A 2-year-old child was found dead inside a Maryland home on Saturday, and now a 12-year-old boy has been charged with murder.
The 12-year-old, who has not been named by media outlets due to his age, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, Inside Edition <a href="https://www.insideedition.com/12-year-old-charged-with-murder-in-death-of-2-year-old-at-maryland-home-authorities-say-83712" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Few details are known at this time, but the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office said in <a href="http://www.wicomicosheriff.com/pages/community-press.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press release</a> published on Tuesday that deputies responded to a call from Salisbury, Maryland, on September 16 about the death of a 2-year-old, who is also not being named. Inside Edition reported that the call was about a child not breathing at a home on Jack Drive. The child was pronounced dead inside the home.
Detectives from the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center also responded and conducted an investigation, speaking to caregivers in the home about the circumstances surrounding the incident. That investigation led to charges against a 12-year-old child who resides in the same home as the deceased toddler. It is unclear at this time if the two are related.
The 12-year-old was arrested and taken to the Lower Eastern Shore Children’s Center, where he is currently being held.
It is unclear at this time how the toddler died and whether the “caregivers” mentioned in the press release are the parents of one or both children.
The home is located in Salisbury, about 30 miles from Maryland’s popular beach town Ocean City, Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/child-12-charged-murder-death-toddler-1828320" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. It has one of the highest crime rates in America, with a crime rate of 45 per 1,000 residents. For reference, Chicago, Illinois, has a crime rate of 33 per 1,000 residents.
The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12540117/Child-charged-murder-Salisbury-Maryland-killed.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> that Captain Mark Wagner of the Sheriff’s Office told them it has not been decided whether the preteen will be tried as an adult or a juvenile.
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The outlet also noted that, if convicted, a murderer could face life in prison without the possibility of parole, but law also specifies that the convicted must be at least 14 years old to be sentenced as an adult.

Child’s Hands in Jail Handcuffs

12-Year-Old Charged With Murdering 2-Year-Old In Maryland

Children

Crime

Maryland

Murder

U.S.

A Maryland elementary school has reinstated its face mask mandate after several students tested positive for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a>.
Rosemary Hills Elementary School just north of Washington, D.C., is <a href="https://www.wbal.com/article/616010/2/mask-mandate-returns-for-one-class-in-montgomery-county-elementary-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requiring</a> the third grade class and school staff to wear masks for 10 days after &#8220;three or more&#8221; third graders tested positive for COVID.
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A DC area elementary school — Montgomery County, Maryland — is reinstating a mask mandate — N95’s — for third graders over a few kids testing positive for covid. Here’s the letter. They’re coming with masks for your kids again. Get ready. Read this insanity. <a href="https://t.co/LZs4N19XLL">pic.twitter.com/LZs4N19XLL</a>
&mdash; Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1699121666981298286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Masks will become optional again following the 10-day period,&#8221; Principal Rebecca Irwin Kennedy <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/montgomery-county-elementary-school-mask-up-multiple-students-test-positive-covid-19/65-e219307b-ca3a-490f-b1ee-b8d7d4b752b9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a Tuesday letter to parents.
The ten-day period ends on September 11, <a href="https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2023/09/1-class-required-to-wear-masks-after-covid-outbreak-in-montgomery-co-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a school district spokesperson.
The school is located in Silver Spring and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools district.
Students at Rosemary Hills Elementary must wear masks “except when eating or drinking,” Kennedy said.
The school is providing KN95 masks to students and staff in the “identified classes or activities.”
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Parents will also be sent at-home rapid COVID tests, and the school is <a href="https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2023/09/1-class-required-to-wear-masks-after-covid-outbreak-in-montgomery-co-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asking</a> them to report any positive test results to the school attendance office.
&#8220;Thank you for supporting us in taking these steps to ensure staff and students remain healthy for in-person learning,&#8221; Kennedy wrote.
In a back to school message to families, the Montgomery County school district <a href="https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2023/09/1-class-required-to-wear-masks-after-covid-outbreak-in-montgomery-co-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> “masks are optional with some exceptions” and are “still required per CDC recommendations for individuals recovering from a COVID-19 infection returning after day 5, and may be recommended or required in outbreak situations.”
The school district also said that COVID vaccination is “strongly recommended” and that “staff and students will be notified about exposures to multiple cases in a possible outbreak situation.”
Rosemary Hills is not the only entity resurrecting mask mandates this fall.
Morris Brown College, a private, historically black liberal arts school in Atlanta, announced a two-week mask mandate last month. 
There were no active COVID cases on campus, but several students at the other three colleges in the Atlanta University Center system had tested positive after students returned to campus for the fall semester.
Morris Brown students were required to practice social distancing and were prohibited from having parties or large gatherings. They were also required to get their temperature checked when they arrived on campus, comply with contact tracing efforts, and isolate for at least five days if they tested positive.
A major Hollywood movie studio brought back its mask mandate last month as well. 
The movie studio, Lionsgate, reinstated its mask mandate for most of its Santa Monica office employees after several employees tested positive for COVID. The studio said it would have contact tracing efforts and give out free COVID test kits. Lionsgate also asked employees to self-screen for COVID before coming to work.
Late last month, though, Lionsgate <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/08/lionsgate-mask-mandate-lifted-covid-outbreak-1235528599/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would lift its mask mandate again.
The White House has not recommended returning to mask mandates broadly, but the Biden administration has put out warnings about COVID as the colder months approach.
The administration recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/flu-covid-rsv-vaccines.html">recommended</a> that many people get not only a COVID booster shot, but also a flu shot and a shot for RSV, a respiratory virus that can be dangerous for infants and elderly adults.
One doctor who is an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/flu-covid-rsv-vaccines.html">compared</a> an annual COVID booster to “a seatbelt in a car,” saying it is good to keep using it.

