The hunt for the killer of a gay black teen who was found near a lake in Angie two weeks ago continues, and the Southern Poverty Law Center is concerned it may have been a hate crime. 17-year-old Ja’Quarius Taylor was found shot in the head only an hour after being reported missing by his mother. The SPLC is demanding no stone be left unturned in the case given what they say is the history of failure by law enforcement agencies in the Deep South to solve, or even investigate anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.
That’s SPLC Staff Attorney Tyler Clemons. The FBI estimates nearly one in five hate crimes are motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias.
But Washington Parish Sheriff’s chief deputy Mike Haley says it’s too early to start labeling the killing a hate crime, and they don’t have the evidence yet to make that determination.
Holden Matthews, the man suspected of setting fire to three African American Churches in St Landry Parish last spring, will have a change of plea hearing next month. The 22-year-old pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, but Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino says the prosecution has a lot of evidence..
Onlineschoolsreport.com ranks Northwestern State University’s online Bachelor of General Studies as the number two program in the nation. The rankings looked at various factors including student satisfaction and median debt by program. Executive Director of Academic Advising Steve Hicks…
Hicks says the general studies program is an appropriate field for those who have an employer that requires a degree for upward mobility.