implement-

ed automatic voter registration in
2009 before the plan was vetoed
by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who said
“registering to vote should be a
voluntary, intentional act.”

Similar concerns were raised

by Oregon’s minority Republi-
cans.

“Simply because it makes us

unique or makes us first does not
necessarily mean that it actually
improves on what we’re doing,”
said state Sen. Jackie Winters, a
Republican from Salem.

Oregon
Republicans
also

voiced worry about potential
voter fraud, the cost of imple-
menting the measure, and wheth-
er the DMV can ensure personal
information remains secure.

Information the DMV has on

file, such as age, residential infor-
mation, signature and citizenship
status, will be transferred to the
secretary of state, who will then
automatically update registration
information.

When it came up for a vote

in the state Senate last week, all
Republicans and one Democrat
voted against it. The Democrats
hold a 18-12 advantage in the Sen-
ate so the bill easily passed.

State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner

Hayward, a Portland Democrat
who carried the bill in the Senate,
said there were rumblings the

measure was a “secret plot” to
enroll more Democrats. But she
denied that was true.

Oregon already has one of the

highest voter registration rates in
the nation — 73 percent of Orego-
nians were registered to vote and
70 percent of them cast ballots
during the 2014 general election.

Tony Green, spokesman for

the secretary of state, said the
legislation is expected to even-
tually capture all unregistered
voters who are in the DMV data-
base after taking actions such as
obtaining or renewing a driver’s
license.

Two years ago, when the mea-

sure was first proposed, Green
said there were questions about
whether the Driver and Motor
Vehicle Services Division records
were confidential under fed-
eral law. The legislative coun-
sel determined the secretary of
state and the division could share
information as long as it was for
legitimate government purposes,
he said.

People eligible to vote will get

a postcard saying they’ve been
registered and have three weeks
to opt out. They’ll be automatical-
ly registered as unaffiliated but
can select a political party from
the postcard and return it to elec-
tion officials through the mail.

Automatic registration is not

uncommon in other countries.

Police reflect on

moments leading to

suspect’s arrest

BOSTON (AP) — Three police

officers on Monday described an
onslaught of gunfire and bombs
thrown during a violent confron-
tation with the Boston Marathon
bombers days after the deadly
attack and one suspect’s furious
escape in a stolen car that ended
with him dragging his brother’s
body through the street.

The testimony by Watertown

officers came hours after jurors
in the federal death penalty
trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
went to see the bullet-ridden
boat he was found hiding in the
evening of April 19, 2013.

Earlier that day, shortly after

midnight, one officer spot-
ted a carjacked Mercedes SUV
on a quiet residential street.
That set off a frenzied clash in
which Dzhokhar and his older
brother,
Tamerlan,
hurled

explosives at police, including
two pipe bombs and one pres-
sure-cooker bomb similar to
those used near the marathon
finish line that killed 3 people
and injured more than 260 oth-
ers, the officers testified.

Joseph Reynolds, the first

officer at the scene, said he
“locked eyes” with the SUV
driver, who was later identified
as Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Reyn-
olds said Tamerlan got out of
the car and began firing at him.

“All I could see was muzzle

flashes,” he said. “I couldn’t
count it. It was nonstop.”

The shots continued as other

officers began to arrive, Reyn-
olds said.

He saw a wick and a lighter

and then watched as an object
flew through the air, landed
in the street and exploded, he
said, shaking him to his knees.

“I could feel all the debris

landing on top of me,” he said.

Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese said he

cut through backyards to get
closer to the bombers, and he
eventually could see their feet
illuminated by car headlights.
He said he aimed at the ground
near their feet in the hope that
the bullets would ricochet into
their ankles.

But Tamerlan saw him and

came charging up the street,
firing at him, said Pugliese,
who fired back.

The two men came face to

face, with only 6 to 8 feet sepa-
rating them, Pugliese said. But
Tamerlan had a problem with
his pistol, the officer said.

“He kind of looked at his

gun. He looked at me. We
looked at each other,” Pugliese
said. “I think out of frustra-
tion, he threw his gun at me.”

Pugliese
said
Tamerlan

began to run away, but he tack-
led him. Tamerlan struggled
as three officers tried to hand-
cuff him, even though he was
wounded and bleeding, Pug-
liese said.

That’s when they saw the sto-

len car speeding toward them
with
Dzhokhar
behind
the

wheel, Pugliese said.

The officer stepped out of the

witness box to demonstrate how
he tried to pull Tamerlan out of
the way and how he rolled over to
get himself out of the car’s path.

“The black SUV, it was right

in my face,” he said. “I looked
down, and I saw the front wheels
were over Tamerlan.”

Marina and the Diamonds
mines new depth in ‘Froot’

Pop musician

balances

bubblegum and
meaning in latest

album

By REGAN DETWILER

For The Daily

With the

release
of

her
third

album,
Froot,
Welsh-born
musician
Marina and
the
Diamonds

appears
to

have found
her artistic
center. Froot features bubblegum
pop beats juxtaposed with lyr-
ics steeped in meaning, ranging
from intimate personal reflec-
tion to dark social commentary.