Schools Continue To Reopen As Lockdown Measures Ease

Maryland Elementary School Forces Kids To Mask Up Again

COVID

Face Masks

Mask Mandate

Pandemic

Public Schools

The man suspected of killing a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/maryland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maryland</a> mom of five could be a serial killer due to the brutality of the crime, a sheriff says.
Rachel Morin, 37, was last seen alive on August 5 in Bel Air, Maryland, when she went out for a walk, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/suspect-rachel-morin-slaying-could-serial-killer-maryland-sheriff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. After she didn’t return home, her boyfriend reported her missing.
Her body was found the next day in a wooded area off the trail she had been walking. While it is known that her murder was brutal, police have not disclosed what injuries she sustained or additional details about her killing.
&#8220;The violence associated with Rachel’s case shows he has absolutely no care, no regard for human life. I believe he will continue to do it until he’s captured,&#8221; Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler told Fox. &#8220;He may be a serial killer.&#8221;
DNA found at the crime scene matched that of a suspect wanted for a home invasion across the country in California, which included the assault of a young girl. Police in Los Angeles don’t know the identity of the suspect, but they do have a DNA profile.
&#8220;Serial killers all start somewhere. What he did in Los Angeles was certainly, I believe, in that direction,&#8221; Sheriff Gahler told Fox. &#8220;I believe it was his intention to inflict more serious physical harm.&#8221;
As in Maryland, Los Angeles police haven’t released specific details about the assault. Harford police reportedly traveled to Los Angeles to work with local law enforcement to follow leads that could reveal the identity of the suspect.
&#8220;We don’t know who he is yet,&#8221; Gahler said. &#8220;He could still be laying his head here in our county, or he could have fled anywhere in the country or even the world.&#8221;
The shirtless suspect was captured on video outside the Los Angeles home he broke into but is only seen from behind and from the side. He is believed to be a Hispanic male in his 20s, about 5-foot-9 and weighing around 160 pounds. It is unclear whether he killed Morin randomly.
Morin’s family has spoken out about their grief. Richard Tobin, who had started dating Morin just days before her murder, called the man who killed her “scum” in a Facebook post asking for help identifying the suspect.
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&#8220;Please help identify this scum bag #ripRachelmorin,&#8221; Tobin, 27, wrote, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/rachel-morins-boyfriend-calls-murder-suspect-scum-earth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Fox</a>.
&#8220;I hope they found this scum of the earth. Justice for Rachel. Rip. Love you, Rach,&#8221; he added.
On Sunday, Morin’s mother Patty described her horror when her daughter was first reported missing, thinking that &#8220;she&#8217;s all alone somewhere.&#8221; She said finding out her daughter had been murdered was “unbearable.”
Following Morin’s death, Patty has found comfort in her faith.
&#8220;I know the God that we believe in and the God that Rachel believes in was there holding her and comforting her, and He never left her,&#8221; Patty said at Morin’s funeral.

crime concept by police line tape with blurred forensic law enforcement background in cinematic tone

