Jonathan Turley – A second suspect has been arrested in the shooting of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes in Houston Texas. Larry Woodruffe was arrested in the drive-by shooting after the earlier arrest of Eric Black, Jr., 20.

Barnes was shot and killed on Dec. 30, while riding in a car with her mother and three siblings. She died at the scene and her mother, LaPorsha Washington, and her 6-year-old sister were both injured. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Tx) previously called the shooting a hate crime when the suspect was alleged to be white. Now, however, Lee still insists that this should be prosecuted as a hate crime despite the fact that the two suspects are both African American.

Lee insisted that it was “absolutely not” irresponsible for her to label the crime as a hate crime so early in the investigation. The day following the shooting, Lee declared “do not be afraid to call this what it seems to be — a hate crime.” She was not alone. Barnes’ family lawyer, Lee Merritt, insisted that “we do believe that it [the murder] was racially motivated in part because our nation at this moment is highly racially charged.” Continue reading →