It’s impossible to take a good

look at Froot without Marina’s
previous two albums in mind.
Marina first came into the spot-
light with her 2010 debut album
The Family Jewels, which fell
somewhere along the lines of
electronic indie-pop, being remi-
niscent of Lily Allen or The Ting
Tings. Branded as more personal
by the alternative music press,
the album secured her place as
opener for Katy Perry on her Cal-
ifornia Dreams Tour and Cold-
play’s Mylo Xyloto Tour.

Her 2012 album Electra Heart

leans much more heavily toward
pop. With tracks “How To Be
A Heartbreaker,” “Bubblegum
Bitch” and the popular “Prima-
donna,” the album’s themes are
centered in a ruthless depic-
tion of American culture and
especially its expectations for
women. Without listening to
the lyrics, Electra Heart might
seem like an album filled with
top-down
convertible,
feel

good pop beats, but Marina’s
highly intellectual and socially
charged words create a differ-
ent picture. Her second release
definitely widened the artist’s

audience with its pop sound,
but also served to upset some of
her original fans who liked what
was perceived as her more per-
sonal side.

Interviews with the musician

reveal that this is exactly what
she’s about: she’s an artist whose
work is highly personal, but is
also created within a broader
social and musical context – and
she knows it. She explains Elec-
tra Heart in an interview with
music website The Line of Best
Fit that “when I was projecting
cynicism, or when I was being
snarky or whatever, I was myself
all the time.” She emphasizes her
personal relationship with her
music again in a 2013 Huffington
Post interview, Marina said of
her music, “I’ll always be present
because I’m writing it.”

The artist, who will turn 30

years old later this year, seems
to have matured with Froot.
After years of unhappiness and a
lack of self-assuredness, her lat-
est release opens with the song
“Happy,” with peaceful, dreamy,
yet still slightly melancholy mel-
ody and lyrics of vulnerability
and self-acceptance that com-
municate, “So now you know,
you know it all/That I’ve been
desperately alone,” but that “I’ve
found what I’ve been looking
for in myself.” She lets listeners
know right away that although
she’s faced hardship and regret,
she’s at peace.

Without
a
dull
moment,

Marina picks things up straight
away
with
the
title
track

“Froot,” which appeals to her
pop side with a fast, electronic
and swinging beat. Its candy
sweet, feel good sound is remi-
niscent of some kind of hybrid of
Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”
and ABBA’s catchy ’70s beats.
Similarly, listeners won’t be able
to keep their shoulders from
swaying to subsequent tracks
“Blue,” “I’m a Ruin” and “Can’t
Pin Me Down.” These tracks are
fun and upbeat but with an edge,
“Blue” and “I’m a Ruin” being
about bad relationship habits
and “Can’t Pin Me Down” play-
ing with some ideas about the
American female archetype she
explored in Electra Heart.

While
she
does
let
her

pop
tendencies
show
with

Froot, Marina doesn’t forget
the
explicitly
personal
and

insightful
musician
she’s

always
been.
Even
her

brightest, lightest songs have an
underlying eeriness because of
the electronic minor vocals she
incorporates into the harmonies
of all her songs. In addition, no
matter how happy and light
her melodies and beats may
seem, Marina’s lyrics are always
steeped in critical introspection
or insightful social commentary.

Directly
appealing
to
her

darker side are tracks “Solitaire”
and “Weeds,” both covering
deeply personal subject matter,
using bass beats and dreamy
electronic
sounds
in
the

background to create a heavier,
more serious tone. “Solitaire”
pairs sweet, twinkling, chime-
like instrumentals and echoing
vocals with lyrics describing the
emptiness of consumerism and
materialism, saying “I see people
and cars covered in gold / And I’m
happy to be on my own.”

So many songs with weighty

lyrics about bad habits, mistakes
and a certain cynicism do seem
a little unexpected in the context
of the album’s opening track,
“Happy.” It seems like this song
should be at the end of the album,
the conclusion to all of the inner
turmoil expressed throughout
the rest of the collection. Instead,
Froot ends with “Immortal,” its
dark sounds and lyrics dealing
with issues of human life’s
meaning in context of its brevity,
making sure listeners know she’s
not to be taken lightly as an artist
and a mind.

Froot is undoubtedly a step

forward for Marina and the Dia-
monds. She clearly has reached
a level of self-acceptance as an
individual and an artist with
songs appealing to both pop
elements and deeply personal
elements, and not without the
streak of intellectual social
commentary that she’s become
known for. People who aren’t
yet Marina fans are sure to gain
a newfound respect for her as an
artist if they give this album a
serious listen.

A

Froot

Marina and
the Diamonds

Atlantic Records

Officers testify
in Boston trial

ARTS