Suspected Murderer Of Mom Of Five Could Be A Serial Killer, Sheriff Says

California

Los Angeles

Serial Killers

The mother of a teenage girl who at the age of 14 fell into the hands of sex traffickers is suing the Virginia school district she blames for her daughter&#8217;s trauma and the government lawyer who interfered with her efforts to return the girl home.
Officials at Appomattox County Public Schools concealed Sage Blair’s gender transition from her parents and hid the fact that she was being bullied over dressing like a boy, <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Complaint-as-filed-082323.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the lawsuit</a> filed in federal court on Tuesday by Michelle Blair. The events and secrecy led to Sage running away from her rural Virginia home, only to be captured by a sex trafficker and taken to Baltimore, Maryland, where she was held in a locked room and raped by multiple men, the lawsuit said.
But the girl&#8217;s saga didn&#8217;t end there. When the FBI recovered her, a Baltimore public defender named Aneesa Khan — a target of the lawsuit — worked to keep the girl in Maryland until her parents accepted her gender transition. The mother had not refused to accept her child’s transition because she did not even know about it, but Khan threw away the letters that Michelle Blair was sending her and led the girl to believe that she had been abandoned by her parents, the lawsuit said.
The 14 year old rape victim was put in a Baltimore group home with teenage boys and &#8220;told by Khan that her parents no longer wanted her, and that Khan was going to arrange for [her] to live with a family in Maryland who would affirm her as a boy,&#8221; the lawsuit states.
Even after a judge said that it would be illegal under the Interstate Compact on Juveniles to refuse to return the girl to Virginia, the girl remained in Baltimore while Khan appealed. She was only returned to her Virginia home after she ran away from the Maryland facilities and was abducted by a man who brought her to Texas, where she was again raped and tortured, according to the lawsuit. Officials in Texas, unlike Maryland, promptly returned her to her parents, the lawsuit said.
<h1>She was sex-trafficked again until she was recovered in Texas, which unlike Maryland, promptly returned her to her loving parents, the lawsuit said.</h1>
Khan went to great lengths to keep Sage in Maryland. After the judge stated that there were no grounds to keep her from home, Khan enlisted two counselors from the Appomattox school to accuse Michelle Blair of child abuse in Virginia, an attempt to get her child taken from her, even though none of them had ever spoken to Michelle, the lawsuit states.
Michelle was herself a certified foster home volunteer who had been extensively vetted, and Appomattox deemed the charges unsubstantiated.
Melissa Rothstein, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender — whose email signature includes her pronouns — returned a request for comment from The Daily Wire only by expressing concern for the safety of the lawyer, Khan.
&#8220;We remain concerned for her safety and caution against including personal identifying information or photo, which could reignite and expand these threats,&#8221; Rothstein said.
School board members in the conservative area of rural Virginia, including chair Bobby Waddell and vice chair Wyatt Torrence, have failed to respond to The Daily Wire’s requests for comment on the case. The board has not yet adopted Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-replaces-democrats-mandatory-transgender-policy-with-parents-rights-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Model Policies </a>on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students in Virginia Public Schools, which would bar schools from transitioning students without their parents&#8217; approval, though they discussed them August 17, according to board minutes.
Superintendent Annette A. Bennett did not return a request for comment on behalf of herself or counselors Dena Olsen and Avery Via, who are also named in the lawsuit.
In January, Virginia state Republican lawmakers introduced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-republican-moves-to-ban-calling-misgendering-child-abuse-after-girl-is-kept-from-her-parents-for-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage&#8217;s Law</a>, which would bar counselors from hiding a student&#8217;s gender transition from her parents; block counselors from encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents; and ensuring that laws on child abuse cannot be interpreted as including parents who don’t affirm a child’s gender transition. The Republican-led House passed the law, but the Democrat-led Senate <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+HB2432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed it</a>.
The <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Complaint-as-filed-082323.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> seeks “to recover damages for tortious interference with the parent-child relationship, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, professional malpractice, and other rights under Virginia law.”
“Deprived of her parents’ care and treatment as a result of Appomattox Defendants’ conduct, S.B. feared continuing harassment and assaults at school and threats from schoolmates to pursue S.B. and her family at home and ran away. She was found by an adult male who kidnapped S.B., drugged and violently raped her in the backseat of his car. It was this man that she lost her virginity to. He then drove her to Washington, D.C. and left her with two men who raped and drugged her again. These two men drove her to Maryland and left her with a registered sex offender. He kept S.B. in a locked room after raping her and trafficking her to other men,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit says that the school not only hid the girl&#8217;s gender transition from her parents, but encouraged it. Counselors summoned Sage to discuss her gender eight times during the first 12 days of the 2021-22 school year, the suit said, alleging that the counselors were providing major psychiatric care that they were not qualified or authorized to perform.
“In the sessions, Ms. Olsen encouraged S.B. to ‘embrace’ her male identity. Mr. Via also directed S.B. to internet sites, apps, and social media networks that promoted transgender ideas, indicating she could find friends there,” it said. It added that there was evidence that the counselors did not even review her file, showing existing mental health issues, before encouraging her to live as a boy, and that they did not initiate Title IX investigations, as required, when she was harassed at school.
The girl realized after her traumatic experience that she never was a boy, she told her mother, according to <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/19/virginia-teen-sex-trafficked-twice-after-school-hides-gender-identity-from-her-parents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Federalist</a>. &#8220;I don’t know who I was. I’m a totally different person now. I never was a boy. Everybody was doing it, I just wanted to have friends,&#8221; she said.
The lawsuit charges Khan for failing &#8220;to act in the best interest of her client.&#8221;
“As S.B.’s attorney, Ms. Khan had an obligation to act in the best interest of her client whom she knew to be a citizen and resident of Virginia living with parents in Virginia, and who was present in Maryland only as the result of being sex trafficked across state lines.”
The Daily Wire told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maryland-refused-to-give-back-a-virginia-runaway-because-her-parents-misgendered-her-then-she-was-sex-trafficked-mother-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage’s heartbreaking story at length in January</a>.

Maryland Assistant Public Defender Aneesa Khan, Appomattox Superintendent Annette A. Bennett, and ACPS Chair Bobby Waddell

Mother of Sex-Trafficked Teen Files Lawsuit After Girl Was Held In Boys Group Home To ‘Affirm’ Her Trans Identity

Baltimore

Education

Parental Rights in Education

Rape

Transgender

Virginia

A federal court in Maryland ruled Thursday that parents don’t have the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/muslim-group-principals-union-say-school-system-lied-to-stop-parents-from-opting-their-children-out-of-transgender-lessons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">right to opt their children out</a> of a curriculum that includes books about radical gender theory. 
Biden-appointed Judge Deborah L. Boardman said that parents&#8217; &#8220;asserted due process right to direct their children&#8217;s upbringing by opting out of a public-school curriculum that conflicts with their religious views is not a fundamental right,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maryland-court-parents-cant-opt-kids-lgbtq-curriculum-fundamental-right" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.  
Last year, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) introduced 22 new books into elementary-aged classrooms that featured LGBTQ characters and radical gender theory topics and then stopped parents from opting their children out of gender and sexuality instruction in March. The move sparked outrage from many religious parents who, along with Becket Law, filed a lawsuit challenging the district’s decision in May. Concerned parents requested a preliminary injunction that would allow them to opt their children out of the LGBTQ curriculum when school begins next week.
The district’s LGBTQ curriculum is intended to be taught to pre-k through 8th-grade students and includes references to sex change procedures, drag queens, “intersex” identity, gay pride parades, and preferred pronouns, according to <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/not-a-fundamental-right-maryland-court-strikes-down-parents-request-to-opt-kids-out-of-lgbt-curriculum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Review</a>. One of the books also says that doctors simply “guess” a baby’s sex when it is born. 
“Today, the district court decided parents have no right to notice when extreme ideology is pushed on their elementary-age children during story hour,” Becket senior counsel Eric Baxter <a href="https://twitter.com/esbax/status/1694794313849536598" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to X Thursday. “With the new school year beginning, the case is on the fast track to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals—and the parents plan to appeal the decision.”
“Children are entitled to enjoy a period of innocence and be guided by their own parents on how and when to approach the complex and sensitive issues being pushed by the School Board,” he added.
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Once upon a time, the Montgomery County School Board provided parental notice and opt-outs for books that advocate pride parades, gender transitioning, and pronoun preference for kids as young as pre-Kindergarten. <a href="https://t.co/FIS0Q548Zg">https://t.co/FIS0Q548Zg</a>
&mdash; Eric Baxter (@esbax) <a href="https://twitter.com/esbax/status/1694794304995348510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The federal judge argued that the school district banning the opt-out policy does not infringe on parents’ religious beliefs. 
&#8220;The no-opt-out policy does not pressure the parents to refrain from teaching their faiths, to engage in conduct that would violate their religious beliefs, or to change their religious beliefs. The policy may pressure them to discuss the topics raised by the storybooks with their children, but those discussions are anticipated, not prohibited, by the parents’ faiths,” Boardman said. “The parents are not pressured into violating their religious beliefs in order to obtain the benefits of a public education.&#8221;
MCPS has also faced scrutiny for numerous sexual abuse controversies in recent years, according to Fox News. The school system has paid out more than $1 million in settlements after lawsuits accused teachers and staff of schools of sexually assaulting students.

