THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 B3
erations. Nearly three dozen
wrongly convicted felons have
been exonerated in Maryland.
Nine have sought payment — and
just three have received money.
Some Maryland lawmakers
and members of the state task
force have raised questions about
the cost of compensating all who
were wrongly jailed.
State Sen. Delores G. Kelley
(D-Baltimore County), whose
past bills to address compensa-
tion have died in the Senate Judi-
cial Proceedings Committee, said
she will reintroduce the legisla-
tion in January.
“There are certainly legislative
fixes that could be made to the
statute, and we support legisla-
tive fixes, like making it manda-
tory and to act within a certain
amount of days,” said Neel Lal-
chandani, a pro bono lawyer for
Shipley and Jerome Johnson.
“But i n the meantime they should
deal with the men who need
compensation right now.”
[email protected]
[email protected]Ta koma Park. Lamar Johnson lost
his first job after his employer
learned of his incarceration.
Maryland law says an award
may be granted for “actual dam-
ages sustained by the individual,”
but does not set a minimum or
maximum amount. A 2018 task
force recommended at least
$50,000 per year of incarceration,
with an additional $10,000 for
living expenses and services such
as education and health and den-
tal care. The five men, who served
a combined 120 years in prison,
have sought payments totaling
just over $12 million.
Legislation that would set
rules for compensation has
stalled in the state Senate. One of
the recommendations from the
task force was for the Board of
Public Works to create the rules.
The number of exonerations
throughout the country has risen
steadily over the past three dec-
ades as the use of DNA testing by
law enforcement officials has be-
come more common, according
to the National Registry of Exon-tration would work with the
board “to seek out an appropriate
third party — s uch as Administra-
tive Law Judges — that is better
equipped to handle these cases.”
The Board of Public Works
“does not have the expertise, ca-
pacity, or personnel to make de-
terminations as to the damages
incurred for each individual’s
pain and suffering, including
weighing factors surrounding the
type of incarceration and the con-
ditions of confinement,” Hogan
said in a letter Wednesday after-
noon.
He was responding to a letter
from nearly 50 lawmakers, in-
cluding House Speaker Adrienne
A. Jones (D-Baltimore County),
urging the board to compensate
the men “without further delay.”
Maryland, one of 35 states that
allow exonerees to be compensat-
ed, lags far behind in awarding
such payments. The most recent
award by the Board of Public
Works was in 2004.
“They deserve better,” s aid Del.
Shelly L. H ettleman (D-Baltimore
County), who initiated the letter
from lawmakers after reading
about the petitions in The Wash-
ington Post a nd other news media
outlets.
Hettleman said the state needs
to “own up to its mistake” of
wrongfully convicting the men. “I
think it’s r eally important that we
not wait any longer,” she said.
“They’ve already had so many
years of their lives spent behind
bars, their lives upended.”
During recent interviews, the
exonerated men talked about
what they missed during their
incarceration and the difficulty of
adjusting to freedom. Shipley was
in prison when his 12-year-old
son died in 2002. Williams has
been homeless at times since his
release, living in the woods inClarence Shipley Jr. and Hubert
James Williams, each of whom
has petitioned the board over the
past 18 months.
Such payments are allowed by
Maryland law.
Franchot said his staff is work-
ing with Kopp’s and Hogan’s
offices to address the issue; he
could not provide a timeline for
when it would be resolved. Kopp
said the panel “should be moving
on it.”
“We will come up with some-
thing that is fair and fiscally re-
sponsible,” Franchot said. “We’re
going to do the right thing.”
The divide between Hogan and
the Democrats could be pivotal in
how and when awards are grant-
ed. Hogan chairs the Board of
Public Works, which approves
state contracts and settlements
and oversees government spend-
ing. Board decisions are made by
a simple majority, so Kopp and
Franchot could approve the pay-
ments over objections from the
governor. Kopp said she wanted
to pursue that option, while Fran-
chot could not be reached to
address the possibility.
Hogan criticized the Demo-
cratic-majority General Assembly
for failing to pass a bill with
specific rules for compensating
exonerees and said his adminis-
COMPENSATION FROM B1
time there is a courtroom scene:
The U.S. flag needs to be on the
right side of the judge.”
What makes Larry De Meo
clench his fists and rail at the
heavens is watching a war movie
and seeing a soldier on a walkie-
talkie bark the expression “Over
and out.”
Wrote Larry, of North
Potomac: “These two words
mean two completely different
things!”
Screenwriters, please
remember:
“Over” means I have finished
my transmission and pass the
conversation over to you to reply.
“Out” means I have finished
my message and am signing off.
