Nation in brief: Sharpton arrested in acquittal protest
The Rev. Al Sharpton was among dozens arrested Wednesday as demonstrators blocked traffic at the height of the evening rush hour to protest the acquittal of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man on his wedding day.
Police said 216 people were arrested, including Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man’s fiancee. They lined up and put their hands behind their backs as police arrested them on disorderly conduct charges.
Sharpton, the two survivors and the fiancee were released about four hours later.
The protests were part of a coordinated campaign to urge federal authorities to investigate the shooting of Sean Bell in November 2006.
The three officers were acquitted of state charges last month in a case that from the start ignited protests and spurred criticism of police tactics. One of the officers fired 31 shots, emptying his clip two times in a few short seconds.
Dublin, Ga.
Lottery winner stabbed to death
A woman who won $5 million in the Georgia lottery a year ago has been found stabbed to death in her home, and her former boyfriend has been charged with murder, authorities said.
The Laurens County sheriff said Doris Murray’s family called police saying they had seen her former boyfriend leaving her home with blood on his face. Derrick Lorenzo Stanley, 51, was caught after he led police on a car chase, authorities said.
Stanley was being held without bail Wednesday in the county jail, Sheriff Bill Harrell said.
Sheriff’s investigator Sgt. Stan Wright said he believed Murray and Stanley may have argued over a break-up.
Lansing, Mich.
Marriage ban also covers health plans
A same-sex marriage ban prevents governments and universities in Michigan from providing health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The 5-2 decision affects up to 20 universities, community colleges, school districts and governments in Michigan with policies covering at least 375 gay couples.
Gay rights advocates said the ruling was devastating but were confident that public-sector employers have successfully rewritten or will revise their benefit plans so same-sex partners can keep getting health care.
The ban, a constitutional amendment approved in November 2004, says the union between a man and woman is the only agreement recognized as a marriage “or similar union for any purpose.”
Voters “hardly could have made their intentions clearer,” Justice Stephen Markman wrote, citing the law’s “for any purpose” language.