Montgomery County parents

Federal Court In Maryland Says Parents Don’t Have ‘A Fundamental Right’ To Opt Kids Out Of Radical Gender Theory Curriculum

Federal Court Says Parents Don't Have 'A Fundamental Right' To Opt Kids Out Of Radical Gender Theory Curriculum

LGBT

Politics

The nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group said Monday that a Maryland school system misled a federal court about its efforts to block parents from “opting out” their children of lessons pushing homosexuality and transgenderism.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also obtained documents showing that a labor union representing principals harbored similar concerns, with the principals saying that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) was publicly telling parents it wouldn’t indoctrinate kids, then forcing principals to take the heat for doing the opposite.
The dual broadsides by the Muslim group and labor union highlight new fault lines on sexual indoctrination in minority-heavy, Democrat-dominated school systems like MCPS, a large district outside of Washington, D.C. Hundreds of immigrants gathered for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-muslim-and-christian-parents-show-up-in-force-to-protest-lgbt-books-at-maryland-school-board" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protests</a> this summer to advocate for parental rights, while white female Democrat activists shouted them down.
MCPS claimed it prohibited opt-outs because so many parents wanted to opt out that it was causing a disruption, but it also said in response to a public records request that it had no data on the number of people who wanted to opt out, and a CAIR official said in a deposition that a school official said repeatedly that it was actually because of advocacy from a few LGBT activists.
“Contrary to its claims, MCPS has indeed instructed Pre-K through 12 English teachers to teach detailed concepts that would normally arise in sex education courses and then scold, debate or silence only children who express traditional or religious views about those topics. This is wrong. So is MCPS’ decision to mislead the public and a federal court about why it canceled the opt-out option earlier this year,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement.
Emails show that the district’s principals union wrote in November 2022 that principals were angry that the school district was publicly telling parents that it wouldn’t indoctrinate their kids, then leaving principals to take the fire when they were ordered to do it anyway.
MCPS said that it was simply using LBTQ books as examples of literature to study English, but internal documents “contradict the overarching messaging and seem to support the explicit teaching of gender and sexual identify,” the union wrote.
MCPS documents erase “parents” altogether and refer only to “caregivers.” A document called &#8220;<a href="https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Responding-to-Caregivers_Community-Questions.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Responding to Caregivers/Community Questions</a>&#8221; instructs teachers how to dismiss concerns from parents.
In response to the complaint that “Ideas about gender diversity go against the values we are instilling in my child at home. Are you trying to teach my child to reject these values?” they should say that children are “increasingly, identifying as LGBTQ+ themselves, even in elementary school.”
In response to “Can I keep my child home when students are learning about LGBTQ+ topics?” it gives a long speech about “equity” before giving a “no” dressed up as a “yes,” saying: “Parents always have the choice to keep their student(s) home while using these texts; however, it will not be an excused absence.” Parents who keep their child out of school for extended unexcused absences can be charged with promoting truancy.
In response to “Are these books appropriate? What place do they have in the classroom?” it claims they are simply examples of literature being studied in English, as well as being used for social emotional learning.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woman-abused-as-teen-says-schools-social-emotional-learning-guru-pressed-her-to-drop-charges-because-her-teacher-assailant-was-black" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woman Abused As Teen Says School’s ‘Social Emotional Learning’ Guru Pressed Her To Drop Charges Because Her Teacher Assailant Was Black</a>
Another MCPS document tells teachers how to respond to students, saying if a student says that a boy can’t be a girl, the teacher should <a href="https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Sample-Student-Call-Ins_LGBTQIA.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tell the child</a> that “that comment is hurtful” and that they are wrong. The principals union said staff was being forced to make a “shaming comment to a child” and “state as a fact” something that was not necessarily a fact.
The union said that the answer teachers were instructed to give to a student who says being gay is against their religion is “dismissive of religious beliefs.”
It said that principals were being asked to push books about transgenderism to young elementary school students, before they even take sex-ed in fifth grade.
“Numerous concerns have been raised by principals, teachers, and community members that the content of the books does not align with the stated messages” and “Principals are requesting that MCPS consider other titles that more closely align to the communicated intent,” the <a href="https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-07-26-47-1-Decl-of-Robert-McCaw.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">union wrote</a>.
MCPS wanted preschoolers to read a book about a drag queen called &#8220;Pride Puppy,&#8221; have first graders read a “difficult and unengaging” book called &#8220;Intersection Allies,&#8221; and have second graders read a book called &#8220;My Rainbow&#8221; about an autistic girl who “comes to understand she identifies transgender [sic].”
Fourth graders are asked to read &#8220;Love, Violet&#8221; about a “young school-age girl who falls in love with another girl in her class.”
“It is problematic to portray elementary school age children falling in love with other children, regardless of sexual preferences,” the principals union wrote.
It also referenced a critical race theory-based document that encouraged students to judge a work of literature based on the race of the person who wrote it. “This criterion is exclusionary,” the principals wrote.
It said that the documents contradicted MCPS’ claims that they were reading such books merely as examples of literature, rather than pushing the content, when it said it hoped the books would lead to “curious exploration.”
“MCPS has stated publicly that there is no option to opt-out, with the rationale that MCPS is simply providing books about inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and inclusivity. However, due to the concerns shared earlier about the plot and nature of the books, this creates a significant concern by some parents about ‘indoctrination’ or ‘hidden agendas,’” the union wrote.