Wrote Larry: “Using the two
together is the same as saying ‘I
have finished my transmission
and am passing over to you to
reply, but, by the way, I won’t be
listening!’”
The correct way to end such a
transmission is with “Out.”
There’s something else that
bugs Larry: Movies where a
soldier use his teeth to pull the
restraining pin out of a hand
grenade.
“The most famous example of
this appears in
Lewis Milestone’s excellent 1945
movie ‘A Walk in the Sun,’ where
grenades are used to attack a
passing armored car and to blow
up a bridge,” Larry wrote.
It took a lot of force to pull out
a pin in World War II. And for
good reason: Grenades were
made to hang off web belts and
shirts, and they didn’t want the
pins being pulled out by
branches or other protrusions.
Wrote Larry: “Using your
teeth to pull the pin on a hand
grenade is the best way I know of
to result in dentures!”
What errors aggravate you?
Send the details to me at
[email protected]. Put
“A lways Wrong” i n the subject
line.
[email protected]
Twitter: @johnkelly For previous columns, visit
washingtonpost.com/john-kelly.Tom McCarthy of Brookeville,
Md., pays attention.
“I always take a close look at
the arrangement of the pieces on
the board,” he wrote. “Often they
are arranged in a way that is
simply impossible if following
the rules.”
Michael W. Marceau of
Rockville looks out for the
American flag.
“I’m a disabled Vietnam
veteran so I always notice when
the U.S. flag is displayed
incorrectly in TV shows or
movies,” he wrote. “My guideline
is ‘LARS.’ The U.S. flag should be
displayed to the left of the
audience and to the right of the
speaker. Please note this the nextcorrectly!”
A reader named
Rob McKinney of Fairfax
County caught a TV ad during
the Super Bowl that featured a
crowd of bystanders giving a
neighbor a congratulatory “slow
clap” as he turned into his
driveway in his brand-new car.
One of the people in the
driveway scene was dressed in a
beekeeper’s outfit.
“That person had their veil on
backward,” wrote Rob. “A s a
beekeeper, it was easy to spot
and still makes me fume.”
Whenever someone is playing
chess on TV or in a movie — or is
pictured at a chess board in a
magazine or catalogue —In high school,
Rebecca LaRusch
of Kensington
played the flute.
Rebecca didn’t
pursue the flute
beyond the 12th
grade, but her
affection for the
instrument
continues to this
day. That is why incorrect flute
protocol bothers her so much.
“Seeing an actor holding the
instrument wrong, pretending to
play it, is akin to watching them
wear a hat upside down,” s he
wrote. “Something’s out of sync.”
Rebecca responded to my
recent call to share examples of
things the media manages to
always — or often — get wrong.
Musical instruments seem to
be particularly prone to error.
Billy Faggart of Arlington
sent me a photo of a poster he
spotted at his local drugstore a
few years ago. In the back-to-
school sale poster a little girl is
holding a clarinet. She’s holding
the wind instrument with the
reed away from her, so it would
be against her upper lip, not her
lower lip, as is correct.
“No one caught this?” Billy
marveled. “Not the kid? Not the
photographer? Not the ad
agency? Really?!?”
Geraldine S. Jackson , a brass
instrument major in college and
a former D.C. Public Schools
instrumental music teacher who
lives in the District, groused that
a lot of folks have trouble telling
a tuba from a sousaphone.
Wrote Geraldine: “The tuba is
an upright brass instrument,
whereas the sousaphone
performer enters the opening of
the instrument — head first —
and the tubing rests on his/her
left shoulder, bell front. The tuba
bell is upright! Most recently on
the ‘Jeopardy’ TV show the
answer given was tuba whereas
the correct answer should have
been sousaphone!”
Implored Geraldine: “Please,
let’s give John Philip Sousa , the
‘March King,’ credit for inventing
the sousaphone and name it
said.
The officer drew his weapon
and fired at the dog, which was
taken to a veterinary hospital
and later died, police said.
— Lynh BuiHomeowner won’t be
charged in shootingThe prosecutor in Howard
County said Tuesday that no
charges would be brought
against a resident who shot and
killed a man who attempted to
enter his home in July.
“Despite the fact that this was
a horrible loss of life,” t here was
“no criminal violation,” s aid
State’s Attorney Richard Gibson.
Gerardo Alberto Espinoza, 46,
of Chantilly, Va., had been
banging on the front door of
Charles Dorsey’s home in the
Woodbine area just after 1 a.m.
on July 21, according to police.
The homeowner and his wife,
who had been sleeping, shouted
at Espinoza to leave, police said.
They said Espinoza “tried to gain
entry” and was shot.
Police said Espinoza had been
staying at a friend’s house
nearby. The friends have said
they think Espinoza was under
the impression he was at their
house.