Montgomery County parents stage ‘Family rights & Religious freedom’ demonstration

Muslim Group, Principals Union Say School System Lied To Stop Parents From Opting Their Children Out Of Transgender Lessons

CAIR

The Democrat ex-mayor of College Park, Maryland, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-mayor-resigns-charged-with-56-counts-of-child-pornography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pleaded guilty</a> to 140 counts related to child pornography possession and distribution in a deal that stipulates the former politician serve 30 years in prison.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-mayor-resigns-charged-with-56-counts-of-child-pornography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patrick Wojahn</a> pleaded guilty Wednesday to 60 counts of distribution of child pornography, 40 counts of possession of child pornography, and 40 counts of possession of child pornography with the intention to distribute, a press release from Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=672735701549953&amp;set=a.226258066197721" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
&#8220;This is a horrific case,&#8221; said Aisha Braveboy, state&#8217;s attorney of Prince George&#8217;s County. &#8220;I am truly pleased that Mr. Wojahn has [pleaded] guilty and accepted responsibility for his actions and these horrendous crimes.&#8221;
&#8220;As a former elected official, the College Park community put its faith and support in him to serve each resident and their best interests. Instead, he let them down in a most disgraceful way,&#8221; Braveboy continued.
&#8220;Our children are both precious and vulnerable, deserving of the utmost protection,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;The tragedy of them being preyed upon in cases like this cannot be understated.&#8221;
Braveboy added, &#8220;I want families in Prince George&#8217;s County to rest assured, that we will continue to exhaust every possible effort to ensure their safety and well-being.&#8221;
Wojahn, who is openly gay, served as a city council member for eight years before serving as mayor of College Park. He resigned from his position in March, preceding his arrest.
“On February 28, 2023, a search warrant was executed on my residence as part of an ongoing police investigation. I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate, with law enforcement,” Wojahn wrote in his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/02/college-park-mayor-resigns-child-porn-wojahn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resignation letter</a>. “I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health.”
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The Prince George&#8217;s Police Department (PGPD) announced in March that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children had notified them that a social media account operating in the county possessed and distributed suspected child pornography. &#8220;Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered the social media account belonged to Wojahn,&#8221; the department announced.
PGPD detectives served a search warrant at Wojahn’s College Park home on February 28, the statement said. “Investigators recovered multiple cell phones, a storage device, a tablet and a computer,&#8221; PGPD noted. It was additionally reported that Wojahn&#8217;s Kik account with the child porn videos used the handle “skippy_md.&#8221;
At the time, Wojahn was charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material.
Wojahn&#8217;s official sentencing is set for November 20.
Hank Berrien contributed to this account 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-mayor-resigns-charged-with-56-counts-of-child-pornography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dem Mayor Resigns, Charged With 56 Counts Of Child Pornography</a>

Wojahn

Democrat Ex-Mayor Pleads Guilty To 140 Counts Of Child Porn, Facing Decades Behind Bars

Democrat Ex-Mayor Pleads Guilty To 140 Counts Of Child Porn, Facing Decades In Behind Bars

Child pornography

Courts

Democrat

The board of education in one Maryland county narrowly rejected a proposal that would ban all non-governmental flags, which would include Pride and Black Lives Matter (BLM) flags.
During a contentious meeting on Wednesday, the Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted 4-3 to reject a policy banning the display of all non-governmental flags on school property. 
If the <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/aacps/Board.nsf/files/CTGHBQ47B7F0/$file/DRAFT%20IS%20-%20Display%20of%20Flags%202023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed policy</a> had passed, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) would’ve only been able to fly the American, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, and city of Annapolis flags. The policy clarified that AACPS employees, students, volunteers, and visitors could still adorn their clothing or personal belongings with any non-governmental flags.
“Except for flags that promote national, state, and local government pride, the display of flags on Board property and in AACPS shall be limited to those with a bona fide educational purpose,” read the proposed policy. “Nothing in this policy is intended nor may be construed to limit the right of any individual AACPS employee, student, volunteer, or visitor to adorn their person or personal belongings with such items as buttons, pins, clothing designs, or jewelry that may incorporate a flag or flag-like design[.]”
Board members Joanna Bache Tobin, Robert Silkworth, Dana Schallheim, and Eric Lin voted against the policy. Members Michelle Corkadel, Melissa Ellis, and Corine Frank voted for it. Board member Gloria Dent abstained from voting.
Although this policy would have effectively restricted other flags in addition to the Pride and BLM flags, opponents of the policy mainly focused on the fact that the Pride and BLM flags would be prohibited.
About 2,000 public comments were submitted on the proposed policy; over 80 were presented on the agenda or in person during Wednesday’s meeting.
According to proponents of the policy, the ban would neutralize classrooms of contentious ideologies, honor the beliefs of religious families, and prevent grooming or undesired ideological indoctrination. Multiple proponents insisted further that the American flag was the only unifying flag, while others were divisive. 
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Opponents of the policy claimed that the display of the Pride flag would prevent suicides in students. They also claimed that the flags and the ideologies behind them weren’t correlated in any way with declining student performance. Opponents further denied that LGBT ideologies are ideologies.
Public comments from the meeting is available to watch here:
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Board member Corkadel said that while she didn’t believe educators intended to force students to choose between their faith and education by displaying Pride or BLM flags, that was what was occurring. Corkadel said that students assigned to a class in which a teacher displayed an ideologically-charged flag, such as the Pride or BLM flags, were forced to exist in an environment that contradicted their beliefs.
“At the end of the day, what we are currently facing are students who feel they have to choose between their religious belief and their public education,” said Corkadel. “I have to take the people of faith — who are a protected class under our Constitution — that when they say they are not being valued as a result of trying to value another, I think we need to find a better way.”
Superintendent Mark Bedell said that he objected to the policy because classrooms were places to cultivate relationships of belonging between teachers and students. 
“I believe there is a huge difference to flags that fly on a flagpole outside a school building, and those on display inside,” said Bedell. “No one wins when we enact one inequity to solve another perceived inequity.” 
Board member Schallheim claimed that the policy was designed to target black, brown, and LGBT-identifying individuals. She said that while she recognized the religious groups’ desire to honor their beliefs, she didn’t believe in policies enabling their beliefs at the expense of others.
“The utterance of the phrase ‘diversity of thought’ makes the horrendous assumption that these groups are a monolith,” said Schallheim. 
Dent, a veteran, said that if the presence of ideological flags like the Pride and BLM flags caused students to feel welcomed, and even reconsider suicide, then they should be allowed to be displayed. However, Dent expressed dismay with the arguments of the opposition: that the presence of flags other than the American flag were their symbol of hope. This conflict prompted Dent to abstain her vote.
“The American flag should not be on display to where it has to be the product that says that if you have the American flag you somehow can’t have or represent the other cultures that are being represented,” said Dent. “These flags are symbols of hope for everyone.”
Lin, the high school student member on the board, said that Pride and BLM flags weren’t in many classrooms. He expressed opposition to the fact that the policy would likely restrict college and military pennants. Lin then argued that the Pride flag didn’t represent a political or social issue, and that flags wouldn’t impart ideologies onto students. 
“Schools are not teaching kids an ideology, but rather that people of all natures exist and it is important to respect all,” said Lin. 
Silkworth said that while he respected the American flag, he couldn’t support the policy because it went against his understanding of the nation’s founding values of unity, tolerance, acceptance, and mutual respect. 
“The American flag will continue and will always fly high outside of our schools,” said Silkworth. “But what matters is not what flag flies on the wall of an American class. What matters is what flies in our hearts.”
Frank countered the idea that the Pride and BLM flags weren’t steeped in political foundations, briefly citing their origins with influential political figures and movements. She also took issue with Schallheim’s promise that no book bans would occur on her “watch,” saying that Schallheim was laying unauthorized claim to full authority of the board. 
Similarly, Ellis disputed the claims from opposition that the policy was a solution in search of a problem. She said that many parents have come to her expressing fear of speaking out against LGBT and BLM ideologies. Ellis acknowledged the existence of a culture war, one she said could be allayed in their community by neutralizing classroom flags. 
“Bullying in the name of kindness is still bullying,” said Ellis. 
In her concluding remarks before the vote, Tobin, in her capacity as board president, apologized for the policy supporters who said that LGBT and BLM were ideologies. She argued that the policy would prevent students from fulfilling what Founding Father Benjamin Franklin said was necessary to keep a republic: debating differences. Tobin claimed that Pride and BLM flags were among the necessary tools for students to develop into citizens.
Some members of the public in attendance erupted into cheers when the policy failed.

Pride flag

Maryland County Narrowly Rejects Proposal That Would Ban Pride, BLM Flags

Maryland County Board Of Education Narrowly Rejects Proposal That Would Ban Pride, BLM Flags

Black Lives Matter

Pride

Pride Flag

For the second time in less than a week, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mass-shooting">shooting</a> killed and wounded people at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/maryland">Maryland</a> block party.
In the latest act of violence, authorities said seven people were shot at an event in Salisbury — located in Maryland&#8217;s <a href="https://www.visitmaryland.org/regions-cities/eastern-shore">Eastern Shore region</a> — as people around the nation celebrated Independence Day.
The Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office said members of its Criminal Investigation Division responded to Chippewa Boulevard in the area of Kiowa Avenue for a reported shooting just after midnight on Wednesday.
Investigators found seven individuals shot during a block party at the location, and one of the victims, identified as a 14-year-old male from Salisbury, succumbed to his gunshot wounds after being transported to a hospital, the sheriff&#8217;s office <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WicomicoSheriff/">said</a> in a release posted to Facebook.
The other six individuals were being treated at the hospital and were not believed to have suffered life-threatening wounds, authorities added.
&#8220;This is a very active investigation,&#8221; said the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, which asked people with relevant information to contact the Criminal Investigation Division at 410-548-4898 or Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776 to share an anonymous tip.
Capt. Timothy Robinson <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/fourth-of-july-mass-shooting-salisbury-maryland-teen-boy-killed-six-hurt-block-party-shooting-eastern-shore-wicomico-county-sheriffs-office-dc-baltimore-fort-worth-philadelphia">told</a> the Associated Press that no arrests had been made.
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The Salisbury incident comes days after a mass shooting at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baltimore">Baltimore</a> block party <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/authorities-share-new-details-on-baltimore-mass-shooting-offer-28000-reward-for-information">killed</a> two people and injured 28 others. The two deceased victims have been identified as 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi and 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez. Police said the 28 injured victims include more than a dozen minors.
Authorities are offering up to a $28,000 reward for information leading up to arrests and charges in connection to the Baltimore shooting. As of Wednesday afternoon, officials have yet to announce any suspects or arrests in that case.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat who took office in January, posted to Twitter after the Baltimore block party shooting declaring that everyone &#8220;deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood&#8221; and that public safety is his top priority.
&#8220;In partnership with our local jurisdictions, we are acting to address violent crime and ensure people’s safety by removing illegal guns from our streets, holding offenders accountable, and increasing opportunity to prevent violence,&#8221; Moore <a href="https://twitter.com/GovWesMoore/status/1675961767275425793">said</a>.