— Martin WeilVIRGINIATobacco ban in place
as school starts againVirginia students are
returning to tobacco-free
campuses.
That’s because a state law that
took effect July 1 bans tobacco on
school property for every district
in every school-related setting,
including activities off campus.
The policies also cover e-
cigarette use.
The Richmond Times-
Dispatch reports that Virginia is
one of just 19 states with a full
school tobacco ban.
Most districts already had
such policies in effect, but many
school systems had to craft them
over the summer.
— Associated PressMARYLANDPolice: Man who died
lost control of bikeA man who died in a
motorcycle crash on Labor Day
had lost control of his bike after
landing a wheelie, according to
Prince George’s County police.
Marc Yearwood Jr., 25, of
District Heights crashed on
Ritchie Road, police said. He
crashed into a curb and struck a
fire hydrant after losing control
of the motorcycle, police said.
He was taken to a hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
— Lynh BuiMan found fatally shot
near recreation centerHomicide detectives are
investigating the slaying of a
man found shot to death Tuesday
at a park in Glenarden, Prince
George’s County police said.
Glenarden and Maryland-
National Capital Park Police
were called to a community
center on McLain Avenue
around 9 p.m. and found
Brandon Dixon, 29, of District
Heights suffering from gunshot
wounds near basketball courts.
He was taken to a hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
Police are working to identify
a suspect and a motive.
— Lynh BuiPolice: Aggressive dog
shot during traffic stopA Prince George’s County
police officer fatally shot a dog
attacking him during a traffic
stop, police said.
An on-duty officer pulled over
a sedan traveling without license
plates Saturday near Jefferson
Heights and Cedar Heights
drives, police said.
A second officer arrived to
help with the stop, and then a
cane corso dog approached from
a nearby yard and tried to bite
the second officer in the leg,
police said.
The officer stepped back, and
the dog lunged at the officer and
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washingtonpost.com/local/lotteryLOTTERIESTo o often, TV shows and ads get the details incorrect
John
Kelly's
Washington
BILLY FAGGART
This ad at a local pharmacy showed a girl holding a clarinet
backwards, as if to play with the reed against her upper lip.BY LYNH BUIA third man has been arrested in
a fatal shooting that broke out be-
tween rival groups who were leav-
ing the funeral of a homicide vic-
tim.
Julius Leach, 22, of Southeast
Washington was sitting in the front
passenger seat of a Dodge Charger
with an occupant who shot at a blue
To yota Corolla on Aug. 5 in Suit-
land, according to police charging
documents.
Leach is a member of “3rd
World,” a group out of the District
that has been in a long-standing
feud with members of a group of
people who live in the Barry Farm
and Park Chester neighborhoods,
charging documents said. The
shooting after the funeral left
Mshairi Alkebular, 24, of Southeast
Washington dead.
Alkebular, according to charg-
ing documents, was affiliated with
the Barry Farm-Park Chester
neighborhoods engaged in the ri-
valry, c harging documents said.
The feud erupted in gunfire as
members from both groups were
leaving the funeral of Eric Byrd,
who was killed in an unrelated
shooting on U Street NW on
July 20.
Although the shooting after
Byrd’s funeral involved some of
those who had attended services, it
had nothing to do with Byrd, police
have said. Byrd, according to policeand family, had gotten along with
diverse groups of people but those
people didn’t necessarily get along
with one another.
As the funeral party departed
the church, police said, a Charger
began to follow the Corolla driven
by Alkebular.
The Charger pulled up to the
Corolla in a townhouse c ommunity
not far from the church when
someone in the Charger fired at t he
Corolla, charging documents state.
People in the Corolla returned fire,
police said.
Leach has been charged with
murder, along with two other men
police say were in the Charger: Tav-
one Hoes, 26, and G regory Sam, 25.
Police say Hoes shot a t the Corolla.Sam, who was driving the Char-
ger, is a documented member of
“10th Place Killas,” which has also
been feuding with groups out of
Barry Farm and Park Chester, ac-
cording to charging documents.
Hoes is also a member of “3rd
World,” l ike Leach, charging docu-
ments state.
Hoes is in custody i n the D istrict
and is awaiting extradition to
Prince George’s County, according
to police and online court records.
Sam is being held in the Prince
George’s County detention center.
A Prince George’s County district
judge ordered Sam held without
bond during a bail review hearing
Wednesday.
An attorney for Hoes did not
respond to a request for comment
and Sam’s attorney said his client
intends to plead not guilty. O nline
court records did not list an attor-
ney for Leach.
[email protected]MARYLAND
3rd arrest in slaying after funeral
Governor
rejects calls
to pay five
exonerees
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