Yellow police tape

Another Maryland Block Party Shooting Leaves One Dead, Several Others Injured

Mass Shooting

Roughly 36 hours after an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-report-at-least-two-dead-28-injured-in-baltimore-shooting">early Sunday morning shooting</a> at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baltimore">Baltimore</a> block party killed two people and injured 28 others, authorities shared new details about the deadly incident as the search for suspects continues.
During a <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-mass-shooting-update/44419034">press conference</a> on Monday, officials implored people to come forward if they have any relevant information about the mass shooting in the <a href="https://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/news/press-releases/2023-07-02-joint-statement-mass-shooting-brooklyn-homes-south-baltimore">Brooklyn Homes neighborhood</a> and announced a variety of support programs for members of the community in Maryland.
&#8220;We are doing everything in our power to ensure that the horrific violence that occurred this weekend is not repeated either in Brooklyn or in any other neighborhood across Baltimore,&#8221; said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat.
Acting Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley said detectives were interviewing witnesses and reviewing video footage from the &#8220;Brooklyn Day&#8221; celebration that officials estimated to have hundreds of people.
Worley said investigators recovered multiple weapons and casings at the scene. The police chief said anyone who had weapons at the block party, including a young man allegedly seen in social media video footage pulling a semi-automatic gun out of a backpack, is considered a suspect until if and when authorities determine otherwise.
&#8220;Right now, our detectives are still working through interviewing every one of the victims,&#8221; Worley said. &#8220;We will continue to pursue any leads so that&#8217;s why we need the help from the community because we have only touched some of the video that&#8217;s out there. Everyone had had their cameras working and had their phones working and there&#8217;s much more video out there that we have to look at.&#8221;
As of press time, officials have not released a motive nor any identifying information about suspects, but Worley said his department will be making releases to help investigators identify individuals they are seeking to interview.
As seen in a &#8220;Metro Crime Stoppers&#8221; poster issued on Monday, an award of up to $28,000 was being offered with the assistance of the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for information leading up to arrests and charges.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Homicide detectives need your help in locating those responsible for the death of 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi and 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup. Metro Crime Stoppers Of Maryland <a href="https://t.co/sP952ABW0V">pic.twitter.com/sP952ABW0V</a>
&mdash; Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaltimorePolice/status/1675907324114874371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The poster also showed photos of the two victims who were killed in the shooting that took place at approximately 12:32 a.m. on Sunday. They have been identified as 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi and 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez.
Among the 28 victims who were wounded, 15 were between the ages of 13 and 17, according to Worley. He said the 13 other injured victims were between the ages of 18 and 32.
Seven victims remain in a hospital and four of them are in critical condition, Scott said during the Monday press conference.
Stefanie Mavronis, interim director of the <a href="https://monse.baltimorecity.gov/about-us-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayor&#8217;s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE)</a>, said she had information indicating some members of her staff deescalated three to four conflicts at the scene earlier in the evening, but she said they were not present at the time of the shooting.
Worley faced multiple questions about why officers were not on the scene at the scene of such a large event. Worley said the event lacked a permit and police did not know it was taking place until hours before the shooting.
The police chief denied that staffing was an issue, insisting that officers could have been moved to that location, and he noted that a review is underway to determine any shortcomings in the response.
Pressed on whether there was poor communication among city officials, Scott said &#8220;We are going to investigate every breakdown &#8230; but what we are not going to do is stand up here and try to make this about some organization&#8217;s decisions, or what they did, or what they did not do.&#8221;
The mayor also characterized gun violence across the United States as a &#8220;public health challenge&#8221; that demands the public&#8217;s focus with &#8220;the same vigor&#8221; that the COVID pandemic received while bemoaning gun trafficking across state lines, &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ghost-guns">ghost guns</a>,&#8221; and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/27/smart-guns-fingerprints-uvalde-teen-suicides/">a lack of</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-smart-guns-finally-arriving-us-seeking-shake-up-firearms-market-2022-01-11/">smart technology on firearms</a>.

Baltimore block party mass shooting

Authorities Share New Details On Baltimore Mass Shooting, Offer $28,000 Reward For Information

A shooting in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baltimore">Baltimore</a> community of Brooklyn early Sunday morning killed two people and injured 28 others, according to police, leading to a search for suspects.
At around 12:30 a.m., officers responded to the 800 block of Gretna Court in response to multiple calls of a reported shooting, the Baltimore Police Department said in a <a href="https://www.baltimorepolice.org/news/southern-district-homicide-investigation-2">statement</a>. Local reports indicated there was a <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/mass-shooting-gretna-court-south-baltimore/44407826">block party</a> taking place when the carnage began.
An 18-year-old woman was pronounced dead on the scene and a 20-year-old man was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later, authorities said, while the other 20 victims between the ages of 13 and 32 — including 14 under the age of 18 — made their way to local hospitals.
During a mid-afternoon press conference on Sunday, acting Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley said all but nine injured victims had been released, and a couple of the victims who remain in hospitals were in critical condition.
Officers continue to scour a &#8220;very large crime scene&#8221; with assistance from federal, state, and local partners, Worley added. He said police believe more than one person was responsible for the shooting and urged community members <a href="https://www.baltimorepolice.org/news/southern-district-homicide-investigation-2">to come forward</a> if they have any relevant information, including video footage.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott condemned what he called a &#8220;reckless, cowardly act of violence that has taken two lives and altered many, many more.&#8221; He pledged that authorities will find those responsible for the mass shooting and hold them accountable.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
VIDEO: Baltimore police say 30 people shot at block party this morning range in age from 13 to 32. Two victims have died, another 9 remain hospitalized. No shooter in custody. <a href="https://twitter.com/livenowfox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@livenowfox</a> <a href="https://t.co/y1oIDHRYZx">pic.twitter.com/y1oIDHRYZx</a>
&mdash; Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBreslowTV/status/1675597762254053379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Scott, a Democrat, also said the shooting is a &#8220;glaring, unfortunate example of the deep issues of violence in Baltimore, in Maryland, and this country — particularly gun violence and the access to illegal guns.&#8221;
<a href="https://twitter.com/FOP3/status/1675508968322396160">In a tweet</a>, the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police said the patrol shirt for the Southern District — <a href="https://www.baltimorepolice.org/find-my-district/southern-district">which includes Brooklyn</a> — was &#8220;working short-handed as usual&#8221; at the time of the shooting. The tweet also pushed for a retention and recruiting plan to <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-city-police-shortage-consent-decree/43593225">address a staffing shortage.</a>
Asked about a lack of a police presence, Worley said the event did not have a permit and pledged that he will investigate what officers did when they found out that there was a large party. &#8220;If we made mistakes, we will fix them and move forward so it never happens again,&#8221; he said.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, released a <a href="https://twitter.com/GovWesMoore/status/1675552099201941504">statement</a> thanking first responders and bemoaning gun violence.
&#8220;The fact that these horrific shootings continue to take place is abominable,&#8221; Moore said. &#8220;We as a state will continue to do everything we can to prevent senseless acts of violence like the one we saw last night.&#8221;

Mass shooting in Baltimore

Police Report At Least Two Dead, 28 Injured In Baltimore Shooting

Police

The Maryland Supreme Court this week said it would review the case of Adnan Syed, who had charges dropped against him in October after spending more than 20 years in prison for the murder of his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
After being released from prison and having his conviction vacated in September, Syed abruptly had his conviction reinstated after Young Lee, the victim’s brother, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/victims-family-wants-murder-conviction-reinstated-against-adnan-syed-after-he-was-released-from-prison">argued</a> that he and his family weren’t properly notified of the September 19, 2022, hearing that resulted in Syed’s release and only received an email about the hearing three days before it took place. Young Lee <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hae-min-lees-family-demands-appellate-court-reinstate-murder-convictio-rcna68792">told</a> NBC News that he was not able to travel to Maryland on such short notice as he lived and worked in California. In February, the Lee family asked an appellate court to reinstate the murder conviction against Syed.
That appellate court, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that a lower court had violated the victim’s family’s right to attend a critical hearing about vacating Syed’s conviction, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/28/adnan-syed-conviction-reinstated/">reported</a>. The appellate court ordered the hearing be held again, which “results in the reinstatement of the original convictions and sentence,” the court wrote.
The Maryland Supreme Court will now review the appellate panel’s decision, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/06/28/adnan-syed-md-supreme-court/">reported</a>.
“We respect and we honor the fact that Hae’s family suffers so much, and we just wished that they could get the answers that they can have,” Syed told the outlet. “We just hope that the court also recognizes that our family suffers, too.”
An attorney for Syed, Erica Suter, also stated that Lee’s family didn’t have the right to play any kind of active role in the hearing that led to Syed’s release.
“What the victim has is a right of information and a right to not be caught off-guard as to what is happening,” Suter told judges. “This is not an environment in which their impact should be influencing the court’s decision.”
Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn decided to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adnan-syed-subject-of-hit-serial-podcast-released-from-prison-conviction-overturned">overturn Syed’s murder conviction</a> in September after the popular “Serial” podcast raised doubts about his guilt. Prosecutors had revealed there were other suspects, as well as concerns about the evidence used against him. A year-long investigation involving prosecutors and Suter, Syed’s attorney, discovered that authorities knew of at least one alternate suspect prior to Syed’s trial but withheld the information from his defense. This, the prosecutors and Suter argued, was known as a Brady violation.
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Hae Min Lee was 18 years old when she was found strangled to death and buried in Leakin Park near Baltimore, Maryland, the Sun reported. Syed, Lee’s ex-boyfriend who was 17 at the time of her killing, allegedly argued with her in a car before strangling her to death. Prosecutors alleged Syed committed the murder because he couldn’t handle Lee breaking up with him.
Syed, however, has always maintained his innocence, and his attorney argued that he may not have spent 23 years in prison if prosecutors hadn’t withheld evidence.
“If that evidence had been disclosed, perhaps Adnan would not have missed his high school graduation, or his pre-med plans, or 23 years of birthdays, holidays, family gatherings, community events, and everyday moments of joy,” Suter said.
The appellate court panel ruled that its decision wouldn’t go into effect for 60 days to allow both parties “time to assess how to proceed in response to this Court’s decision.”

Adnan Syed

Maryland Supreme Court Will Hear ‘Serial’ Podcast Subject’s Case After Murder Conviction Reinstated

Maryland Supreme Court Will Hear 'Serial' Podcast Subject's Case After Murder Conviction Reinstated

Wrongful Conviction

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